Real estate might not always be as straightforward as it seems. There are a lot of realtors out there, but only a few good realtors.

What makes the big difference?

Effort.

Most agents know a few friends or family. Thus brokers are always willing to hire them on. But the truly successful agents know how to get to work, find new clients, and actually provide a service and value to those clients.

Part of being a good realtor is knowing the various markets. One such market is the 55+ active adult senior market.

How to Sell Better to the 55+ Market

A  little homework can go a long way.

Aside from the MLS listings, a few simple internet searches can help. Don’t just use Google, and don’t just look to the first page. Yahoo, Bing, and MSN can often find you places that might have great products, but smaller marketing budgets. These budgets often mean that they can’t compete with all the directory websites and others who dump tons of money into SEO and monopolize the first couple pages of search engines.

Also, some of the better 55+ communities are built by companies who specialize in this niche market. Often in internet search directories, only their past communities are shown. That might help you find an occasional house for sale, but if you find the companies that built that subdivision, you can keep up to date with all the newer communities that they’re building.

Second, building your client list can be easy.

Most agents are working with people of all ages. One thing to keep in mind, is that often it’s the kids (and those kids can be anywhere from 25-65 yrs old) who are introducing their parents to these communities. They do this because they are worried about their parents falling down stairs or being lonely. So work with your existing clients. If they are your client, then you’ve likely already built a relationship of trust with them.

Last, knowing your options.

Another way an agent can get into this segment, is to visit with these communities. Often a new home builder will hire a full time agent to sit his models. If you don’t like the hustle of finding new clients, getting hired on as an on-site agent is the way to go.

If you’re a realtor, you owe it to yourself and your clients to be a 55+ expert.

55+ communities have become popular for the aging demographic for multiple reasons. The most obvious is that many adults don’t look forward to being empty-nesters. Moving into a community full of people at their same life-stage is important. It creates more opportunities for building friendships.

So while there are many 55+ communities out there, buyers are going to want to find communities that promote a social lifestyle; one that grandkids would love to visit, (i.e. clubhouse with fun amenities for both residents and visitors), and they’re going to want a level of quality that is not a downgrade from what they’ve become accustomed to, even if it is a downsize.

Leisure Villas specializes in such communities. If you have clients moving anywhere in Utah, check us out to see what we have available.