Hyper-local. We've heard that term as a restaurant term, in regard to buying produce from local growers to lower distribution costs and putting the freshest and very best product in front of the customer. It's a buzz word in corporate purchasing departments. Buying from local sources who maintain stock at their own expense, rather than putting goods in the company's warehouse, thus avoiding tying up precious corporate funds in inventory. But, hyper-local in regard to real estate sales? It absolutely applies, and the beneficiary of hyper-local agent productivity is the homeowner.
I would define a hyper-local real estate agent as someone who not only provides selling and buying services within your community, but also resides in the community. This agent is an ambassador for the community. There is so much going on in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, that no agent can be all-knowing. We pick our areas of expertise, and we learn them over time and with the aid of our brokers and the local Board of Realtors. City leaders and local Chamber of Commerce are huge proponents of partnering with local Realtors to help build awareness. In Prosper, there is a group called the Prosper Awareness Committee. This committee goes out of their way to hold meetings for the Prosper Resident Realtors, keeping us abreast of the economic development of our Town. We know that only through the additional rooftops, i.e. residential real estate sales, will Prosper's grand plan come to fruition.
How can a hyper-local real estate agent benefit a seller in Prosper, Texas. There are three ways this makes them the better choice when listing a home:
1. It's a Small World After All
The example I'll give just happened this week. I went into a Prosper FSBO (for sale by owner) home, who was not getting any showing traffic even with this warmer Spring weather and asked me to come through for a preview. When I asked about their showing traffic, I discovered there had been a couple from California through about a month before, who gave very good feedback to the owner about the home. I asked him, "this couple, was the guy really tall, the lady really short, and they were from Torrence, California? "Yes", he replied, "all of that fits". "I know them", I said. "They have a daughter who lives in the Greenspoint subdivision off Coit Road and First Street, and they are motivated to find something in Prosper. Their second Grandchild just came along. But, I don't think they are your buyer. They came through my open house in Gentle Creek just two weeks ago. They said they had not yet found a home they'd like to buy, and they haven't yet put their home in Torrence on the market, so the timing they would require isn't likely going to mesh with your goal to be sold in the next 60-90 days". "Small world", said the owner. "It seems that way", I replied, "But, Prosper is a small town, and it's where I focus most of my attention. The luxury market only has so many available homes in any one buying cycle, so I tend to encounter some of the same people you would see.
By the way, these sellers own a 4-bedroom former model home with a 3-car garage plus an attached 2-car garage, with pool, spa, gameroom, media room, and almost half an acre of land in one of the prettiest locations in Prosper. They are listed below $500,000 and they will happily work with one real estate agent.
2. But, I want to see it NOW...
It's pretty typical for buyers to drive around before reaching out to any real estate agents to actively begin the buying process. And, when they pull up to a home that really tugs at them, they get serious. The buyer will pull out their cell phone and call the agent. "Is it still available?", they ask first, and then "how soon can we see it? We're out in front of it now. Can you come over?" Yes, it's more than a little presumptive for a buyer to assume that a top producing real estate agent has nothing on their own agenda that would keep them from jumping in their car and running right over. You wouldn't expect your Dentist or family doctor to be able to squeeze you right in at the last minute. But, after ten years in this industry, I can firmly attest that buyer behavior hasn't really changed. They expect to be able to see the home when they want to see it. The benefit of a hyper-local agent is that there is a good possibility that they can capture that buyer. There isn't anywhere in Prosper that a local agent can't reach in under 10 minutes. It does take some juggling of the day's scheduled activities, but it can be done. Buyers don't tend to call twice, and they don't wait to see a home. They find someone else to show it, and the opportunity to work with them is lost.
3. It's obvious this home is not a perfect fit, but let me tell you about this other one...
Cross-marketing. The rule with showing a home is to be fair to all parties. If the buyer contacts you about a specific listing, that homeowner gets first dibs at finding a mutual gain to turn their interest in a the home into a home purchase contract. But, most agents aren't just working with one home at a time. If the buyer has an objection to buying the first home, and that objection cannot be overcome by the homeowner or the agent through negotiations, then the buyer is going to move on to some other home. The benefit of a hyper-local agent is that they likely have other listings and have previewed other homes in Prosper that might work for that buyer, and they can work to create a mutual gain for some other local homeowner.
For example, here is some buyer feedback I heard last Saturday when showing a 5-bedroom resale home in Prosper "I work from home a lot, and I just have to have a home with a formal study. Converting that 5th bedroom into a study just isn't going to work for me. The in-laws visit 3 times a year and we need that bedroom to be a guest room". Fair enough. No amount of effort to overcome this objection was going to result in this family buying that particular home. I advised the buyer of another address in Prosper that they needed to see. It was a 5-bedroom home with formal study. The study was separated from the living areas by a very long foyer, giving it great privacy. The 5th bedroom was downstairs, on the opposite side of the home from the master bedroom, and the other 3 bedrooms were upstairs. It also had the gameroom and .30 acre lot size that he found appealing. Media room was a nice-to-have amenity, but it was okay that this home didn't have it. It wasn't mandatory. What they really wanted was to move North and put their children in Prosper ISD. They put their home in South Dallas on the market on Monday of this week and they are planning their move to Prosper. Creating opportunities is what real estate is all about.
Happy Good Friday. Have a blessed day!
Ronda
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