Baby Boomers

Unlock the Hidden Potential of the Baby Boomer Real Estate Market

Aug 23, 2023

We’ve mentioned recently, and you’ve no doubt seen it in your real estate practice, that baby boomers are large and in charge of the housing market.

“In 2023, baby boomers overtook millennials as the greatest percentage of homebuyers in the U.S., making up 39% of the market compared to 28% for millennials (and 24% for Gen X),” suggests Dawn Allcot at Nasdaq.com.

This cohort makes up the largest share of home sellers as well, setting up a scenario where a whole bunch of agents will have the opportunity to get two deals out of one client.

They win bidding wars

Listing agents know well how challenging it sometimes is to calm down the seller who is receiving multiple offers. It’s heady stuff to have a group of people vying for your home, and visions of “over-asking” often dance through their heads.

Counseling the seller to also compare the terms of each offer is a wise move. Is the proposed closing date most convenient for your seller? What about the amount of cash the buyer is willing to put into the deal?

“With all this in mind, new research from Realtor.com shows that baby boomers have the upper hand when it comes to sealing the deal on the next home of their dreams,” according to Allcot.

The ideal next home for the baby boomer

It’s easy to make assumptions about what type of home our aging population is seeking. And many of those assumptions are valid. One-story homes, for instance, are in great demand, as are homes with wide halls and doorways to accommodate a wheelchair in the future.

A few other items that are on the wish list of older clients include:

A walk-in shower
Lowered countertops
No stairs, inside or out
A home office for those who haven’t yet retired

Think they don’t want to sell? Think again

It’s common knowledge and a bone of contention for younger homebuyers that our older generation refuses to budge from their family home.

A 2021 AARP survey found that more than three-quarters of adults ages 50 and older want to stay in their current homes, also known as aging in place.

There’s a problem with that, however. “A significant majority of adults want to continue living in their homes as they age, but the unfortunate reality is that many homes and communities weren’t built to support that desire,” according to Rodney Harrell, AARP Vice President, Family, Home, and Community.

AARP finds in another study that “About half of adults say they’d consider leaving their home if it meant finding one that would help them age independently,” said Anna Deen at TheMessenger.com.

I smell an amazing real estate niche in there, don’t you?

As you tour new listings, pay attention to the layout of the home to determine if it’s move-in ready for a boomer who wants to age in place. Even homes that require minimum renovation are attractive to this generation, so don’t ignore those, either.

Then, do consider reaching out to the baby boomers in your CRM.

PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

3. The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review

The Free Interactive 6-Month Real Estate Business Review allows you to enter your business goals for the remainder of the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here

Is TikTok a Good Place for Real Estate Agents to Market for More Listings?

May 16, 2023

In real estate, as in other businesses, it’s important to remember that you need to know who your “audience” consists of if you ever hope to effectively target them with your marketing. Many agents target “anyone who is breathing,” and that’s understandable.

It was how they generated leads as a newbie. They had little other choice. But, think back to those days. That type of marketing is not only expensive but time-consuming as well.

As we grow into our business, we know better than to shoot arrows and hope something sticks. Target marketing is far saner and more efficient.

Who is your audience on social media? It depends a great deal on the platform, first. Some are chock-full of folks you should be reaching out to, while others simply waste time and effort.

It’s time to update our social media recommendations for real estate agents, and we begin with TikTok.

First, let’s nail down your target audience

While it was somewhat lucrative to target first-time buyers in the past, you may want to change your strategy this year. They made up only 26% of last year’s real estate consumers, which is a huge drop from the previous year’s 34%, according to the folks at the NAR.

With the country’s current wonky economy, don’t look for that number to improve this year.

If you plan on sticking with the first-timers, you’ll be targeting folks in their mid-to-late 30s (NAR calls the 36-year-old “The typical first-time buyer.”)

Repeat buyers are always worth an agent’s consideration because of the very real chance that they also have a home to sell. This target’s age is 59 years.

Your largest buyer pool will be the baby boomers, who comprise 39% of all buyers. Millennials have dropped to 28% of the pool.

Finally, if you’re after listings, stick with older Gen X folks and baby boomers. “The typical home seller was 60 years old,” according to the NAR.

When it comes to social media marketing, spend your time on platforms with the robust participation of baby boomers (folks age 59 to 77).

Does that include TikTok?

Not at all. Let’s take a look at who hangs out on TikTok.

