No matter what kind of product or service you sell or offer, you should always identify who your target audience is. While it may seem that some of the largest businesses on earth sell to everyone - and in one sense they do - even the largest global conglomerates have a very specific audience they cater to relentlessly. This is generally how they got to be global conglomerates in the first place. While you may think that everyone needs a home -and you would be right - the truth is, every business is more successful when it chooses a very specific audience to cater to. In real estate, however, while you may cater to one target audience, you will still need to know the needs of a wide range of buyers and sellers. This is because if you are a buyer's agent, the sellers may not be in your target demographic, and if you are a seller's agent, the buyers may not be in your target demographic. Here are some potential audiences for the real estate market and how to cater to them.
1. Millennials
If you are predominantly a buyer's agent, your target audience will most likely be Millennials. If you are a seller's agent, listing a small to mid-size starter home in the suburbs, your target audience will most likely be Millennials. Millennials constitute 66% of all first time home buyers and 34% of homebuyers overall. Millennials are entering a tough housing market, not to mention still being saddled with a great deal of student debt in many cases. As a result, once they have pulled together enough money for a down payment, they don't have a lot to invest in remodeling. This means they are looking for move-in ready homes, generally in the suburbs. They are also drawn to tech, so smart home features will be a big selling point with Millennials.
2. Gen X
While Millennials may certain have families, they are more likely to be smaller and still young. Gen X-ers, however, are more likely to have a larger family that consists of teenagers and older children. These families are looking for larger homes and will often be selling one home to buy another. In fact, they may be selling a home perfect for a Millennial couple to buy a larger one. In many cases, rather than buying a home, they will be building one. Gen X-ers will most likely want several bedrooms, a finished basement and many times at least one space they can use as a home office. They also want a great deal of storage, but have little use for a formal dining room. By now, most Gen-X-ers have paid off their student debt and many are double income earners. If you want to cater to this group, you will want to find larger homes in slightly more prestigious neighborhoods.
3. Baby Boomers
If you are predominantly a seller's agent, or listing a home for sale, there is a good chance your clients will be Baby Boomers. Many Baby Boomers are selling their homes to move into senior housing and this is a great time to do so. While the cost of housing overall increased by 7% between 2014 and 2015, the cost of senior housing only rose by 2.7% in that same time period. While you may think that the best market for baby boomers might be Gen-X, you would be wrong. Baby Boomers grew up in much smaller houses than what we live in today and as a result, also bought much smaller houses as well. This may be why Gen-X is more likely to build their own home than buy houses being left behind by aging Baby Boomers. If you have Baby Boomer clients, the likelihood is high that you may want to encourage them to add smart features to their homes and prep them for sale to Millennials.
As a seller's agent, you will need to not only understand the needs of your clients, but you will also need to understand the wants and needs of the audience most likely to want to purchase the home. By understanding the needs of each generation, you can better prepare a home for sale to a certain target audience or better understand how to land clients from a certain demographic. The more you know about the needs of each generation, the more accurately you will be able to position yourself to cater to them directly.
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