In my opinion, one of the most successful and reliable lead-creation techniques for agents is real estate farming. This post will walk you through our in-depth farming strategy, describe the associated costs, and go over all the equipment you'll need.
For those who want to jump right in, we've produced the Ultimate Real Estate Farming Strategy Guide to get you started. Download our thorough, tested guide to everything farming!
Property farming 101
The first thing is: What are we discussing here?
What Exactly Is Property Farming?
Real estate farming is a lead-generating and marketing tactic used by agents to consistently bring in clients from a particular region.
By consistently delivering value and attention—as well as nurturing relationships—agents "farm" a particular neighborhood, creating leads that eventually turn into loyal customers and steady revenue. The ultimate objective is to establish yourself as the neighborhood authority and go-to representative.
What Does It Mean To Be A Farm?
Consider what it takes to cultivate a sizable tomato field. You must choose the best field, prepare the soil, plow it, sow seeds, stake plants, weed, trim, keep an eye on things, and eventually harvest tomatoes. Real estate farming can be compared to farming in that it needs meticulous planning, close attention to detail, and unquestionably some patience for the process to bear the rewards of your labor.
What Activities Fall Under the Definition Of Real Estate Farming?
Direct mail, handwritten letters, hosting events, supporting neighborhood events, establishing a social media presence, and even knocking on doors to introduce yourself and your company are all examples of farming activities. It entails anything that establishes connections, inspires confidence, and establishes you as a local expert in the region you have selected.
What Are Geographic Vs. Demographic Farming Methods?
Geographic and demographic real estate farming are the two main categories. Geographic farming refers to deciding on a certain geographical region to concentrate on, like a neighborhood or ZIP code. Selecting a niche is more like demographic farming. Demographic farmers target a specific demographic with their marketing, such as first-time homebuyers, elderly, service members, or even equestrians or golfers. Great real estate niches are discussed in greater detail here.
We'll concentrate on geography farming in this essay and go over the four fundamental steps to success. We'll also talk about your starting budget and the equipment you'll need.
Farming Real Estate as a Strategy
To make it easier for you to understand how to begin, we'll divide the procedure into pieces.
1. Target The Right Community
The location you pick will determine how well your real estate farming approach works. Between 150 and 400 dwellings make up a nice farm (for the "why" see our FAQ section). Choose a location with a high demand (a good absorption rate) and a steady pace of new listings for homes for sale (a good turnover rate). Market conditions will determine this, so be sure to investigate your local MLS. Pick a location where you have some name recognition and inherent local knowledge.
Gather information on your farm area, and learn everything there is to know about the market. The average homeowner's age and income, typical home styles and ages, nearby employers, upcoming developments, zoning and permitting laws, neighborhood amenities, and other local agents who might be competitors are all information you should be aware of in addition to average sales prices and days on the market.
You can find all the resources you need to select the ideal farm place in our Ultimate Real Estate Farming Strategy Guide. We provide guidance on completing regional, demographic, and property research as well as examples of how to compute absorption and turnover rates.
2. Decide When And How To Add Value To Your Farm
Residents in their agricultural areas receive continuous value from agents who are dominating the real estate farming game. More than just plastering the neighborhood with your brand's message is required for effective outreach. It involves providing a service that is beneficial to the community, such as a market report, community event, social media group, or local website.
The neighborhood website strategy helps you become known as the local authority but is time-consuming. You might think about using a program like Parkbench, which develops an internet website designed for farming, to make this process simpler. You, as the go-to local resource, provide information to the community about events, news, offers, and, of course, real estate.
3. Create A Strategy To Track And Manage Your Leads
Make sure you're tracking your real estate farming leads independently from any leads you purchase or collect on your website. You may categorize farm connections independently, automate digital communication like emails or text messages, and keep track of the value you've provided during the course of your farming career with the help of a good customer relationship manager (CRM). Additionally, you may carefully monitor every response you send to make sure you follow up on every inquiry immediately.
See all of our top CRM recommendations in our article on the top real estate CRMs. LionDesk, which is inexpensive and brimming with real estate-specific features perfect for farming, is our pick for the best real estate CRM overall for 2023.
4. Begin Providing Value
You've selected the ideal farm location, created a strategy to provide dependable value, and established a system to control and keep track of your interactions. It's now time to configure your automated communications and begin sending out high-touch outreach materials like postcards and market updates.
Smart, day-by-day, personal follow-up combined with long-term automated communication is the key to successful real estate farming. You won't be as successful if you approach farming as a set-it-and-forget-it tactic. But if you're involved in the areas you serve, your customers (and your bank account) will appreciate it.
Putting Everything Together
A reliable stream of seller and buyer leads can be created by prospecting and expanding real estate farming. The best thing about farming is that as your messaging becomes more effective, more people get familiar with you, and your local sales statistics increase, your rate of return on investment increases.