A house can be changed physically to fit the buyers’ needs, and then it becomes their home. A big piece of feeling at home is falling in love with a neighborhood. Here are three tips for helping buyers want to take it to the next level with a neighborhood.

Whether you’re a rookie agent, a rising team leader or an established veteran broker, we can all benefit from sharpening our skills. Follow our “Back to Basics” series to learn fundamental strategies, tactics, philosophies and more from real estate pros across the industry.

Lifestyle —though some might not admit it, it’s the strongest buzzword that buyers are thinking about when buying their first home, their next home or a vacation home.

A house can be changed physically to fit the buyers’ needs, and then it becomes their home. A big piece of that is falling in love with a neighborhood, and to do that, buyers first need to decide what’s important to them and rank those “wants.”

Figuring out your buyers’ wants and needs

The buyer will never find the “perfect” neighborhood, but, some neighborhoods will work, and some will not. Schools might be most important, or your buyer’s hobbies might include sports, and so they want to be near the major and/or minor league sport stadiums.

Then there’s golf, swimming, winter sports, fishing and so many others. Realtors need to understand whether the buyers have children who will be there and who will be going to after school sporting events — we all know that mothers are running around to the different events almost year round.

Medical needs might also be important. The perfect neighborhood might need to be easily accessible to the local medical district. The Realtor should appreciate the age of the buyer in this regard — the older we get, the more important good medical facilities are to us.

Buyers might also not want to deal with yard work or snow removal. Consider a townhome or condo as opposed to a single-family home in that case.

In the Pocono Mountains region, for example, there are different style communities that offer a lifestyle and a neighborhood of their own.

Does the community have amenities? Is it close to shopping? Are the neighbors a good fit with your buyers? Those are all important factors when buying a home in a community.

There are hundreds of reasons buyers fall in love with a neighborhood, and helping them develop a crush is something agents can and should do. Here are three ways to help buyers fall for the neighborhood. 

1. Simply ask your buyers, ‘What would you like to see in your neighborhood?’

At my brokerage, we have a questionnaire when sending referrals to other areas.

Our questionnaire asks:

  • What are your three most popular styles of homes?
  • Do you have children?
  • What’s important to you lifestyle-wise? (golfing, swimming, fishing, hiking, etc.)

The buyers then check off or circle what is applicable. We list golf, swimming, fishing, medical facilities and other features that give the agent an intro to the buyers and what’s important to them.

This type of questionnaire allows agents to help buyers find the right neighborhoods to start courting because agents have a stronger sense of what to show them.

2. Consider the downtown resurgence, driven by millennials

You’ll know when you find the right neighborhood for the millennial buyer; they cannot hold the excitement in. “Wow … there’s a Starbucks (or insert whatever excites them) right down the street.”

Then, you know they love the neighborhood.

3. Show them the numbers

Demographics on an area can give you the details of a neighborhood at the click of a mouse. And, you are able to get any and all information about school districts, household income and other demographic details that can be important to buyers.

When buying a house, what makes it a home is the neighborhood. Today, online, your buyer can see a home inside and out, the room sizes, the floor plan and the colors.

But falling in love with the neighborhood is agent-facilitated. It requires a personal touch, and agents can’t sell the lifestyle or the neighborhood without seeing it first.

As the agent, know your market, study the neighborhoods and amenities in those areas, and become the neighborhood expert you were born to be.

How do you stay ahead in a changing market? Inman Connect Las Vegas — Featuring 250+ experts from across the industry sharing insight and tactics to navigate threat and seize opportunity in tomorrow’s real estate. Join over 4,000 top producers, brokers and industry leaders to network and discover what’s next, July 23-26 at the Aria Resort. Hurry! Tickets are going fast, register today!

Thinking of bringing your team? There are special onsite perks and discounts when you buy tickets together. Contact us to find out more.

SAVE MY SEAT

Thomas R Wilkins is founder and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates located in the Pocono Mts of Pennsylvania.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×