According to the platform’s survey of its users:

80 million Americans are “active users” of TikTok.
The largest share of these users (60%) are age 16 to 24. “80% are between the ages 16-34.”
Although Gen X (age 47-58 in 2023) “is highly active on social media … less than 5% of them are on TikTok,” according to digital content provider Gitnux.com.
Baby boomers are almost invisible on the platform. Those who are age 55+ make up 5.1% of users. Throw in the next youngest demographic (age 45-54), and that number nudges up to about 13%, according to Oberlo.com.

Your TikTok takeaway

Unless you love hanging out there, we believe other platforms are far more worth your marketing time and effort (Facebook is one).

Wherever you decide to market on social media, remember that your post needs to be relevant to your target audience.

Check back soon when we look at Instagram and whether it’s worth your marketing time and energy.

PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

2. The Free 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

Three Ways to Endear Yourself to Your Clients and Stand Out From the Rest

May 19, 2022

A couple of years ago I watched an online video about things that buyers do that “Realtors dislike”.

The writer opens the video with this statement: “… there are things that buyers do that I absolutely hate.”

Yes, those are her clients and potential clients she is talking about.

To this day I still can’t quite wrap my head around why an agent would post something like this. Can you imagine the CEO of Olive Garden or JCPenney dissing his or her “bread and butter” in this manner?

Instead of bemoaning the things that real estate consumers do that drive agents nuts, why not think about what agents do that drives them nuts and vow to not be like those agents?

1. Work on your empathy

When you’re empathic, you have “… the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling,” according to Greater Good Magazine, published by the University of California at Berkeley.

If you feel yourself slipping into an empathy void, try to look at the situation from your client’s viewpoint. For example, the agent in the aforementioned video thought that her clients were being petty when they voiced displeasure about the color of the tile in the bathroom.

Take a deep breath and consider this:

These people are considering paying hundreds of thousands of dollars by going into decades of debt to purchase a home.
The down payment and closing costs alone most likely represent every penny they’ve been able to save for years.
Re-tiling a tub surround can cost up to $4,000 according to the pros at Angie’s List. Tiling a walk-in shower costs from $2,500 to $5,000, but “some companies charge up to $10,000.”

How long do you imagine they’ll have to save for that? Would you be willing to live with unpleasing aspects of a home for that long?

There ya go! That’s empathy at work.

Life Event Series postcards are shown above. To see more designs, Click Here. Send them out to older baby boomers and downsizing seniors.

Need a baby boomer prospect list? Right now get the first 100 prospects on a baby boomer list for free with promo code: BOOM100.

2. Avoid making excuses – for anything

This may sound rude, but it’s nevertheless true: Real estate clients, unless they’re family or friends, don’t care what is going on in your personal life. They only care about ONE THING: buying or selling a home.

It’s not their problem that an agent’s teenage son is acting up and she had to miss an appointment to deal with him.

The most unprofessional thing you can do is proffer a lame excuse for not following through on something you promised. If life happens (which it does) and you can’t perform, hire someone else who can. Pay another agent in your office to do it.

3. Become an excellent listener

In the digital age, the word “listening” encompasses both the spoken and written word. Nine times out of ten, not listening to a client will result in wasted time and frustration for you, your client, the listing agent, and the sellers.

Then there are the rest of the folks in the domino chain that might be affected, from the title rep to the lender to the inspector.

Slow down, and take your time when speaking with or reading texts or emails from a client.

If you listen to your client, with empathy, if you always show up and refuse to make excuses, you’ll have a client for life.

And they will be happy to share your name with others.

PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine, with rich, full-color content, and a sharp, professional esthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts, combined with engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you.

Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and, it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here

2. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system

The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks all of these boxes, but it is a business building machine. In two easy steps, you can begin to build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. – Click Here

4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

Instill Calm in Your Prospective Clients Instead of Fear

Jan 28, 2022

If only I had a dollar for every online article and blog post I’ve read about home buying and how “difficult”, “scary” and “challenging” it is.

“Buying a house is exciting, intimidating, and, honestly, a bit complicated,” says one agent.

“The first time you undertake a home purchase, the complexity of the transaction can be particularly frustrating because there are a number of unknown rules and procedures that you are generally forced to learn through ‘the school of hard knocks,’” says another.

The combination of highfalutin’ words and the imagery of the “school of hard knocks” is enough to scare any real estate consumer into staying put.

My initial reaction to these fear-inducing blog posts and articles is, “If the process is this difficult, scary, or complex, it may be time to find another agent.”

Be the expert who soothes their fears

If clients aren’t completely familiar with the buying/selling process going into it, the best agents counsel them so that they learn and ultimately feel more comfortable.

Unfortunately, there are agents that think scaring potential homebuyers about the complexities of real estate is a way to win their business.

