The Latest Business Trends Agents Need to Recognize in 2024 – Inman

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Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky once said, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”

Real estate sales are evolving at an increasingly rapid pace. If you can identify some of the emerging trends and capitalize on those trends – proverbially skating to where the puck will be – you can stand out from your competition like never before.

Here are seven emerging trends you can use to grow your business in 2024.

1️. The power of building a personal brand

A personal brand is the result of sharing your experiences, skills and what you stand for in a way that attracts your ideal clients. Personal brands take time to develop and the most successful agent in your market is usually the agent with the strongest personal brand.

Forbes published an article on February 6, 2024 entitled: “Why 2024 is the year to build your personal brand.” In the article they state the following:

In today’s market, entrepreneurs face a huge challenge: standing out. With thousands of voices clamoring for attention, being just another face in the crowd is not an option. The statistics are clear: staggering 77 percent of consumers prefer to buy from a brand they recognize.

Yet many entrepreneurs struggle to gain this recognition. They struggle with a crowded market, ever-changing algorithms and a landscape where consumer loyalty is difficult to win. Their brilliant ideas and hard work often go unnoticed, not because they have no value, but because they are not visible.

This struggle is not only frustrating; it is also expensive. Without a clear personal brand, entrepreneurs risk being overlooked, losing potential customers to more visible competitors and missing out on crucial growth opportunities.

Now is the time to redouble your efforts to build a personal brand that is recognized and trusted in your local market.

2. Increasing number of referral transactions

The number of referral fees paid on transactions is increasing and the data suggests this will continue to happen in the future. The addition of online programs like Zillow Flex and websites that offer leads for a referral fee at the time of closing continues to gain momentum.

The NAR 2023 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends survey adds interesting data that suggests this trend will continue to escalate as people between the ages of 24 and 42 become more active in the marketplace as they age.

This study from the 2023 NAR Home Buyers and Sellers Generation Trends shows that the overall average percentage of homebuyers surveyed who were referred to a real estate agent by a friend, neighbor or family member was 38 percent. The average percentage of homebuyers surveyed who were referred by one agent to another agent was 6 percent and the average percentage of buyers referred by their employer or moving company was 1 percent.

This means that for people surveyed, excluding referral websites or programs like Zillow Flex, an average of 45 percent of buyer-side transactions were the result of a referral.

But if you notice, for buyers between the ages of 24 and 32, the percentage of buyers who were products of the three referral sources mentioned in the previous paragraph combined was 58 percent. The percentages for the same three referral sources for people aged 33 to 42 were 53 percent – ​​again well above the average for buyers of all ages in the study.

The figures on the home seller side also confirm this trend among younger home sellers (see graph below).

The average percentage of home sellers surveyed who were referred to a real estate agent by a friend, neighbor or family member was 36 percent. The average percentage of homebuyers surveyed who were referred by one agent to another agent was 5 percent and the average percentage of buyers referred by their employer or moving company was 1 percent.

This means that before referral websites or programs like Zillow Flex, an average of 42 percent of all seller-side transactions were the result of a referral.

Similar to buyers, the percentage of home sellers referred by these three referral sources combined was 50 percent for sellers between the ages of 24 and 32. The percentages for the same three referral sources for people aged 33 to 42 were 46 percent. again above average for home sellers of all ages.

This trend should remind you to focus on your sphere of influence, on former customers and agents in feeder markets who can develop into consistent referral partners.

3️. Decline in the value of online leads

There are online lead generation sources that are still producing at a high level. But the number of leads sold annually continues to far exceed the number of transactions closed, leading to a decline in the value of online leads.

With conversion rates of less than 1 percent on the low end and 4 percent on the high end, the cost of the leads can be prohibitive. However, the amount of time needed to spend on proper follow-up to get a conversion is increasing as automated drip campaigns and automated AI bot follow-up become the norm. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd when it comes to leads generated online.

If you decide to purchase leads online, make sure you have a systematic follow-up program in place before purchasing the leads, and go into it with the challenges the average agent faces in converting these leads.

4️. Rise of the review economy

According to testimonial tree, 79 percent of people trust a review they read online as much as a personal recommendation. They also state that consumers trust peer recommendations such as online reviews 6.5 times more than they trust traditional advertising.

The value of online reviews increases over time. They will continue to work for you in the future and the trust that potential buyers and sellers have in you grows with every review you receive. Invest the time and effort into collecting more reviews and you will be rewarded.

5️. Artificial intelligence (AI) ensures efficiency

The rise of AI and the limitless ways it can create efficiencies for agents continues to shape our evolving industry. From creating content to building systems that save time and effort, AI will only become more valuable to agents as it evolves.

I believe with all my heart that AI will not replace professional, relationship-driven real estate agents. But I also believe that the agents who embrace the technology and apply it to their businesses will outperform those who don’t in the future.

6️. Listing agents continue to control the market

In the wake of the NAR settlement, the need to build a listing-based business has never been clearer. If you’re going to invest in training, technology, or tools for your business in 2024, make sure they’re focused on helping you generate more listings.

7️. Video content is now the cornerstone of marketing

I know you’re thinking, “Here we go again, talking about video.” But here are a few stats from Sprout Social to hopefully help you understand the value of video content in your business.

• Viewers retain 95 percent of a message viewed on video, while only 10 percent is read in text
• 81 percent of consumers surveyed said they would like to see more short-form video content from brands by 2024
• By 2023, users watched an average of 17 hours of video content per week
• Short-form video delivers the highest ROI compared to other marketing trends and will generate more investment than any other format by 2024.

Video, video, video. It is a marketing trend that will continue to define the success model for the best real estate agents now and in the future.

The trends are your friends. Take advantage of the opportunities the future holds, and you will see results.