Prediction for 2015 says there will be a pent-up surge of first-time home buyers

It’s 2015. Time for forecasts. One real estate writer predicts 2015 will be the year we see a big increase in the amount of first-time home buyers coming onto the market.

As a real estate agent, are you ready for this surge? Because this group is not your run-of-the-mill market segment. These are millenials. They think differently. They act differently. They buy homes differently.

And there are some map-based, big data real estate tools you can use that will give you an edge in the marketplace when targeting this non-traditional group.

Here’s the reasoning behind the forecast predicting a surge of first-time home buyers. The lackluster economy of the past few years has held this group back from purchasing a home. But things are improving. Unemployment is dropping. The stock market is at record levels. Gas prices are plummeting. Consumer confidence is back.

The thing is, this group is wired. More wired than ever.

They use the web for everything. They constantly carry an iPhone or smartphone in their hands as if it is another body part. Even when you are talking to them, they are plugged into the web – supplementing the conversation with searches on Google.

This group is unlike their parents. They won’t use traditional methods to find an agent or broker. They probably won’t ask their friends for referrals. They certainly won’t be looking at that ancient mode of communications – the local newspaper.

To address this group, you not only have to bring your A Game, you have to bring you I game as well. Your Internet Game.

Because, this group also probably won’t be calling you or visiting you. Well, at least not in the beginning. They are going to be looking for an agent on the web. They will not be impressed by a fancy car or a business suit. They are going to be impressed by your web site. And the content it contains.

Will your site look like just another cookie-cutter run of the mill real estate website? Or will you have more content, more tools, more hyper local search that separates you from the others and will impress this generation?

One way to get an edge is with the SpatialMatch real estate search platform. It easy to add this powerful data widget to any website and can be done by inserting just a few lines of code.

But what this widget will do is open up a huge world of local data for any visitor. The data widget provides access to hundreds of layers of neighborhood-level information.

Businesses, schools, roads, boundaries, hospitals, parks, and much much more. All integrated with an MLS listing. All integrated with a local map.

So for example, a person could conduct a search for a home that meets their criteria. Then, they can use the map to check the amenities that surround that property.

When it comes to schools – the map will show schools in the vicinity. By miles. In addition to the schools, there will also be detailed data about those schools – enrollments, student-teacher ratios, demographics about the student body, principal’s name etc.

Now that’s web content. That’s web search functionality. That’s impressive content.

What’s even better, this web content can be a lead generation tool as well. When a visitor finds your site either through Google search or some other way, and they start accessing the data on your site, you can create a lead form they will need to fill out before they can continue.

It’s not easy to get people to fill out lead forms. In today’s environment you’ve got to give something first before you can get something back. A data widget packed with millions of bits of local information gives you that something of value that will easily persuade a home buyer to give up their contact information.

This is 2015. This is going to be a strong year for real estate. This is going to be a strong year for first time home buyers. Don’t depend on a site that you developed in 2005. It doesn’t take much to upgrade your site with tons of hyper local information. The hardest thing you will have to do is just pick up the phone. The folks at SpatialMatch will do the rest.

But pick up the phone now, not in 2016.

To learn more about this powerful, real estate map-based tool, click here.

For the article and the authors real estate predictions for 2015, click here.