Realtor Profile

Tech savvy and smart marketing are this Houston Realtor's special sauce

Agent Jason Lee Villareal

Photo courtesy of Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty

If there's one thing real estate agent Jason Lee Villarreal wants people to know when listing their home, it's that "it's not the market, it's the marketing."

As someone who has helped buy and sell over $250 million in real estate and has been involved in over 300 transactions during his decade in the industry, he should know.

The Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty agent leverages his tech savvy into an aggressive marketing approach, which exposes properties locally, nationally, and internationally. Villarreal has a knack for quickly selling properties that have typically sat unsold on the market.

That's because he strategically coordinates every detail of selling a home, from physically staging the property himself to photography, videography, and eventual worldwide reach.

It's no surprise he has earned several industry accolades and neighborhood record-breaking sales, and recently landed on the prestigious Top 200 Realtors list out of more than 40,000 Houston-area Realtors, based on sales volume.

Villarreal currently resides in Uptown with his Sheltie — fittingly named Houston — and takes in as much of Houston's live music, arts, and culture as he possibly can, attending Astros games and trying out new local restaurants when his busy schedule allows.

A firm believer in giving back to the community, he is heavily involved in various humanitarian causes including the Alzheimer's Association.

We chatted with Villarreal to find out more about his work and what drives him.

CultureMap: What inspires you to do what you do?

Jason Lee Villarreal: I enjoy many different aspects of real estate, but there is no better feeling than the joy my clients experience from my services. Whether it's marketing their home to increase the amount of offers we receive or negotiating a great deal for their dream home, there is nothing like seeing your clients smile and be full of gratitude.

CM: What's one piece of advice you'd give to people looking for their dream home?

JLV: I think many people have a contact, a friend, or a family member that either is a Realtor or has one to recommend, so my advice is to interview at least two Realtors. The National Association of REALTORS Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers shows that 70 percent of new homebuyers only interview one agent. Through interviewing agents, you can learn about their experience, negotiation skills, if they have relationships with service providers that you may need later (HVAC, roofing, home inspectors), and their communication skills. Then you can make an educated decision on who is the best Realtor to represent you.

CM: And advice to those who are selling?

JLV: The saying I live by is "It's not the market, it's the marketing." Through a strategic marketing plan, your house will have exposure to the right potential buyers. Your first "showing" is through the photos and videos on the online listing. Once the buyers see the home in person, it's your Realtor's responsibility to get your house sold.

CM: Sum up Houston in three words.

JLV: Diverse, vibrant, thriving.

CM: What do you consider your "special skill"?

JLV: My marketing skills have been a major contributing factor to my success. Working with a large international brokerage like Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty has helped to increase my exposure within the real estate world. However, my secret sauce is my experience in marketing strategies and my ability to have a game plan in place for each home. Selling houses through social media like Instagram is the cherry on top.

CM: What's one thing people might not know about you?

JLV: I love animals and always enjoy meeting my clients' pets.

CM: Finish the sentence: "It's a good day when..."

JLV: Any day above ground is a good day.

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Learn more about Jason Lee Villarreal here or on Instagram @JasonLeeHouston, or contact him at 281-871-9127 or jasonlee.villarreal@sir.com.

Agent Jason Lee Villareal

Realtor Jason Lee Villareal

Photo courtesy of Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty

Agent Jason Lee Villareal

qa promoted home-for-sale

Documentary News

Netflix series Waco: American Apocalypse debuts with newly unearthed footage

ATF Waco tragedy david koresh

Waco: American Apocalypse

ATF agents at Waco compound in 1993.

Netflix has a new series on the tragedy that took place in Waco three decades ago: Called Waco: American Apocalypse, it's a three-part series documenting the standoff between cult leader David Koresh and the federal government that ended in a fiery inferno, televised live, with 76 people dead.

The series debuts on March 22, to coincide with the 30-year anniversary of the event which took place from February 28 to April 19, 1993.

It's an oft-told tale and not the only new release to try and exploit the 30-year anniversary: Jeff Guinn, former books editor at the Fort Worth Star Telegram, just came out with a book in January, also described as definitive, called Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and a Legacy of Rage.

Waco: American Apocalypse is directed by another Texan: Dallas native Tiller Russell (Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer), who obtained never-before-seen videotapes of FBI negotiations, as well as raw news footage and interviews with insiders.

Those insiders include one of David Koresh’s spiritual wives; the last child released from the compound alive; a sniper from the FBI Hostage Rescue Team; the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit Chief; journalists; and members of the ATF tactical team who watched colleagues die in the shootout against the heavily armed members of the religious sect.

The FBI videotaped inside the hostage negation room, thinking they'd be there maybe 24 hours, not 51 days.

"These are video cassettes that were sitting in somebody’s closet for 30 years, that show the mechanics of hostage negotiations in an intimate setting - not the hostage negotiation scenarios you see in films, but a team of people grinding, day in and day out, for 51 days," Russell says.

He also procured footage from Waco TV station KWTX, who had a reporter embedded in the initial gunfight.

While the standoff was broadcast live on TV at the time, much of it was out of camera range. The film uses 3D graphics to recreate the details of the compound.

Russell acknowledges that the tale of the cult leader who was also a pedophile, the debate over the right to bear arms, the constitutional limits of religious freedom, dredge up painful conversations that continue today.

"It cast a long shadow, pre-saging the Timothy McVeigh bombing in Oklahoma, the shooting at Colombine, and a growing distrust of government, but I think it's important to reckon with our past so we don't repeat mistakes," he says.

"So much of what’s roiling in culture today can be traced to Waco, a story about God and guns in America with all these children at the center whose lives were determined by the adults around them," he says. "There was no playbook for what happened, everyone was out on a limb, and people made mistakes. But almost everybody was trying to do their very best."

"I think this is a story that's often recalled in politicized terms, with finger-pointing on who screwed up and how did we get here, but there's a profound humanity to it all," he says.

Watch the trailer below:

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