Home buyers want to drive less; Show them how they can do that

What’s better, a bigger, secluded house or a smaller house closer to lifestyle amenities such as restaurants and train stations?

According to research recently conducted by the National Association of Realtors, more home buyers are indicating a preference for walkable, transit-served communities.

Basically, they want to drive less. According to the NAR survey of some 2,000 people, most people still regard privacy as a major factor, 87%.

However, of those surveyed, 58% said they would pick a walkable neighborhood over one where driving was a necessity and 59% said they would live in a small house with a short commute as opposed to a big house with a longer commute.

It’s an interesting move back toward a preference for more urban-type neighborhoods.

What does this mean to you as a real estate agent?

Consumers are tired of driving, waiting in traffic and paying high gas prices.

With this new trend in mind, SpatialMatch is a neighborhood and lifestyle search tool that can definitely help you market any property.

For example, perhaps you don’t have any homes for sale that are within walking distance of a train station or bus stop.

But using SpatialMatch’s geo-spatial, map-based capabilities, you can draw a picture of how close many amenities are to any particular property.

Find out how the prospective home buyer spends their time. Besides commuting, perhaps they visit the dry cleaners two times a week. Or they like to exercise after work. Or they need that cup of Starbucks every morning to get started.

With SpatialMatch, you can create a page for each particular amenity (or more than one) indicating where these amenities are in relation to any home and include the distances.

All of a sudden, the buyer can see: “Wow, I spend a lot of my time driving to these places, but with the location of this home, I will spend less time in my car.”

How about when you approach a seller? Show them how you are going to go the extra mile (sorry for the pun) to showcase their property as a place that is close to the most common businesses or locations that people need – train stations, schools, grocery stores, etc.

The NAR research shows driving distances are getting top-of-mind awareness from consumers today. Use this to your advantage.

Use the SpatialMatch tools, show them you have a firm grasp on one of the key issues that concerns people today.

That will show them you are a pro. And you will make more sales and gain more listings.

Here’s a link to a related article.

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