The first quote above is from a national real estate company’s website. It’s fine to caution folks that buying a home because it’s an unfamiliar process, might be challenging. However, a better statement would be to mention that it won’t be challenging if they work with you.

Because you, the superhero of the real estate world, will teach them what they need to know and be with them every step of the way.

You are an awesome communicator who wouldn’t dream of allowing your client to enter into the process without being armed with all the information he or she needs.

You are the expert and are happy to share your expertise with your clients. Want proof, you might ask? “Here’s my testimonials,” (list of former clients saying how amazing you are and how you explained everything and made the process so easy).

Think what a breath of fresh air your website, blog posts, and other marketing materials will be to a consumer who has surfed all the negative and scary agents’ sites.

When they land on your website and read words of encouragement and simplicity they will breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking for the right words to instill confidence? How about:

“Buying (or selling) a home doesn’t have to be scary, intimidating, confusing, or challenging. Allow me to show you how it’s done.”

Imagine THAT phrase added to all of your real estate marketing materials.

6 Reasons to Go After Baby Boomers Right Now

They own 26 million homes in the U.S.
They control 70% of all wealth in this country.
They hold more than 50% of all owner-occupied homes.
41% state they will definitely purchase another home.
They are almost completely ignored by the real estate industry.
And, we’re giving you the first 100 prospects on a Baby Boomer list for free right now!

That’s Right, Discover Baby Boomers in Your Area and GET THE FIRST 100 FREE!

To get the first 100 on a Baby Boomers Prospect List FREE USE PROMO CODE: BOOM100.

CLICK HERE to create your list (From a desktop/laptop computer) with the Demographic Search tool.

This offer expires on January 29th, at midnight.

Do You Need Help Creating Your Baby Boomer List? Watch This How to Video Below.

PLUS: When you have time…below are some helpful tools to support your success.

1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

Multiply Your Sales by Going After Empty Nesters

Mar 11, 2021

Is there a better bang for your buck than using your marketing dollars to go after empty nesters? You get to sell their home, then help them find the ideal new downsized home.

It’s the perfect two-for-one deal.

The highest ROI empty nesters

The most prosperous empty nesters to go after are age 55 years and older, according to Esri, a leading mapping and location analytics platform.

This places them among the eldest of Gen Xers (age 44 to 55 this year).

This age group and younger baby boomers combine to create the primary target in this niche. This group, by the way, is responsible for nearly half of all listings, according to NAR’s 2020 Generational Trends report.

The Gen Xers among the group earn, on average, about $101,000 per year. They make up 23% of the seller’s pool and for 83%, this isn’t their first time selling a home.

The average net worth of baby boomer households is $1.2 million, according to Hillary Hoffower of BusinessInsider.com. Nearly 40% of them say that they’ll sell when the last child leaves the home, while 55% plan on waiting until they retire, according to EscapeHomes.com.

How and where to reach them

In the current real estate market, the best plan of attack is a targeted prospect list and an Empty Nest scheduled campaign. The average American’s attention span is a lot longer right now and the mail is something they’re actually paying attention to.

To support your campaign, ensure that your real estate website is up to snuff. Gen Xers, especially, seek social proof before they’ll work with someone.

Aside from a dedicated testimonials page, sprinkle testimonials throughout the site.

*Empty Nest Downsizing*, Direct Response Report

This generation also values authenticity so avoid a heavy sales spiel.

“Generation X has a keen eye for BS and can spot a sham or dishonesty a mile away most of the time,” Nate Masterson, marketing manager for Maple Holistics in New Jersey tells the NFIB’s, Karen Sams.

Younger boomers crave useful information, so ensure your website has lots of it.

Online, you’ll find your target audience primarily on Facebook. Eighty-eight percent of Gen Xers check their Facebook feed at least once a day and boomers rarely visit any other social media platform.

In fact, according to Pew Research, “Facebook is by far the most popular social media site for this age group.”

Write compelling blog posts of interest to both groups and then repost them on Facebook. Consider running contests to gain more organic results. You can find contest ideas at EasyPromosApp.com.

Niching your business is always a sure path to success. Choose a niche and work it consistently. This is the ideal time of year to consider the empty nesters.

Hurry! FARM Empty Nest Scheduled Campaigns are on sale 10% OFF the first month for ONLY 3 MORE DAYS! (sale ends 3/13/21).

Launch a FARM, Empty Nest Scheduled Campaign, **HERE**

TO LAUNCH A FARM CAMPAIGN:

STEP ONE: Create your prospect list using the MapMyMail tool or Demographic Search tool, click HERE.

STEP TWO: Then, click on “FARM” on the Campaign page and follow the prompts, HERE.

