If this is the year you've decided to focus on your SRES® designation and use it to raise your profile in your community, here are five strategies for connecting with locals.

Now is the time of year when you’re sketching out your 2023 business goals and deciding where to concentrate your dollars and attention for professional growth. The new course, Intro to Sustainability & Resiliency: What REALTORS ® Need to Know, may give you a start in developing a new business niche serving the growing population of consumers focusing on sustainability in their homes, communities, and personal habits. For instance, more homeowners and homebuyers are asking for -- and are willing to pay for -- properties with sustainable features. Such features bring benefits like lower utility

As the spring buying season gets into full swing, you want a grip on market drivers so you can make the best plan for your business. Plus, clients likely will pepper you with questions about who’s buying and those buyers’ motivations and wants. A recent Lending Tree survey https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/considering-move-survey/ gives you a big-picture market view and statistics you can use during chats and presentations with buyers and sellers. Lending Tree’s highlights include: How big is the market? About 40% of Americans are considering a move in 2022. How is the pandemic

You probably have an army of pros – locksmiths, cleaners, and painters – that you refer to clients. For your senior clientele, why not consider adding a tech guru? After all, the tech industry has made strides in developing smart technology that helps with aging in place, whether that’s detecting falls, monitoring health conditions, or letting seniors call for help. Yet, many seniors find installing, using, and maintaining smart home technology challenging and frustrating. According to research ( https://www.ageinplacetech.com/files/aip/Future%20of%20Smart%20Homes%20and%20Older%20Adults%202021

If you’ve been looking for ways to market your skills to aged 50+ buyers and sellers and find ways to help seniors who need accessible housing, read Ray Abichandani’s commentary in the July-August 2021 edition of REALTOR magazine. He talks about the accessibility challenges homeowners continue to face, despite the fact that the country celebrates the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act this year. The need for housing that accommodates physical limitations will only become more acute as the population ages and fewer find senior care facilities appealing. Abichandani points

Clients look to you to help them understand all the livability features that will contribute to their well-being in a prospective neighborhood. Thanks to a collaboration between AARP’s Livability Index ( https://bit.ly/3wdmRvA ) and the National Association of REALTORS ® Realtors Property Resource ® ( https://auth.narrpr.com/auth/sign-in ), you now have easy access to a wealth of data to give your baby boomer and senior clients a complete picture of a given neighborhood and address their questions about a particular zip code. AARP’s Livability Index data now is accessible on the RPR ® website

With 25% of buyers making offers without even seeing a home -- a statistic from a recent Redfin survey -- it may be more important than ever to showcase features that are most important to today’s shoppers. In addition to detailed MLS descriptions, images and videos are crucial in conveying the features, feel, and flow of a property. Keep an eye out for new surveys and studies to stay up to date on how the pandemic changes homebuyer preferences and how your listings can accommodate those wishes. For example, 35% of consumers are changing what they’re looking for in a home. That’s according to

With more people staying home to work – perhaps for some time to come – you and your clients may be struggling to find the right home office setup and ways to stay focused and productive. Look to Marie Kondo, the Japanese tidying up guru, who wrote The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, who developed the KonMari method of home decluttering. “Spark joy” is Kondo’s famous rallying cry. Here are some KonMari-based strategies for creating a comfortable, productive work-at-home life. Create an ideal work spot. Imagine how you want your workspace to look when you walk in in the morning. Do you want

After earning your Seniors Real Estate Specialist® Designation you’re probably wondering, “how do I get started?” or “what’s the best way to begin?” It can be a little overwhelming to decide the angle you want to take when it comes to letting potential clients know that you’re ready to help with all of their senior real estate needs. Creating a successful promotion plan is a great way to ensure that your senior based business takes off.

You’ve reviewed the coursework, earned your designation, and now you’re ready to dive headfirst into creating and marketing your senior based business!