Honing your skills as a real estate agent takes time, patience and perseverance. Results stems from various reasons: whether they have good work ethic, they have a top-notch sales team to back them up, great partnerships with developers or they have better communication and negotiation skills.
There’s another reason why success prevails for experienced real estate agents ‒ their local area. These real estate gurus know the local market too well and they have a good reputation to back them up. Experts say that local expertise became their driving force to success.
It’s not easy to reach this high status as a local expert. For the most part, it takes a lot of hard work, patience, and knowledge on the current market conditions, past or present. Also, one should immerse within the community, learn the ins and outs of the place, and is willing to stay longer. To reach this high status, a real estate agent should put in hundreds of hours of work and consistently have good performance for at least five to ten years.
Aa local expert should have knowledge in the sales trends, the increase or decrease of selling prices during peak and non-peak seasons, know the new developments within the area, and the rental return of various properties. Additionally, one should actively engage in the local community.
It’s an advantage to have more knowledge than anyone else in the area. Furthermore, it takes time to build a reputation as a local real estate agent expert. It can also frustrating when you do not get the results immediately. However, if one is keeping a track on the market conditions in his or her area, the number of listings and clearance rates, that knowledge would soon translate into a sale.
There’s another key point on why you should be actively involved within the community. If you’re trying to sell a home to a potential owner, one should have an idea on the location and the lifestyle the area is offering.
- Does the community have the right amenities and services that is needed for a family of three or four?
- Is there a local school where their kids can go to?
- Does the community have a local church where the residents are active?
- Is it accessible to a nearby grocery mart and hardware stores?
- Does it also cater to single folks who are looking for local cafés, libraries or a local bar to meet other folks?
There have been countless stories where real estate agents made a few mistakes when opening a business in a community. They don’t have any idea on what the cost entails when opening a business, but they also spread their business area far and wide instead of focusing in one single area.
Successful real estate agents shared that when they started out, they mapped out their area as a habit. They tracked every listing and sale and studied the trends within the local market. They also focused on personal branding and marketing. One example is to sponsor local events and sport teams. They also invested their time by introducing themselves to the local businesses and residents.
When online marketing was nonexistent, real estate salespeople revealed that they did everything old-school. They drove the streets many times to get familiar with the surroundings, took photos of houses that are up for sale, and even learned the history of the streets and the community. They mapped it out and posted it in their office to remember even the tiny details. The more you know about the place, the better the chances you have in making a sale.
Now, all thanks to technology agents have better chances of marketing themselves. Aside from putting a realty website and place all their listings, they can also invest in online marketing advertisements. Another advantage of technology today is the use of GPS maps and Google images ‒ one can simply do a Google search and from there, you’ll know what the area is like or how many kilometres is the area away from another city.
The overall takeaway is that for sales agents to succeed in the real estate industry, they need to find a certain niche ‒ an area that they are willing to invest in. They should be comfortable enough to stay for a long term, build a track record, and put in hours of workload in marketing and branding. More importantly, they should immerse themselves within the community and get involved.
Keep in mind that a well-planned marketing strategy and personal branding goes a long way. By putting your name out there, the locals have an idea who to reach out for realty advice.