In This Issue:
- Why Drip Marketing?
- Housing: Americans Scaling Back and Making Do With Less
- The Future of Real Estate: Green Houses
The real estate market is changing faster than the weather or the political fortunes of our national leaders. In this issue, we’re going to touch on information that is critical to your success-and your financial survival.
Home prices are dropping and the buying habits of consumers are quickly changing. What are these changes and how will they impact your career? In our first article, we give you must-know information about current trends so you can position yourself to meet the needs of your clients while reaping the financial rewards associated with this knowledge.
In addition, one of the hottest real estate markets is also the new kid on the block. In our second article, we explain to you why green housing can help you reach the real estate Promised Land. Green housing isn’t just for environmentally-conscious buyers. Knowing what motivates home buyers to seek out green housing solutions will help you to meet the needs of your clients now-and for years to come.
Finally, establishing and maintaining a positive relationship involves more than bombarding your potential clients with endless marketing messages. There is a fine art to developing a relationship with your clients through drip marketing. In our third article we explain the finer points of how to coordinate a successful drip marketing campaign that will make your clients look forward to reading your messages.
Your opportunity to reap the financial rewards available in today’s real estate market is at hand. To gain a leg up on the competition, read on!
Why Drip Marketing?
There’s plenty of buzz about drip marketing these days and people are asking why they should use it. In fact, some are downright skeptical because they think that contacting their future clients too often is going to alienate them.
And they’re right-if they approach drip marketing as pure advertising they will alienate those would-be clients.
If your prospects receive a message from you every day saying “Use me” or “Choose my services,” it won’t take more than a couple of days for them to be irritated. But if you send useful information in your drip marketing campaign, it won’t take more than a couple of days before they look forward to hearing from you.
Whether you’re an investor looking for homes to buy, a mortgage lender who can help with a refinance, or a real estate agent who knows how to get short sales closed, you’re offering your prospects help.
But how are they to know that you offer real help and that you’re not just someone who wants to take advantage of their situation? How do they know who to trust?
By the content of your drip marketing messages.
When you send a series of messages that give them information they need to know and then end each of those messages with a quiet “Call me, I can help” statement, they will begin to trust you.
What can you say to build trust with a series of drip messages?
First, you can outline their choices, so that they fully understand the options available to them. Obviously, you’ll position your service as the best option in most cases.
Then, you can give advice about the kind of paperwork they’ll need to gather-and why they need it.
If you want to buy or list on a short sale, you can tell them the reasons why so many short sales fail; in effect, warn them about the pitfalls they could face, while giving assurance that you can and will guide them around those pitfalls.
If you’re a mortgage lender, you know that your would-be clients have heard plenty of conflicting advice. So use your marketing messages to clear up some of the misconceptions.
You can also offer advice on how to salvage their credit rating during this trying time.
And something else-you can give them the statistics that show they are not alone. While it’s true that some people don’t care, many are embarrassed and depressed about being in trouble over their home loans. They feel like people are looking at them as if they were pond scum. They may be looking at themselves that way.
So talk to them respectfully, and let them know that you understand that their situation came about due to circumstances beyond their control. In other words, help them keep their self-respect.
The respect you give them will be one more reason for them to trust you. And building trust is what drip marketing is all about.
Housing: Americans Scaling Back and Making Do With Less
In the wake of tighter credit standards, a desire to have more energy-efficient homes, and fears for the future, Americans have dramatically changed their home buying habits and-for the first time in nearly 30 years-are opting for smaller, less expensive homes.
While this decline in square footage of homes purchased is only about 100 square feet, it marks a radical shift in the decisions being made in the marketplace.
Not only has square footage declined, but the new homes currently being purchased by consumers have fewer amenities-which translates into a lower purchase price.
A major shift in the purchasing practices of home buyers lies with the layout of the homes. Reversing a 30 year trend that saw 57% of all new homes purchased in 2006 as two story structures, one-story properties now make up nearly half (47%) of the marketplace.
Other amenities that Americans are giving up in exchange for lower prices include extra bedrooms and bathrooms, larger garages, and in some cases, air conditioning.
It is unknown what will happen when the national economic situation improves. One of two things is likely to happen: Americans will either do an about-face and once again begin purchasing more expansive (and expensive) houses or they will continue the trend of purchasing more energy-efficient homes.
The deciding factor might come in on the legislative front. If federal lawmakers pass legislation that dramatically increases energy costs or there is a massive increase in utility costs, Americans might be forced to continue making green housing decisions, which will result in the trend of smaller homes continuing for the foreseeable future.
Time will tell.
The Future of Real Estate: Green Houses
You’ve seen them popping up for several years now but the concept of environmentally-friendly green houses has come full circle and has moved into the mainstream of American life. Real estate professionals who recognize and respond to this trend can position themselves to improve their local communities while earning more money.
While buyers have varied reasons for “going green,” smart real estate professionals make it their business to find out what those reasons are so that they can meet the needs of their clients.
Whether due to a desire to have a home that leaves a smaller environmental footprint, save money on energy costs, or to hop on board with the latest trend, buyers are more aware than ever before of the availability of green real estate. Real estate professionals that rise to the occasion and can meet the wants and desires of today’s homebuyer stand to reap the financial rewards of this new trend.
Homeowners like the benefits that green houses provide: from reduced energy costs and environmentally-friendly building materials to federal and state tax credits, rebates, and other incentives, green housing is here to stay.
Real estate professionals also stand to benefit from this trend. Certified green housing sells much more quickly than traditional real estate-as much as 31 days faster-and the sales price of these properties is considerably higher.
When you consider all of the benefits that green housing has to offer, it makes good business sense to educate yourself on green housing and get out ahead of this trend as soon as possible.
From a financial perspective, there’s plenty of “green” in green housing.