Know what is now important to home buyers
There are different ways you can look at negative statistics.
And nobody is better at this than real estate professionals who periodically have to cope with negative news stories.
But it’s the savvy broker or agent with an optimistic outlook who knows how to find that proverbial silver lining.
Here’s an example. The mega-real estate company Better Homes and Gardens recently conducted research in conjunction with the Meredith Corporation.
After surveying more than 1,000 people, 84% of whom were homeowners, they learned that 1 out of 5 respondents had either moved or wanted to move from the community where they were living for one particular reason.
Why? Because it didn’t fit their lifestyle.
We’ve talked several times about this new trend emerging in the real estate business which emphasizes “lifestyle marketing” to meet the demands of consumers.
Do you want to be the agent who sells someone into a community only to discover later they did not like it? How would that affect repeat business for you? Those precious referrals?
Probably not very well.
So as an optimistic real estate professional you can see the opportunity here. Be sure to not only focus on the property needs, e.g. three-bedroom, two-bath, den, of the home buyers, but be sure to uncover their “lifestyle preferences” as well.
As they say, there’s an app for that. SpatialMatch, the neighborhood and lifestyle search engine, was designed specifically to help brokers and agents point out the various amenities in each neighborhood. With color-coded distance radius circles. All powered by a gigantic and current database of businesses, schools, facilities etc.
You can use this tool to illustrate “top lifestyle priorities” uncovered in the study that buyers look for when searching for a home.
- 38% – ease of commuting
- 34% – accessibility to health and safety services
- 33% – family-friendly neighborhood
- 32% – availability of retail stores
- 21% – access to cultural activities
- 19% – access to public transportation
- 18% – proximity to nightclubs and restaurants
- 6% – closeness to golf courses.
On SpatialMatch on the agent’s web site, the prospect can save the searches, change the searches, email their searches and post their searches on their Facebook pages for feedback from friends.
This study confirms that lifestyle amenities are crucial to consumers.
Think how competent and sharp you will appear to buyers and sellers when you have the latest and most comprehensive lifestyle search tools embedded on your site to address those needs.
You can be that broker or agent who makes sure your client is not an unhappy statistic.
To read the Better Homes and Gardens article on the study , click here.