And, remember, with Scheduled Campaigns, YOU DON’T PAY until the mailing goes out (cancel or change up until the night before mailing).

Hit “CLICK HERE”, below, to get started on your FARM Scheduled Campaign (from a desktop or laptop computer).

Launch a FARM Scheduled Campaign now, CLICK HERE!

Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.

PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here

2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

3. Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

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The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here

5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

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The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here

Struggling in real estate? Try breaking away from the herd

Sep 28, 2020

Never will you find a cardiac surgeon dispensing advice about gynecological problems. Nor will you likely find blog posts on pet websites counseling readers about DIY home projects.

Yet, many real estate agents have the notion that they can be everything to everyone. Those that typically sell single-family homes think nothing of listing a condo. Those that list mobile homes don’t hesitate to take on a luxury home listing.

While this may be ok for your bottom line, it does a real disservice to real estate consumers. In all other professions they have a choice of specialists.

They can consult a divorce attorney instead of a bankruptcy lawyer. When they need a root canal, they see an endodontist not an orthodontist and they can take their Porsche to a mechanic who specializes in them.

Remaining a real estate generalist is easier. It’s safer. After all, you don’t want to miss out on even one deal by narrowing your business focus, right?

What’s unique about that?

It’s unfortunate so many real estate agents harbor a reluctance to break away from the herd. The truth is, however, if you always follow the leader you will always be behind.

Then, there’s that lump in the gut when you think of closing off your business to some parts of the real estate industry and narrowing your focus to only one or two specialties.

This move away from being “a jack-of-all-trades but the master of none” is necessary if you’re to become the best in the market in your niche.

Seth Godin, blogging master and best-selling author, suggests that real estate agents should consider “micro-specialization.”

Choose a niche and work to dominate it.

Step away from the Herd

“… you’re either the best in the world (where ‘world’ can be a tiny slice of the environment) or you’re invisible,” Godin continues.

He says that to become “visible,” requires “… being Draconian in your choices. No, you can’t also do a little of this or a little of that. Best in your world means burning your other bridges and obsessing,” Godin says.

Scary thought, right?

Let’s look at a scenario:

You’re an agent in Las Vegas, chasing after every lead that comes your way – single family homes, duplexes, condos, whatever, you’ll take it. Your website even proclaims as much – “I can help you will all your real estate needs!”

If you consider yourself the average agent, you make about $45,610 a year, give or take a few dollars, according to Daniel Bortz at Realtor.com.

Suppose you decide to step away from being “average” and that you will specialize in listing and selling high-rise condos. Last year, 607 Las Vegas high rise condo units sold, with an average sales price of $598,728. This represents a commission of about $17,962 per side (based on 6 percent total commission).

As a generalist, how many of these condos would you have listed or sold? Be honest. The average Las Vegas agent was lucky to have listed one or two in an entire year.

The specialist that targets the high-rise condo market with a laser-like focus and dominates the brand as the niche expert in the area increases his or her chances of taking more than a handful of those sides from other agents.

Let’s be conservative and say that you only close one of these condo-deals a month. Even on a 50/50 broker split, you’d be making nearly $9,000 a month in GCI, give or take a few dollars and nearly $108,000 a year – almost three times what the average agent in the Las Vegas Valley brings home.

Remember, our scenario is based on conservative estimates. Your mileage may be a lot better.

The bonus is that the more you enforce your condo-specialist brand, the more condo leads you’ll get and folks that want to buy or sell high-rise condos will seek you out.

Imagine selling 5 of these condos a month.

If you’ve been casting as wide a net as possible in the hope of reeling in the maximum number of leads, consider setting yourself apart from other agents by claiming a niche and dominating it.

Send the Tired of Being a Landlord postcard from the Absentee Owner Series to a targeted list of Absentee Owners in your area.

Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our Demographic Search Tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy). Or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

2. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

3. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

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4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Business-Plan-3D-Book-New1-270x300.png

Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here

5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Meet your 2020 real estate listing clients

Nov 20, 2019

What a year, right? With 2019 pretty much in the rearview mirror, the experts are whipping out their crystal balls to prognosticate what we can expect from the 2020 real estate market.

The only problem is that the future seems foggy to most of them

On a national level, “The housing market is in the midst of a normalization period, one that is characterized by slowing price growth, moderate sales and new supply that is slow to market,” Ralph McLaughlin, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic, according to Suzanne Da Vita at RisMedia.com.

“Hey, that doesn’t describe my market!” we hear ya’all yelling.

And, for good reason. The “location” 3x thing isn’t just a mantra but a rule when it comes to discussing the real estate market. It’s the hyper local that matters to the ones asking the questions.

