By Travis Barton | [email protected]

 

DeAnna Dipo was named President of the Utah Association of Realtors (UAR) for 2017. It was announced by Dipo’s employer, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage on Jan. 9.

 

“It’s a real honor that my colleagues would elect me into the position to represent them not only on a local level but on a national level,” Dipo said.

 

Dipo is the sales manager of her company’s Union Heights office having worked in the real estate field for over 20 years. She will serve as the UAR president for one year.

 

“I’m very humbled and I’m dedicated to do a good job representing the realtor family,” Dipo, a Cottonwood Heights resident, said.

 

Dipo has slowly climbed the ladder of UAR leadership. After losing her first time running for treasurer, she was elected on her second attempt before eventually being elected vice-president and then president-elect in 2016.

 

She initially got involved as a volunteer with a committee at her local board, before becoming the president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors in 2011.

 

“When you see a bigger picture, you want to do more and be a part of more,” Dipo said.

 

Chris Jensen, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, wrote in a press release he was “extremely proud of DeAnna and this very well-deserved honor.”

 

“She has given so much back to our profession and is highly regarded by her peers for her extensive knowledge of the real estate profession. I know she will be a tremendous asset to the association and its members.”

 

Dipo will work with local realtor boards across the state as well as representing Utah in May when she travels to Washington, D.C. to lobby congress. Much of her work will be advocating on behalf of real estate professionals in Utah as well as their clients.

 

She said the idea is to help both the business and the client like fighting the transfer tax, which is where anytime someone buys or sells, there’s another tax on that transaction that’s passed onto the consumer.

 

“That’s really my passion is what we do as an industry and what we do for the consumer,” Dipo said noting that consumers don’t always know there’s a board fighting to help them legislatively.

 

Among the initiatives Dipo is taking on this year includes working towards an affordable housing bill. An intricate issue that involves dealing with cities who may or may not want it.

 

“I’d love to see all the moving parts of that bill pass, it’s such a complex issue. I really feel positive that we’re going to make some baby steps towards that,” Dipo said. 

 

Her position as president is completely volunteer, affecting her time and career income but, she said, the rewards are far greater.

 

“The benefits, I think, outweigh that for sure just in what we can accomplish,” she said.

 

Dipo hopes to continue raising the standards for realtors by providing value the consumer wants. She said they want to be a trustful resource for people looking at real estate.

 

“We want to raise the bar and be more of a service,” Dipo said. “People don’t realize how much we save them at the end of day on little taxes or different initiatives that could pass.”

 

She noted how essential to the industry an organization like UAR is. With the technological developments over the past two decades such as internet listings, there was inevitably a shift away from people using realtors. Dipo said it’s beginning to shift back.

 

“People go online first, but now they’re trying to find a professional to guide them through the pit falls that could happen,” she said. “There’s so many dynamics and working parts to real estate that we are definitely seeing a shift.”