Real estate can be a tricky business to navigate. As a professional in this field, you must balance sales and service. Thankfully, there are tactics to help you find true north.
Real estate refers to land and the buildings on it – like homes, offices, strip malls, and warehouses. It’s important to understand the different types of property and how they differ from one another.
1. Know Your Moats
Real estate investments with moats earn above-market returns because they have unique or scarce qualities that are difficult to duplicate. These qualities can generate a stream of income that is independent of the property’s price. This income is known as economic rent.
Moats are created by a variety of factors, including geographic, physical, and government restraints. For example, a site that is close to a highway interchange will be more valuable than land that isn’t because there are fewer sites that can be built near an intersection. Other geographic barriers to entry include population growth, high-paying jobs, and government restrictions on new development.
In the real estate world, moats can be created by creating high customer switching costs, offering unique or differentiated products, or delivering exceptional service. Seth Godin’s book Purple Cow is a great place to start for ideas on how to create a differentiation-based economic moat in your business.
3. Know the Market
Real estate is any land or any tangible property attached to it. This includes natural resources like trees and ponds, but it also includes man-made attachments like buildings and roadways. When these things are on a piece of land, it’s considered “improved” and when they’re not, it’s called “unimproved.” Real estate can be owned by an individual, a company or even a government entity.
Real estate agents help individuals and companies buy and sell properties. They’re experts in the market and can advise on price, mortgages and more. They can also negotiate for their clients, and help with the legalities of the transaction.
Real estate agents can also help with commercial property, which is any non-residential property that generates income. This includes shopping malls, hotels and office buildings. When reviewing the market, it’s important to know the trends and understand how the different types of property are performing. For example, looking at pending listings (properties that are under contract) can give you a sense of the market value. Similarly, looking at sold properties can help you understand how the market is changing over time.
4. Know Your Buyers
Real estate is a lucrative industry, but it can also be complex and time-consuming. It is important to know your audience and understand their needs in order to be successful.
One way to do this is through a real estate email newsletter. This templated tactic can include current listings, client testimonials, local events, and more. Plus, it can be a great way to build up your buyer personas.
Once you’ve done the research, look for similarities in the goals and challenges of your buyer personas. This will help you determine how many personas to create.
When your team members understand a buyer persona, they can be more helpful and provide personalized service. They can better explain the process, what is involved, and answer questions. Additionally, they can help nurture leads and close deals. To get started, try Pipedrive’s free real estate CRM. It includes a client portal where you can share documents with clients, communicate with them, and organize the paperwork that is needed to complete a sale. It’s a great way to make sure everyone is on the same page and working toward the same goal.
5. Know Your Sellers
Real estate is the term for land and all physical attachments that come with it. This can include everything from a suburban home to a high-rise office building in a busy metropolitan area.
Real estate can also refer to the chain of title — the timeline that shows all owners of a property, from the initial construction to closing — and it’s important for investors to know this information. This will help them avoid any issues with title insurance, which could delay or even prevent a sale.
It’s important to know your sellers as well, especially in a seller’s market. Buyers should be prepared to compete with other buyers and avoid putting in a lot of contingencies that will cause their offer to fall through, like lower down payments, concessions or specific closing dates.
A good real estate agent will carefully review offers and select the most reliable ones. They will be able to tell whether or not a buyer has the financial strength to follow through with their promise and won’t have any problems financing their purchase.
6. Know the Laws
Real estate is the term used to describe any land and its attachments, such as trees, ponds and buildings. Real estate laws vary from state to state, but most require that agreements related to real estate must be in writing to be enforceable. You should familiarize yourself with the real estate law in your area, or consider hiring a licensed attorney. Also, keep in mind that real estate practices also vary from country to country.
7. Know the Market Trends
Whether you are an investor deciding your next move, a real estate agent who wants to better educate their clients or even a renter interested in buying, it is important to understand the local market trends. This is especially true if you are looking at areas that may not be thriving at the moment.
Identifying real estate trends is important for many reasons, including understanding how to predict what the future holds for property values and demand. For example, it’s important to understand that property prices are typically higher in areas with more competition. Additionally, it’s important to be aware of government legislation that can impact property values or create temporary incentives, such as tax credits.
In addition, knowing the demographics of the area can help you make more informed decisions. For example, if baby boomers are retiring and moving out of big cities, that trend is bound to affect the housing market for years to come. By evaluating these and other factors, you can stay ahead of the curve and be well-prepared for any changes to the real estate market.
8. Know Yourself
It’s a bit of a cliche to say, but you need to know yourself. This is especially important when you’re brand new to the real estate world, and the self-doubt and imposter syndrome start to creep in.
Figure out what your unique skills are and how you can differentiate yourself from the competition. For example, you may have an impressive track record or a unique set of experience that can be highlighted in your bio or marketing materials.
You also need to decide how you want people to think of you, such as “real estate professional,” or “Heather, Realtor at XYZ Brokerage.” This will help you define your identity and build your clout. It will also allow you to use the clout of your brokerage, if they have one, to your advantage.