Then there’s the fact that home prices have slowed their upward trajectory, “but could potentially resurge, as demand picks up,” claims Da Vita. Notice the hedging of the bets there.

Another guy says we’re approaching the “end of the cycle,” but he doesn’t foresee a collapse or even a strong correction.

See what we mean by “fog” in the crystal ball? It’s more of a looking glass in many ways.

The Too Much House postcard is available in the postcard section under the Life Events Series.

So, regardless of whether the economy contracts (no surprise there; we’re overdue), the yield curve inverts or the real estate market corrects, who will you be working within 2020?

That depends

Your 2020 listing clients will, hopefully, come as a result of your 2018 and 2019 marketing efforts.

Who was your target? Aside from buyers and sellers in general, if you leaned more toward one than the other with your 2019 marketing efforts, concentrate on that group now until spring.

The same goes for the agent pursuing referrals from past clients and their sphere, those with a specific niche and agents who farm.

Looking for listings?

If it’s potential sellers you’ve been pushing down the sales funnel (with consistency, we hope), 2020 may be the year a lot of them pop out of the bottom (one can only hope, right?)

NAR studies find that the average age of a home seller is about 45 (a 25 percent share of the seller pool).

“Sellers age 64 to 72 made up the second-largest share of sellers at 22 percent with a median age of 68,” according to the 2019 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report.

Baby boomers are aging out of homeownership in increasing numbers, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the share of older sellers increase in 2020.

Whether the move is to senior living communities, managed care or a desire to downsize or be nearer to the grandkids, many of your potential sellers in 2020 will likely be in the 65 and older age group.

The Watch Out For Instant Offers postcard is available in the postcard section under the iBuer Series.

Since the majority of real estate agents are in (or very close to) baby boomer age, you’ll have no problem appealing to them. If you’re younger, read up on generating baby boomer real estate leads and how to work with them.

Don’t let iBuyers woo your seller leads

After a lifetime of living in the same home, the thought of the work required to prepare the home for the market may be daunting, so many would-be sellers are getting letters from iBuyer companies on a weekly basis.

Steer them from these disrupters by letting them know that:

They’ll lose a pretty significant chunk of their equity. “In all, the typical cost to a seller [using an iBuyer] appears to be in the range of 13% to 15% depending on the iBuyer vendor,” according to research by Collateral Analytics.
Show them proof:

You may also want to debunk the iBuyer claim that selling with them is quicker. Last year, it took 64 days, from listing to close (national median) to sell a home with a broker (probably quicker in 2019).

Most iBuyers promise that the longest their process will take is 70 days

It’s also time to remind potential sellers that inventory is still squeaky tight and demand high and they should strike now, while interest rates are still attractive to homebuyers.

Let them know that some housing industry experts believe that the market will shift away from seller-favorable to a more beneficial buyers’ market sometime later in 2020.

“We anticipate 2020 to continue to shift away from a seller’s market, especially if GDP slows and inventory ticks up,” McLaughlin says.

Urgency – that’s the ticket

Now is the best time to go through your CRM and pick out your seller leads in the older demographic. Drip on them from now until spring, with valuable and urgent information on selling.

Don’t discount the Gen X upsizer

Remember that the average age of a home seller is 45, putting that group in gen X (age between 44 and 55 in 2020).

This group of around 62 million made up the largest group of sellers last year and 60 percent of them were looking to upsize, according to a Value Insured study.

Many of these folks are still raising families, believe it or not. The Pew Research Center finds that “In 2014, 80% of women ages 40 to 44 with a Ph.D. or professional degree had given birth.”

Meaning those highly educated moms have 6-year olds. But having little ones in the home isn’t the only reason this cohort is looking to sell and buy a home.

Members of Gen X make up the largest pool of larger and multi-generational homebuyers. More than half of them did so to accommodate adult kids who are moving back in with Mom and Dad, according to NAR.

The Best Time postcard is available in the postcard section under the Get More Listing Series.

No, we haven’t neglected our ProspectsPLUS! buyer agents. We’ll have a rundown of what you can expect in 2020 soon.

Send at least 100 The Best Time is Now postcard from the Get More Listing Series to an area where you want more listings.

You might also like:

Get the Attention of Expireds & Win Their Listing – 2 Killer Tools

How to Turn One Listing Into Five

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success this year!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar

“Get MORE Listings & Begin to Dominate Your Market!” Free online webinar. Learn the 3-7-27 strategy for explosive growth, why 95% of agents have less than 20% market share, and how to become the agent everyone competes against. – Click Here

3. Get the ALL-NEW Real Estate Marketing Guide “Crush It”

The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted mailing list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Want to make more money? Consider one of these real estate niches

Sep 18, 2019

If you follow the annual “The 1000” list from RealTrends, you may wonder how those agents make it so big in real estate.

