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Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky famously said, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is.”
The real estate sales business is developing at an ever-escalating pace. If you can identify a few emerging trends and start acting on them (as we all know, skate to where the puck is), you’ll be able to stand out from your competitors like never before.
Here are seven emerging trends you can leverage to grow your business in 2024.
1️. The power of building a personal brand
Personal branding is the culmination of sharing your experience, skills and what you stand for to attract your ideal clients. Personal brand development takes time, and the most successful agencies in the market are usually the ones with the strongest personal brands.
Forbes published an article on February 6, 2024 titled “Why 2024 is the year to build your personal brand”. They state the following in the article:
In today’s market, entrepreneurs face a daunting challenge: standing out. There are thousands of voices calling for attention, and being just another face in the crowd is not an option.The statistics are clear at a glance: shocking 77% of consumers Prefer to buy from brands they recognize.
However, many entrepreneurs struggle to establish this awareness. They grapple with overcrowded markets, changing algorithms and hard-won consumer loyalty. Their brilliant ideas and hard work are often overlooked, not because they lack value, but because they lack visibility.
This struggle is not only frustrating; It’s also expensive. Without a unique personal brand, entrepreneurs risk being overlooked, losing potential customers to more visible competitors, and missing out on important growth opportunities.
Now is the time to double down on building a personal brand that is recognized and trusted in the local market.
2. Increase in the number of recommended transactions
The number of referral fees paid on transactions is increasing, and data suggests this will continue into the future. The rise in online programs like Zillow Flex and sites that offer referral fees as they close continues to gain momentum.
The NAR 2023 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Survey adds interesting data showing that this trend will continue to escalate as people between the ages of 24 and 42 become more active in the market as they age.
This survey of 2023 NAR Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends shows that the overall average percentage of home buyers surveyed who were referred to an agent by a friend, neighbor or relative was 38%. The average proportion of homebuyers surveyed who were referred by one agent to another was 6%, while the average proportion of homebuyers who were referred by an employer or relocation company was 1%.
This means that, on average, for those surveyed (excluding any referral sites or programs like Zillow Flex), 45% of buyer transactions were the result of recommendations.
But if you notice, for buyers between the ages of 24 and 32, the combined percentage of buyers from the three referral sources mentioned in the previous paragraph is 58%. Among those aged 33 to 42, the proportion of referrals from the same three sources was 53%, also much higher than the average for buyers of all age groups in the survey.
Home seller data also confirms the trend of younger home sellers (see chart below).
The average proportion of home sellers surveyed who were recommended to their agent by a friend, neighbor or relative was 36%. The average proportion of homebuyers surveyed who were referred by one agent to another was 5%, while the average proportion of homebuyers who were referred by an employer or relocation company was 1%.
This means that, on average, 42% of all seller transactions are the result of recommendations before any referral site or program like Zillow Flex.
Like buyers, the percentage of home sellers recommended by these three referral sources combined is 50% among sellers between the ages of 24 and 32. The percentage was 46%, again higher than the average for home sellers of all ages.
This trend should remind you to focus on past clients and agents in your sphere of influence, feeder markets, who can develop into consistent referral partners.
3️. The value of online sales leads decreases
There are some online lead generation sources that are still producing at a high level. But the number of leads sold each year still far exceeds the number of closed deals, causing the value of online leads to decline.
With low-end conversion rates below 1% and high-end conversion rates below 4%, lead generation fees may be too high. However, as automated drip campaigns and automated AI bot follow-ups become the norm, the time required to invest in proper follow-up to get conversions is increasing. When it comes to generating leads online, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd.
If you decide to buy online leads, make sure you have a systematic follow-up plan in place before purchasing them and understand the challenges that the average agent faces in converting these leads.
4️. The emergence of comment economy
According to the recommendation tree, 79% of people trust reviews they read online as much as they trust personal recommendations. They also said that consumers trust online reviews and peer recommendations 6.5 times more than traditional advertising.
The value of online reviews increases over time. They will continue to work for you in the future, and potential buyers and sellers’ trust in you will grow with every review you receive. Invest the time and effort to collect more reviews and you will be rewarded.
5️⃣.Artificial intelligence (AI) is improving efficiency
The emergence of artificial intelligence and the endless ways it can create efficiencies for agents continues to shape our ever-changing industry. From content creation to building systems that save time and effort, as artificial intelligence develops, it will only become more valuable to agents.
I wholeheartedly believe that artificial intelligence will not replace professional, relationship-driven real estate agents. But I also believe that agents who embrace this technology and implement it into their business will perform better in the future than those who don’t.
6️⃣.Listing agents continue to control the market
After the NAR settlement, the need to build a public business became even clearer. If you’re planning to invest in training, technology, or tools for your business in 2024, make sure they’re focused on helping you generate more listings.
7️⃣.Video content is now a cornerstone of marketing
I know you are thinking, “Here we go again, talking about video.” But here are some statistics from Sprout Social I hope this helps you understand the value of video content in your business.
- Audiences will retain 95% of the information they watch in a video, but only 10% in text
- 81% of consumers surveyed said they would like to see more short-form video content from brands in 2024
- Users will watch an average of 17 hours of video content per week in 2023
- Short-form video offers the highest ROI compared to other marketing trends and will receive more investment than any other format in 2024.
Video, video, video. This is a marketing trend that will continue to shape the success of the best agencies now and in the future.
Trends are your friend. Seize the opportunities ahead and you will see the results.
Jimmy Burgess is CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties in Northwest Florida. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
