How to be a Local Area Expert in Real Estate

To achieve success in your local community, an agent needs to position themselves as a local area expert in real estate. In fact, the perfect wingman to your knowledge of the housing market is your familiarity with the local area. Sure, you can tell someone the sales trends for the last 18 months off the top of your head, but can you tell them who serves the best Four Seasons Pizza in your suburb? If someone is going to buy a house off you, they want to know what the community is like, the best schools, the restaurant hotspots and where they can walk the dog. And they’re going to expect you to tell them.

Steps to Becoming a Local Area Expert in Real Estate

So your online and offline content needs to position you as a well-connected and passionate community advocate. You need to be the name-dropping local business aficionado who’s friends with everyone from the crazy cat lady to the mayor. Here’s a few content ideas to get the ball rolling.

Get involved in community events

Turn up (and fill up!) at the local sausage sizzle. Take photos with the organisers, do a little write up and release it through your social media channels. Repeat for community fun-runs, farmers markets, bonfire nights, movie screenings and swap shops. If none of the above are happening in your suburb then organise something yourself.  

Connect with local businesses

What small business doesn’t love a bit of free promotion? Connect with local small business owners, find out what they offer and do a write-up on them. Or create a short video asking them a few questions and put it on your social media. You’re building relationships and they’re more likely to recommend you to their customers. Two-way promotions for the win!

Respond to the news

Newsworthy items trend on social media. Providing an educated opinion on things that affect your local area or market will boost your credibility and visibility. Remember to use your hashtags wisely and stay away from inflammatory topics.

Interviews with sellers and buyers

Every time you sell a home you get to know buyers and sellers, so why not use their insight about the area to fuel your content? With their permission interview them on camera about why they moved to the area, what they love about it, their favourite place to get a kebab or where they go to picnic. Distribute the video on social media or use their responses to write a blog post.

School information

Schools can be a make-or-break issue for families when they are looking for a home. If you’re up to speed on the educational facilities in the area, what they offer and how they can benefit kids then you’re going to impress parents. Use your knowledge about the schools to create content.

Restaurant reviews

Look, it’s a good excuse to just try every darn eatery in town. Doing one review a week will provide publicity for the restauranteurs, create relationships with them and open up cross-promotion channels.

Walk the area

You take in so much more when you walk through a suburb, so chuck on the trainers, fill up the water bottle and hit the road. Your insight into the area will improve, and you can do a good old-fashioned letter box drop while you’re out. Take photos of interesting things you see and upload them to your social media, write articles about council developments you stumble across, name-and-shame the magpies that swoop and scare you. It’s exercise, education and content creation in one fell swoop (see what I did there?).

Learn its history

We’re a curious bunch, us humans. We want to know stuff about our surroundings. When was this built? Where did that idea come from? What happened here? Learn the answers and get them out there and you’ll win the hearts and trust of your clients.

By using your content to position yourself as an area expert, you are also providing a valuable resource to local residents, potential customers and businesses. If they want information and you’re the one with all the answers, they’ll keep coming back to you. It’s rocket fuel for your web traffic, social media engagement and credibility. Boom!

Questions about becoming a local area expert in real estate? Get in touch!