In our opinion, the list tends to be a bit misleading, with team agents often listed as solo and vice versa.

Then, there’s Ben Caballero, always ranking number one in the “Individuals by Transaction Volume” category.

He is most likely an excellent agent. But he is not your traditional “solo” agent, as the category implies.

He “oversees a team of 22 people” who helped him sell “$2.2 billion worth of homes in 2018,” according to BusinessInsider.com.

For the purposes of this blog post, however, he makes all that money by specializing in a real estate niche. He sells only one type of home, which happens to be first on our list of profitable real estate niches.

New Home Sales

Caballero “only sells new-construction residential properties and he only works with volume builders, or companies that build several hundred homes per year — sometimes up to 3,000,” according to BusinessInsider.com’s Katie Warren.

He and his team sell, on average, 92 homes per week.

The niche is competitive and requires a bit of education before pursuing it. There is additional paperwork and, often different contracts than you’re accustomed to.

Financing may be tricky, and if the buyers don’t have an agent, your job description grows exponentially to include assisting the buyers through not only the purchase process but helping them choose a lot, floor plan, options and more.

Some builders require the agent to come up with a marketing plan, track and follow up with leads and develop relationships with title reps, lenders and others.

Some new home sales agents are employees, with employer-offered health insurance benefits, retirement plans, paid time off and bonuses.

Obviously, Caballero is proof positive of the amount of money it’s possible to make in this real estate niche.

The Luxury Market postcard is available in the postcard section under the Luxury Market Series.

If you’re curious about who is hiring new home sales agents and the job requirements, check out some online job boards, such as at Indeed.com and Monster.com.

Luxury Homes

When discussing lucrative real estate niches, luxury home sales is sort of a no-brainer. High-end homes are more expensive so commission checks are bigger. If you can develop a decent volume, you’ll be all set.

Knowing you want to specialize in luxury property and knowing how to go about it, however, are two different things.

First, you’ll need to truly understand your target audience. What are their needs? How do they differ from buyers and sellers of lower-priced homes?

Then, you’ll want to know how to reach the affluent. Marketing to them isn’t the same as marketing to other real estate consumers.

Finally, consider micro-concentrating within the luxury home niche. Choose to work with certain luxury clients, such as those who share common interests (belong to the same country club, work in a certain industry).

The Picture Yourself Here postcard is available in the postcard section under the Millennial Series.

If you plan on specializing in listing luxury property, check out this video from Michael LaFido.

Focus on a Generation

There are currently four generations of Americans who are most actively involved in buying and selling real estate.

Our youngest cohort is Gen Z, born between 1996 and today. This means that the oldest turned 23 this year. Believe it or not, these “youngsters” are buying homes. And, as the generation ages, more will be jumping into the real estate market.

Next in time are the millennials, born between 1977 and 1995 (they are between the ages of 24 and 42 in 2019). They number 83 million, more than the baby boomer cohort.

According to NAR, millennials are currently the largest group of homebuyers in the U.S. at 37 percent. That’s five percent more than baby boomers.

Forget the moaning and groaning over how “broke” they are. Yes, many have student loan debt. Many others, however, are finding ways to pay down this debt and acquire a decent credit rating.

Millennials, on average, boast an average FICO® Score of 665, squarely in the “fair” range according to Fair Isaac. The older of the group have the best scores and purchase more expensive homes.

Next comes Generation X, born between 1965 and 1976. They’re often referred to as the “forgotten generation,” ignored by the media and marketers.

These folks, in our opinion, are those the savvy agent will pursue. Why?

They are in their peak earning years, they (by and large) need larger homes and they typically have a home to sell. Plus, they have experience with real estate so they don’t require as much education and hand-holding as the younger generations.

Finally, we take a look at baby boomers. Born between 1946 and 1964, this group is now between the ages of 55 and 73. Since the most common age to retire is 62, many of the members of this cohort are still working and make up the nation’s highest wage earners.

Since NAR studies show that the average real estate agent is a woman in her 50s, this may just be the ideal real estate specialty. Marketing is so much easier when you have something in common with your target audience.

Get more information on how to market to Gen Z and millennials at the Center for Generational Kinetics’ website. Target boomers more effectively by reading up on them at KEAP.com (be aware, though, that the author got generational birthdates wrong) and SmallBizTrends.com.

There are also a number of baby boomer-specific blogs that are worth a look:

nextavenue.org
boomercafe.com
sixtyandme.com
The Too Much House postcard is available in the postcard section under teh Life Event Series.

