Real Estate Market Data Is One Way To Overcome Frustration With Lead Generation
Real estate market data can be a critical factor in determining the number of leads an agent can capture with their website.
This is important for several reasons.
For one, the lack of leads is a major source of disappointment for many agents.
According to a survey of real estate agents conducted by the National Association of Realtors, 72% reported they were unhappy with the number of leads their websites were generating. That’s horrendous.
For brokers, only 36% were satisfied with the number of leads. Again, a horrible number.
Another question was posed to brokers and agents. How would you rate the return on investment on your website?
Only 12% said “Excellent” and only 25% said “Good.” Not an admirable percentage at all.
It’s apparent. Agents are not getting the leads they need.
That’s understandable. For anybody in sales, you can almost never have enough leads. Because that’s what fills up your bank account.
Naturally, everybody in real estate who sells something wants more leads from the agent to the mortgage broker to the moving company to the remodeling company.
But an important factor to consider is that the landscape real estate lead generation has changed over the years.
Real estate market data necessary for agents serious about leads
As a real estate broker or agent, what changes have you made?
Take real estate market data for example.
There have been incredible advances made in data aggregation, or “Big Data” in the past decades.
For one, data storage continues to drop in price and increase in capabilities.
Used to be one gigabyte of data storage was a big deal.
Now you can get 64 gigs of storage on your smartphone.
Today, people talk in terms of terabytes – the ability to store…of data, like it’s nothing.
Secondly, the ability to not only gather “big data,” but to transmit it has grown tremendously.
Remember the old days of the squeaking AOL modems hooked into a landline phone? In those days, you were lucky to be able to transmit a photo without waiting at least 10 minutes.
Today, everybody is hooked into the high-speed internet. That’s a big pipeline to transmit all that big data.
Here’s the bottom line.
Sure, brokers and agents are frustrated with the number of lead their websites are generating.
But what have they done to make their websites more in tune with the times?
For example, taking a step to tap into these massive big data pipelines of real estate market data.
Data aggregators such as Home Junction have made it incredibly simple for brokers and agents to beef up their websites with all sorts of hyper-local information.
- Property sales data
- Market trend data
- School information
- Population demographics
- Crime statistics
- Local business listings
- Home value estimations
- Market comparisons
Home Junction has created an API that basically enables a broker or agent to embed some simple coding into their website and then pull in the data they want, customized to the markets or neighborhoods they are targeting.
Here’s the key point. If you want to attract more leads, you need to provide the type of information that attracts consumers.
Consumers constantly search for property data
Brokers and agents today should have the mindset that they are more than sales agents.
They should adopt the persona of being information resources.
Because, after all, that’s what consumers want.
Somebody who can answer their questions. And there are a lot of questions.
Consumers today know, this data is out there and available.
So, are you going to be the place they turn to?
And not with some anecdotal responses such as, “This area has great schools.”
Instead, the real pro will answer that question by pointing to an area on their website filled with local data on the middle school their children would be attending.
For example:
- Number of students enrolled in the school
- Student/teacher ratios
- Demographics
- Contacts at the school
- And much more.
Now, think about the lead generation possibilities with this real estate market data tailored to any local neighborhood.
Consumers want information about schools, market trends, property prices, etc.
Do you have these answers on your website?
That’s what real estate market data from providers such as Home Junction will provide.
Need to know what your home is worth? They can also supply an agent with a Home Value Estimator tool (just like the mega-sites).
Curious about how this neighborhood compares to another neighborhood?
Here’s some real estate market data that helps you gauge one community over another.
Want to know if a particular area is safe for your family?
Here are the local crime statistics.
Enticing people to visit your website with this data, is the same as promoting an open house and putting up signs and ads inviting people to attend.
When consumers come to your website seeking answers to their questions, are you taking the opportunity to ask them for their contact information?
Home Junction also offers real estate WordPress themes that are built to help you maximize the way you capture leads.
Get an edge in social media
Here’s another key development regarding real estate lead marketing that has taken place in the last decade – social media.
What a great way to reach out to buyers and sellers.
It’s all free!
There’s are plenty free channels:
- And more
What a fantastic tool for agents!
The problem is, according to that NAR survey, 91% of agents are engaged in marketing on social media.
That’s nearly 100%. Nearly every agent out there is also using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest to reach out to buyers and sellers.
How are you going to stand out in this sea of agents on social media?
By offering consumers answers to their questions with real estate market data on your website.
Take this scenario. Which post on Facebook is going to generate more leads?
“Hey, buy a house from me.”
Or:
“Thought you might be interested in the latest data on trends in home prices in ABC neighborhood.”
Same goes for email marketing. Email is a fantastic way to reach out to prospects with the click of a mouse.
Certainly beats designing a mail piece, going to the printer, waiting for the printer, picking up the mail piece, taking it to the post office and waiting for the postal worker to deliver your message.
The thing is, like social media, you are not the only one using email marketing.
Consumers today are bombarded by emails. They get tempted to subscribe to them by some special offer. And then their inboxes become cluttered with an endless stream of pitches.
It’s a battle to get your message to stand out above the others.
Actually a two-part battle.
One, you want a consumer to get enticed by the subject line so they open your email and not just skip over it.
Secondly, you want them to be persuaded by the content in the email so they click on a link back to your website.
The “buy a home from me” approach is not going to cut it.
The subject line with “See these charts on the rise of property prices in __________ town” will catch their attention.
With the internet, the way a consumer can reach out to an agent is incredible. They can fill out a contact form that will be sent to an agent at any time of the day or night, regardless if the agent is in their office or sitting on a chair at the beach.
But persuading a consumer to fill out that contact form, amidst all the clutter and noise out there, is far from easy.
That’s why you need the tools of the 21st century, like real estate market data, to optimize your efforts when it comes to lead generation. Don’t get frustrated. Get busy.
