Finding Your Real Estate Niche

Finding your real estate niche is all about communicating to your buyers and sellers that you're not only an expert in real estate, but you have specific expertise that sets you apart from the sea of competitors out there. Realtors who identify a niche get better referral rates, have more repeat clients, and see their business scale faster than agents who try to be "all things to all people".

How to Select a Real Estate Niche

Before you can select your area of focus in real estate, you need to ask (and answer) a few questions:

1. What am I passionate about?
   1. There's no sense in selecting a niche that you're not interested in. For instance, commercial real estate is very different (different properties, different clients, different goals) from residential real estate. If you aren't passionate about commercial real estate, that would be a poor niche to focus on.
2. What niches are under-served in my market?
   1. Selecting a niche with a particular demand will be critical if you plan on growing beyond your friends and family. For instance, if every other agent in your market is trying to specialize in first-time homebuyers, you'd likely be better off aiming for luxury clientele if there's less agent competition.
3. What expertise do I possess that will differentiate me from my peers?
   1. If you have a particular area of knowledge or experience that makes you an immediate authority, you'll grow faster in your chosen real estate niche. For instance, if you spent 10 years as a residential home builder, you're likely to have insight into new construction projects that others do not.

How to Promote Your Real Estate Niche

Promoting your real estate niche starts with identifying the specific groups of people who are your most likely clients and identifying where they're spending their time. Once you know where your audience is reachable, you can design strategies for putting yourself in front of them.

For instance, if you are targeting first-time homebuyers as your niche, you're likely going to get a lot of clients living in apartments. So, direct mail marketing to apartment complexes, or targeting Facebook and Pinterest ads for people who've identified a "first home" as an interest would be a good strategy.

Of course, you're also going to want to communicate your niche to the people you're already connected to, using effective email marketing and promoting your real estate website. A fantastic real estate CRM is a great way to do this. If you're looking for a great CRM, make sure to check out Elevate from Elm Street Technology.

10 Popular Real Estate Niches to Consider

If you still haven't chosen a real estate niche to focus on and need some ideas, we've got a list of the top 10 real estate niches you should consider.

1. First Time Home Buyers
2. First Time Home Sellers
3. Luxury Buyers & Sellers
4. Vacation Home Buyers and Sellers
5. Condo Buyers & Sellers
6. Vacant Land Buyers & Sellers
7. New Construction Sellers
8. Buyers Looking for Short-Term Rental Properties
9. Fix-and-Flip Buyers
10. Distressed Property Sellers