Send the Too Much House postcard from the Life Event Series to a targeted list of Baby Boomers.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list too l to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success this year!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar

3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Downsizing: How to help your older real estate clients

May 20, 2019

Get a head start on this booming market

Statistics suggest that soon we’ll start seeing more older clients, looking to downsize.

A Trulia study published late last summer found that, in recent years, boomers weren’t downsizing mainly because of a “lack of affordable options” and “a shortage in starter home inventory,” according to HousingWire.com’s Jessica Guerin.

The market, however, is changing, presenting what just may be perfect conditions for what is being called the “Silver Tsunami.”

In fact, in early May, Housing Wire published “The 55+ housing market is booming,” and an article about “builder confidence in this sector” reaching an all-time high.

This year, the youngest baby boomers turn 55 and the oldest in the cohort will celebrate their 73^rd birthday.

If you want to work with boomers, understand them

It’s a great-big generation with a 20-year spread between the youngest and the oldest. Mention Rod Stewart or McFadden & Whitehead to younger boomers and they’ll flash back to platform shoes and balls of mirrors.

That’s stuff that is foreign to older boomers. To them, the only music worth listening to came from Bobby Darin, Frankie Avalon and, of course, Elvis.

Then, there are those in the middle of the generation who grooved to the sounds of the Beach Boys, Beatles, Sam Cooke and the Supremes.

There’s also a difference in how they view home ownership. The rate for Americans between the ages of 62 and 67 is three times that of those younger, age 56 to 61, according to a Fannie Mae study, citing U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

Get to know this generation and you’ll not only have a better feel for how to market to them, but how to assist them when it’s time to sell the family home for something smaller.

Helping them choose their next home

Emptying their home—divvying up decades of belongings to children and friends—is a lot to think about. In fact, many older home buyers are so focused on the move that they pay far too little attention to the choice of the new home.

Even if they’re on the younger end of the boomer generation, they’ll need to consider the future and how the home and the location will fit their needs 10 to 20 years from now.

That’s where you come in. Now is not the time to be Mr. or Ms. Super Agreeable. If you think they’re not considering what they should be, say something.

For instance, if their preferred location is 50 miles from the nearest hospital or urgent care facility, speak up. Though their health may be fine right now, the chances are good that it won’t be as they age.

If they’re insisting on a multi-story home, do everything you can to dissuade them. Stairs are brutal on old knees and muscles. And, since we start losing our sense of balance as we age, stairs can also present a terrifying danger.

Some of the things you, as their agent, should look for when showing them homes include:

At least one exterior entry to the home should have no steps.
Doorways that are wide enough to accommodate a wheel chair (at least 32 inches), or the ability to widen them.
Wide hallways. The National Association of Home builders suggests that, to age in place, the home’s hallways should be a minimum of 36 inches wide.
Lots of windows for natural light.

Sure, there are lots of other things to consider and your clients may need to make changes in the years after moving in.

Empathize as they empty the nest

Baby boomers own and occupy 32 million homes. The previously-mentioned Fannie Mae study hints that your most likely downsizing client will be between the ages of 65 and 85. Again, this is a huge, diverse group of people.

Many, however, will be leaving the home in which they raised their families; a home that is full of memories. The decision to do so must be gut-wrenching for them. Empathy will go a long way when working with these sellers.

Remember the advantages the move presents:

They’ll spend less on home maintenance
They’ll spend less on heating and cooling the new home
They may end up with a smaller property tax bill, less expensive insurance and lower mortgage payments.

These are the money-saving and therefore exciting aspects of downsizing that should be reiterated as often as possible to keep the seller looking forward.

Help make it easier on them

Remind your downsizing clients that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” If they’re having trouble sorting through belongings, suggest that they tackle one room at a time. Even one part of a room, such as the closet, will speed up the job.

Another variation of the “eat-the-elephant-one-bite-at-a-time” theme would be to suggest that they start with paperwork or their collections (books, photos, vacation tchotchkes). If it’s still too overwhelming, point them at the kitchen or bathroom.

These rooms rarely hold items of sentimental value and they’ll feel as if they’re accomplishing something when they successfully finish.

Check in with them by phone frequently to find out how they’re getting along and to offer encouragement.

Specializing in helping older homeowners downsize is the real estate niche of the future. Jump in now to get a head start on the competition.

Let your downsizing clients know you’re ready to help (available in the postcard section under the Life Event Series)

Send at least 100 Too Much House postcards from the Life Event Series to an area where you want more listings.

