Hyper-local: serving a small geographic location.
When I first went into real estate, I thought the hyper-local agents, those who specialized in only one town, city, or region of DFW, were pretty lazy. I tried to be the uber-agent - agent to all, and willing to drive all over this North Texas region. After all, I was a 30-year resident of DFW. I had lived North, South, and West of Dallas. I went to high school and college here. I knew the in's and out's of a lot of cities, and that knowledge was helpful to my clients. I earned some name recognition and my sales volume was recognized. I thought I had figured out this trade.
There were a lot of DFW agents who had plenty of time to prepare for the recession that hit us in Summer, 2008. How many other regions in the country had already been hit by it? All of the others. We were the last ones to take a dip in that pool. So, we had time to develop strategies, and time to look to our peers in other regions and see how they were surviving, and even thriving, through the down-turn. Many opted to get out. Their reserves just were not going to carry them through having greater stretches between closings. Recessions are the great equalizer. A veteran agent who plans poorly and a rookie agent have an equal shot at surviving a down-turn in the real estate market. Cash reserves saved from prior sales are the key to survival - just like in the corporate world.
The strategy to keep my own business thriving in the face of recession was two-fold: Reduce expenditures and sell more homes that were geographically closer to my own home in Prosper, TX. It just made sense: If you are thinking there may be fewer home sales, then each one has to count more. Instead of selling a big price range of homes, from $90k starters to $1,000,000 corporate relocations, specializing in a popular area, with one of the highest average home sales (over $345k) in our Metroplex, would give a better shot at a sustainable income even if the buyer pool were smaller. And, having lived in Prosper since 2006, and only having moved from a home we had for 9 years in Frisco, I knew my home base like the back of my hand.
Light-bulb moment: Those hyper-local agents are geniuses! They weren't lazy. They were running their business in such a way that it was like they had a free-standing business. They couldn't pick up a restaurant and move it all over DFW trying to sell food. They couldn't pick up a hair salon and move it all around DFW ready to clip everybody's hair. When you set up a base of operation, and treat your real estate business like any other free-standing business, you have a better shot at long-term survival. Not only do hyper-local real estate agents KNOW their market. But, hyper-local real estate agents are KNOWN by their market. The last time we went through a recession, I opted to work harder to get through it. This time, I opted to work smarter. Well, ain't that a kick in the head!
Brokers encourage their agents to get out and be the expert and know the inventory. They also warn agents not to try to be everything to everyone in the real estate business. Pick a specialty. Own a niche market. Or, create a geographic boundary. I know when you're new agent, it's easy to feel like you can work just about anywhere in Texas. But, it isn't really feasible. You do have to create limits. And, those limits support the financial future of your business. Maybe by hearing it explained in this way, Becoming a hyper-local real estate agent makes your job a lot easier. Staying on top of trends and inventory of homes becomes easier. You are the closest thing to a walking encyclopedia of your geographic boundary. And, you go from name recognition to name-face-car-reputation-recognition. It's easier for your listing clients to send you referrals, because their neighbors already see you in and around the community. It's easier for buyers to find you, because everywhere they click online, they run into your local marketing efforts. Real estate is a harder field to tackle than the entrance requirements imply. In my opinion, hyper-local is the only way to be for long-term success in real estate.
Have a blessed day!
Ronda
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