1) Location, Location, Location

The “location, location, location” trope doesn’t only apply to property value, but also how you handle your career. If you’re determined to find success in a particular city or neighborhood and are less than fussy about your specialty, assess the demographics in that location. Fortunately, the realty sector makes this effortless for you. The National Association of Realtors publishes state-by-state reports of markets, traffic, and trends. Your location-driven real estate niche needn’t be defined by suburbs. Sometimes realtors choose smaller niches like university or school districts and active adult communities.

2) The Housing Sector

Home sales are a popular real estate niche because of how rewarding this sector is, but markets are often flooded for that reason. Some realtors enjoy travelling or selling online, specializing in historical eras or architecture styles instead of locations. Specialized knowledge of Victorians, brownstones, or luxury property gives you the freedom to learn enough about your sector to make your services more valuable than that offered by others. If you prefer commercial property, you might deal in shopping malls, or schools.

3) Clients

If you’re a people person, you might find your passion and profits in client categories. This lets you work with niche investments, too, so if you enjoy combing through analytics, you might choose to work solely with exclusive sellers. There’s plenty of success to be found in segments like second home buyers, growing families, and young couples.

4) Networking

Network outreach is one of the most frustrating parts of a career in realty, particularly if it’s not a skill you excel at. It takes years to develop a profitable network, so the smartest way to handle it is to dig into an existing network. If you belong to a soccer club, school, or similar community, the people you know there may be one of your most valuable assets. It allows you to develop your real estate niche with ease. Some realtors even specialize in selling to hobbyist groups and the like.

5) Modernize

If you were to reinvent the real estate market for today’s needs, you’d probably move it online. When real estate brokers first emerged, the internet didn’t exist, but today, there are a number of realtors tapping online demographics. If you’re tech-savvy enough to start your own e-commerce brokerage, it might be the ideal niche for you. Considering the sheer number of private sellers cutting out the realtor entirely, it’s critical that the industry disrupt this by offering better digital services.

6) Designations

Few realtors reach the peak of their triumph by resting easy. Your skills and knowledge need to be honed. Every niche can benefit from its own collection of designations and qualifications. Examples of these include:

• Representing buyers (ABR)
• Seniors’ home buying and selling needs (SRES)
• Resorts and second homes (RSPS)
• Negotiation expert (CNE)

If you’re considering developing your own niche and need upfront funds to boost the process, contact us today.

To-Do Lists

Probably the single best way to keep track of your tasks and goals is to create to-do lists. Many agents recommend creating multiple lists for both short and long-term goals. First, create a one or five year plan that has all of the major goals you are working toward in a general sense. Frame it, put it up on the wall or just keep it somewhere where you can see it and be reminded of where you area headed. Next, create a to-do list for weekly tasks, things you need to check up on and errands you’ve been putting off. Lastly, create a daily to-do list that really nails down the tasks you need to take care of right now, today. When all of your daily tasks have been marked off, turn to your weekly list and see what you can get knocked out in your free time. Don’t forget to include family time and vacations on your to-do lists too!

Disconnect

For the sake of your sanity and mental health, take some time each day to disconnect from your phone, email and social media. Use a productivity app that rewards you for not wasting time, and set a timer for yourself. Whether it’s an hour or just thirty minutes, use this time to really focus on the most complicated tasks without any distractions and get as much done as possible. Staying organized on a day to day basis will ensure that you don’t waste this time tracking down information or trying to decide what needs to get done first.

Create Partnerships

You can’t be everywhere at once. Building a team of other agents and assistants in your area can help relieve the stress on you. Find partners with offset schedules, different availability, and located in different parts of town. Then when you have a client in need, you can refer them to your partners instead of having to make a long commute or cancelling family plans to make time for them. Splitting commissions with your partners is not such a bad deal if they are able to throw some business your way that falls within your normal work hours and gives you more flexibility throughout the week.

The key to maintaining a solid real estate agent work life balance is knowing what parts of your life are most important and how much time you want to spend on each one. By prioritizing your family alongside your work in your long term planning, you have the ability to check in on yourself and see how you are doing as you move down your to-do list each day. Working with other agents in the area will not only improve your real estate agent work life balance, but will also help them do the same. This mutually beneficial work relationship can help you reach a larger customer base and actually improve your income while reducing your work hours.

Premier Commission offers commission advances for agents who want to build their businesses. For more information about this useful cash flow tool, visit our website or call us today to speak to an agent.