You might also like:

Direct Mail Real Estate Marketing Trends for 2019

A Refresher Course in Attracting New Clients

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success this year!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar

3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

Capture the Baby Boomer Market – Here’s How

May 7, 2019

Twenty-six million, is the number of homes owned by U.S. baby boomers, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. To put that figure into perspective, consider this: They hold more than half of all owner-occupied homes in the country.

And, in some cities, that number is even higher.

The invisible cash cow

The Baby Boom segment of the population is one that is almost completely ignored by the real estate industry. Yet their combined take-home pay is $2 trillion dollars a year and they can take credit for half of all discretionary spending. That’s not all:

They control 70 percent of all wealth in this country
Boomers represent half of all credit card use.
They own almost 80 percent of all financial assets.
They purchase 50 percent of all luxury cars and 73 percent of all hybrid cars sold in the U.S.

Baby boomers are a generation whose birth spanned the years between 1946 and 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Currently, boomers range in age from 54 to 72 years old.

The new and improved baby boomer

The baby boomer generation has turned everything we used to think about the senior housing market upside down. Gone are the days when the real estate agent that specialized in the niche sold two types of homes: those of the deceased or those of the frail elderly moving into long-term care or other facilities.

Members of the previous generation, the so-called Silent Generation, are now beyond retirement age and represent those we use to think of when we considered the senior real estate niche.

Boomers, on the other hand, represent a mixed bag of folks: some are still raising families, many are still working and the older members of the generation, who should be in the early stages of retirement, have, for the most part, decided to postpone retirement and continue working.

Even more intriguing for the real estate industry, however, is that 41 percent of leading-edge boomers – a group with over $500 billion in spending power, according to Brent Green, author of Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers – say they will definitely purchase another home.

Agents considering working with boomers as they buy and sell real estate into their retirement and beyond should understand this segment of the population and what they seek in their new home.

What do boomers want?

If you want to work with boomers, and you don’t count yourself among them, the first thing to understand is that most of them are not frail and they don’t consider themselves elderly.

In fact, boomers are far healthier than their predecessors and don’t take kindly to being talked down to and “they will not tolerate typecasting, stereotypes, pandering or ageism,” says Green.

Assumptions – we all know what they are, right? So, step number one is to throw out all the assumptions you might have about older Americans.

And if you don’t think the real estate industry has assumptions about this generation, read some posts at ActiveRain: “Baby boomers are still grabbing real estate guides in the grocery store while everyone else is looking online first, researching second and then picking up the phone,” posted an agent old enough to know better.

Let’s take a sledgehammer to what is arguably the most common myth about this “older” generation: Boomers are tech-averse.

What these agents and others fail to realize is that “tech” didn’t drop from the sky the day they turned old enough to use it. In fact, we can thank baby boomers for the invention of the PC, mobile phones, and the World Wide Web.

It was boomers who invented the Apple II in the 70s, which ushered in the home computing revolution.
Today, 53 percent of boomers are on Facebook, according to a recent Nielsen survey: “Introducing Boomers, Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation.”
They are five times as likely as the general population to own an iPad or other tablet.
Boomers spend more money on technology than members of Gen X and Gen Y, according to Forrester Research.

Finally, and this one is important if you are considering boomers as a real estate niche: 82 percent of adults age 50 and over use the Internet to research real estate.

Their ideal home location

Again, throw all of your preconceived notions out the window. Despite what you might read online, boomers don’t really care how far away the nearest medical facility is and aren’t at all interested in being located on public transportation lines.

In fact, a full 60 percent of adults 55 years of age and older want a home in the suburbs, in close proximity to walking and jogging trails, according to a survey by the National Association of Home builders (NAHB). Fifty-four percent want a park nearby and half find an outdoor pool attractive.

Golf communities have fallen out of favor with today’s older Americans but a community fitness center is a hot feature.

In-demand home features

Older home buyers overwhelmingly want a single-story home, and most of them are seeking to downsize, in an effort to save money on their ongoing home ownership costs, according to a 2017 study from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Last fall’s Del Webb’s Baby Boomer Survey asked which must-have features boomers want in their next home and here are the top five responses:

Multi-car garage with storage
Open patio or deck
Open floor plan
Eat-in kitchen
Small and private yard

From Woodstock to inspiring the World Wide Web, baby boomers have left their mark on the world and will continue to do so. Ignore this huge segment of the population in favor of focusing on young, first-time buyers at your peril.

Ready to capture the baby boomer market? Send the Too Much House postcard from the Life Event Series to at least 100 baby boomers.

You might also like:

Avoid These 4 Common Real Estate Agent Marketing Mistakes

Customer Service! The Best Gift You Can Give Your Clients & Yourself

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success this year!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook