Being a real estate agent is not an easy job. It takes a strong will, the ability to self-start and superior time management skills to excel.
Even with all of that, there are a multitude of challenges agents must overcome. Here are the top six challenges real estate agents will face in 2020:
1. Crumbling Infrastructure
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates the U.S. needs to spend around $4.5 trillion dollars repairing the country’s roads, dams, bridges and other infrastructure by 2025. Poor infrastructure can impact where businesses choose to build, which can result in fewer jobs and fewer people moving into the area. Poor infrastructure can even influence the homeowners living in the area to move away, but they may have trouble finding buyers who want to live in an area with outdated infrastructure.
2. Affordability
One of the biggest challenges agents face is the limited number of affordable houses in the market. Millennials continue their multiyear trend as the largest group of buyers, but older generations aren’t moving out of their entry-level houses as quickly as millennials are ready to buy. This is pushing up home prices and making it harder for new buyers to find homes they can afford.
3. Climate Change
Homebuyers put a lot of time and resources into a home and the last thing they want is to see their investment destroyed by Mother Nature. The last few years have seen a rising number of climate-related natural disasters. From widespread fires in California to hurricanes on the coast and flooding across the country, disasters are cutting home inventory and causing buyers to second-guess buying in certain regions.
4. Keeping Up With Design Trends
Home staging is a great way to attract buyers and get great offers on listings, but design trends are constantly changing. Agents have to stay on top of home design trends to know what will and won’t help homeowners get the most value from their listings. There are some standards like cleaning and decluttering that will never go out of style, but for more home staging ideas, download the free Homeowner’s Guide to Staging eBook.
5. Technology Changes
Technology makes it easy to manage leads and contacts, find information about a location and keep a business running on the go, but it can be a lot to keep up with. On top of everything else on the to-do list, agents need to keep up-to-date on everything from best SEO practices and creating videos for their websites to implementing smart home tech in their open houses.
6. Competition
iBuyer companies like Opendoor and Offerpad are becoming more common and spreading out into more and more markets. This growth will continue in 2020. Agents must find ways to explain why it’s better to work with a real estate agent and list their home on the market, as well as find ways to profit from iBuyers in their markets.
Real estate agents will need to overcome all of these obstacles to be successful in 2020, and Homes.com is here to help. Contact us today to discuss how Homes.com can help you penetrate new market areas in 2020 and drive new leads to your business.
Mark Mathis is vice president of Sales for Homes.com. For more information, please visit marketing.homes.com.
