* This article was originally published on RISMedia.com.
Despite record low inventory, surging buyer demand, high building costs, and other major industry challenges, informed and creative broker/owners and their teams are riding this red-hot real estate market and closing amazing deals.
Staying on top of the most current trends like inventory, migration patterns, and buyer demographics makes uncovering listings and helping buyers a whole lot easier. Let’s look at a few trends and how your team can leverage them.
Trend 1: Low inventory
The US has a chronic housing shortage. Forbes predicts that low inventory will continue to frustrate homebuyers for many years. More than a decade of underdevelopment and high demand means that listings can be hard to come by, and the ones that do pop up sell fast (national average of 21 days on market in 2021 versus 38 a year ago).
Tip: Data
There are listings out there, but buyers might not know what to look for or how to find them. Your market expertise, paired with the best MLS listing data available, will allow you to find properties that meet your leads’ criteria. For example, according to Constellation1’s own data analysis, homebuyer search radiuses have expanded in the past year to identify listings that meet their criteria. Agents need to know how to leverage data to help buyers expand their searches correctly and find the right listings.
Trend 2: New migration patterns
Historically, moving patterns have been driven by households with below-average income. In 2020, for the first time ever, most moves were made by households with above-average income, i.e., newly mobile knowledge workers in sectors like tech, creating exciting opportunities:
- Higher-income households are more likely to use real estate professionals
- Many movers will be completing two transactions: the sale of their current home and the purchase of a new one
- Households with above-average income often have higher budgets
Tip: Referrals
According to NAR, in 2020, nearly half (47%) of buyers used an agent that was referred to them by a friend, neighbor, or relative.
Many people are moving significant distances, from cities like San Francisco and New York to Houston or Miami. These distances mean it’s unlikely a single brokerage will capture both sides of the transaction, but professional networks, referrals, and relocation tools can help brokers tap into these migration patterns and generate new leads.
Trend 3: Millennial homebuyers
Buyer demand is expected to remain high as more millennials start entering the housing market. According to John White, quoted in Inc.com, millennials make up 66% of first-time home buyers and 34% of home buyers overall. As a broker/owner, you must be catering to a millennial clientele.
Tip: Social media marketing
Without a quality social media presence, millennials will never find you. Millennials are digital natives who aren’t reading newspapers, listening to the radio, or even watching broadcast television: they’re online. Having social media pages that boost your business and generate leads is more important than ever to reach these consumers. Social publishing is a great way to keep your brand in consumers’ minds, ensuring your team gets a steady stream of both buyer and seller leads.
The current market is tight, but buyers and sellers are out there if you know how to make your market. Keep up to date with ongoing trends and solutions and your team is sure to cash in this year and beyond. For more information about the best MLS data available, relocation, digital marketing, and more, get in touch with Constellation1 today.
