If you’re in the real estate business and work in a large city, then you’ve probably encountered a difficult problem: urban real estate. When selling urban real estate, you’ve got to deal with a number of difficult challenges, from high crime rates to low median home prices and property appreciation rates.
For real estate agents who want to maximize their reach and influence, selling urban real estate is a must. You’ve got to tackle the problem of urban real estate, and find a way to deal with it. Urban real estate, while not the easiest market to master, is one of the most profitable real estate niches. With the right strategy, you might just make a name for yourself in this uniquely challenging but immensely lucrative market.
That’s where we come in. In the following sections, we’re going to be giving you some salient tips on how to break into the urban market and how to master your urban real estate selling approach. While we won’t be able to provide you with a comprehensive guide to this tricky market, we’ll be doing our best to give you a place to start. Let’s get into it!
What is the urban real estate market?
At face value, urban real estate doesn’t seem like it would be that much of a challenge; after all, it’s only slightly different from any other type of real estate you might be used to selling. Sure, you might be selling apartments instead of homes, and population density might be a bit higher, but at the end of the day you’re still selling housing… right?
While you would be forgiven for thinking this, any attempt to break into the urban market will allay any such misconceptions in no time flat. Selling urban real estate is a completely different game than selling suburban real estate, with a laundry list of unique caveats and pitfalls to which the uninitiated often fall prey.
If you want to make it selling urban real estate, you’ve got to be aware of these pitfalls, and how best to navigate them. You’ll need to know why people buy urban real estate, and which demographics are most likely to be interested in such properties. Finally, you’ll need to know how to tailor your selling approach for the best results. Want to find out more? Keep reading!
Who buys urban real estate?
When you’re selling urban real estate, you’ve got to keep two two major demographics in mind: professionals who need to be close to their places of work, and low budget buyers who are seeking inexpensive housing. These demographics may sometimes overlap, but generally they’re the people you should be marketing to.
To best market to these buyers, you’ve got to highlight the attractive aspects of the listings you’re selling. These buyers want affordability and accessibility, so make sure these are featured prominently in your descriptions and photographs. Emphasize easy access to public transportation, compare your list prices to higher ones in suburban areas, and do your best to think about your listings from your buyers’ point of view.
Another thing that you should focus on is the condition of the listings you’re selling. Many buyers of urban real estate readily accept the fact that property in these areas is likely to be suboptimal when it comes to amenities and aesthetics; if your listing is above average in these areas, be sure that that is apparent in the listings.
If the real estate you’re selling isn’t particularly exceptional in these areas, you should try to devise unique and positive ways of describing your listing, without being obfuscatory or misleading. Find the hidden beauty in each property, and make sure that prospective buyers are well aware of these salient features and perks.
Dealing with problematic data points
One of the most difficult parts of selling urban listings are the statistics. Any well informed home buyer is going to be aware of crime rates, utility prices, parking availability, traffic density and other similar issues when looking for a place to live. if you want to sell to these buyers, you’re going to need to be able to convince them in spite of any such problematic statistics.
When dealing with statistics like these, it’s important to remain honest with prospective buyers. Don’t cover up or downplay such problematic statistics; instead, tell your prospective buyers how they can avoid or minimize their susceptibility to these problems. Whether its high crime rates, congestion or population density, there are usually ways to minimize risks and maximize quality of living.
If the problem is high crime rates, tell the buyers about the efficacy of home security systems and incidental home insurance. For problems with congestion or parking difficulties, make sure they’re aware of any nearby parking facilities, and share the benefits of ridesharing platforms. This kind of creative problem solving has its limits, but it’s the best way to sell urban listings that suffer from problematic statistics.
Pick the right listings
Last but not least, you’ve got to pick your listings wisely. No matter how good you are at selling real estate, there are bound to be some properties that no amount of creative marketing can sell. These properties will cause you endless headaches and obstacles, and will prove infuriating if you make the mistake of accepting them.
When choosing which listings to accept and which to reject, it helps to ask yourself whether or not you’d be willing to buy it yourself, if you were in your target demographic. Some drawbacks can be overlooked, but others cannot. While it may be tempting to take any listings you can get when starting out, you’ll thank yourself later for choosing judiciously.
If they’re looking to find a real estate agent, potential buyers will be asking around, seeking out any and all information about the realtors they come across. If you gain a good reputation, this will work to your advantage; if your reputation is less than sterling, it will work to your detriment. Choosing your listings wisely will ensure that you become known as a reliable, trustworthy realtor, worthy of your clients’ business!
Conclusion
If you’re thinking of breaking into the urban market, we hope we’ve given you some helpful insights on the topic. While this is by no means an exhaustive list of all the things you’ll need to be mindful of when breaking into this market, it should give you a good idea of what to expect, and what to invest your money and time in developing.
We hope this article has been helpful and informative. If it was, why not leave us a comment in the comments section below? We love hearing from our readers, and any and all input will be taken into consideration, whether it be positive or constructive. From our team to yours, we wish you the best of luck in the urban real estate market!
