How To Focus On Niche Markets In Real Estate?

Something for real estate professionals to consider is the value of niche markets. If you can find a profitable niche in which to focus your marketing strategies, it can be extremely rewarding!

Let me start by telling my story of how I created my niche market in Real Estate.

In 2005, I moved from Michigan to North Carolina to start a new life at 55 years old. I was broke, so I had to start over financially in a new State and career.

How did I start over?

The only person I knew was my daughter, who was helping to support me. My family has been in the real estate industry for decades, so I decided to get my Real Estate License and put the skills from my  23-year career to use. Being from Michigan, which is known for its lakes, I wanted to be involved with waterfront properties. My background was in Financial Planning, so I knew how to analyze numbers and focus on a particular niche that would be profitable for me. I dove into figuring out what kind of housing would sell for a good amount of money and was more unique than just trying to sell to any buyer anywhere in the area. Since I loved being around the water and waterfront homes had a higher price point than normal subdivision homes, I thought that would be my niche. Before living in NC, I was living a higher-end lifestyle myself so I knew the clientele and what they would like.

real estate agents

My niche market in Real Estate

The lake area where I live has a man-made lake and it has very specific rules, so I decided to learn everything I could about them. I created a spreadsheet to track the waterfront homes that were listed. My goal was to see how long they were on the market, price reductions, expires (did they go back on or were they an opportunity to reach out to?), and what was the percent to sale that they sold for so I could see if they were overpriced to start with or was the market dropping and how long they were on the market. I realized that the homes over a million dollars were not selling quickly, but the ones priced between $400,000 and $900,000 were moving. That would be my niche market in Real Estate.  I decided to focus on that price range and be a waterfront specialist. My goal was to get a little rental cottage on the water, so I would be in close proximity to those homes. It took me a few years but that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t wait to work that niche though, I was on it immediately. I needed to make money and nothing was going to stop me. 

niche markets in real estate

The Right Approach

I was broke, so I had no marketing dollars to spend. I did everything through the computer, using free resources like MLS, and Tax Records. Now, most MLSs have Remine to analyze properties. I had a partner and we called on expired waterfront homes in that price range in a specific area that we targeted. Every Saturday, we would look at the expired homes and analyze them to see if they had enough equity to pay us a commission if we sold their house. In a down market, people will sell their second homes when they are in a money crunch and many of those waterfront homes were second homes. In a down market, people with money will also invest in a second home if they can get a good deal, and there were good deals available on the water in that price range at that time. Every Saturday we went out and knocked on the doors of the expired waterfronts in our niche in a certain town on a certain peninsula. Back then homes didn't sell so quickly so we called on them in person. Our goal was to introduce ourselves, see if they wanted to relist, what were they unhappy about their past experience, what did they want to accomplish, and ideally get an appointment and at the very least get their personal contact info like a cell and an email.

real estate market niche

Build Strong Connections

I/We built a strong business and my reputation grew as a waterfront specialist because I was always learning more about the water and the buyers and sellers interested in that particular commodity. I studied where they were moving from and use tax records and tools like Remine's "most likely to sell" feature to help me target my marketing. I created a list of my target market and sent out postcards saying, "There are people looking to buy waterfront homes on Lake Norman. Are you interested in selling?" I included my contact information on the card. Later, I evolved to using a tool called SendOutCards, which was more attractive and became a very important tool in my marketing. I was committed, and consistent, and became a well-respected waterfront specialist. The best part was as I evolved, so did the price point of those homes and my reputation now gets me multi-million dollar listings. 

5 million dollar house I just closed on5 million dollar house I just closed on

8 Tips to focus on a niche market in Real Estate

Here are some tips on how you can choose how to focus on a niche in Real Estate.

You start by creating a plan, and make it happen based on your style and goals:

  1. Pick a niche that is a passion for you, so you will be motivated to stick with it and make it successful. Start by looking at your strengths, expertise, and passions. Do your due dilligence and ensure you focus on profitable real estate niches.
  2. For success in any real estate business, we need to do analysis to find out what is in demand and what is not. You can do this by searching the MLS to find out what is selling and what isn’t. Search Google and find out where people are moving from to your metro area so you know how to target the market and  the buyers before they start looking. Find out the rules of the area like an HOA. Create a search in the MLS with you as the contact that has you getting all the data on that area on a daily basis and study it. To this day I get a daily report of all waterfront properties in all of my Lake priced over $500,000 with no ceiling so I know what is selling, how fast it is moving, and what is hanging on. 
  3. Video, video, video is everything in today's market and you need to do tons of it. Forget what you look like on camera. The truth is, that is what you look like. Imagine what I think at 72 and what I look like. Have fun with it! Be personable. Here are some examples of the kinds of videos based on your niche - say it’s a golf course specialist: videos where you do Facebook lives on the communities and their features, open houses within the community ( it doesn’t even have to be your open house- the listing agent would love it if you are doing a Facebook live to draw people to their listing. I would get the permission of course, however, it would be crazy to say no to you. Go to all the communities you are representing around the area and become known for it. Videos will increase your reputation faster than anything. Use Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn and Create a YouTube Channel (search Google for the most searched term that relates to your niche in your area and name your page if you can). Put all the videos on your YouTube Channel. Create a Link tree and have it link to all your social media channels. 
  4. Create a plan and set goals for yourself. This will not happen overnight but this is how you can create a career that will allow you to build a repeat client and referral business that will support you for years. The more you can do your video the faster you will grow.
  5. Be consistent and committed to your niche. Lay out your day each day and commit to this process. This is a daily process. You could break it down that you do videos for so many hours on one or two days a week but whatever it is, make it consistent. Once you get in the grove of a plan it will be second nature to you. 
  6. Use tools and resources available to you, like MLS, Tax Records, Remine, and Social Media, to help you market and reach your target audience.
  7. I am a big believer in networking as well. I joined my BNI (Business Networking International) Chapter in 2008. They only allow one seat (business) per chapter and I laid in waiting for the Realtor in the Chapter I wanted to be in until they quit and I jumped on the opportunity. I don’t think Chambers are that powerful to connect with but other groups that are your passion or where your life takes you like Church, School relationships because of kids, sports, hobbies, etc. are great places for real estate agents to network. Always come from a giver's gain vs what you can get from them and you will go much further and people will want to do business with you.  
  8. Always keep learning and growing in your knowledge, expertise in your niche, and personal development. I am a big fan of Audible books and always listen to them in the car all the time. One of my favorites is The Power of Consistency by Weldon Long, The Four Disciplines of Execution by Sean Cover and so many others. Imagine if you listened to one personal development book a month how much further ahead you would be from your competition. Powerful!

I hope you have found this valuable. If you want to connect with me on Social Media, please feel free to reach out. 

Paying it Forward

Kathy Byrnes

Meet Kathy Byrnes

Kathy Byrnes is a highly skilled and experienced real estate professional with a strong background in financial planning. Growing up in a family with a long history in the real estate industry, Kathy has always been drawn to the field. After spending over two decades assisting clients as a financial and estate planner, Kathy made the move to North Carolina in 2005 and decided to pursue a career in real estate. Since then, she has dedicated herself to helping buyers and sellers in the Lake Norman area with all of their real estate needs. A passion of hers are the waterfront properties which she chose to specialize in however she is equally talented with the off water properties.  With her extensive knowledge and expertise, Kathy has become a 5-star award winner multiple times and top producer in the area. Known for her down-to-earth, straightforward approach and her commitment to putting her clients' interests first, Kathy is a trusted and reliable partner for anyone looking to buy or sell a home.