Have you noticed that people are always talking about the next batch of homebuyers? You don’t have to go far to see headlines about the next group of people buying a home — who we should all immediately go after.
Articles about millennials, retirees downsizing, international investors (mostly from China and Latin America buying with cash), etc. As I read all of them, I sometimes wonder if all these articles are based on facts. But who’s right? Is everyone right? Can we all go after the same new buyers?
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Why not take the good ol’ scientific approach? Isn’t that how we confirm things to be true? Or let’s do it in a simpler way.
Let’s just look at the numbers and provide more fact-based information. Don’t get me wrong, there is a market in those spaces that many of us should certainly cater to.
But what do the numbers show? What trends are we seeing that will help us understand which buyers can provide the industry with stability and prove to be the fastest growing? Where will we see the buyers come from to sustain and continue what we’ve experienced the past couple of years?
The numbers I mean are the demographic numbers in the U.S. It’s easy to see that the largest and fastest-growing majority right now is the Hispanic community. A group of hard-working and law-abiding citizens looking for ways to live the American dream.
Consider this:
- According to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Provessionals’ (NAHREP) State of Hispanic Ownership Report, Hispanics in the U.S. account for 40 percent of the household growth, and 672,000 Hispanic households rent and have the ability to buy a home
- The Urban Institute projects that in the next five years, Hispanics will account for 55.5 percent of new homeowners alone
- According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. is the second-largest Spanish speaking population in the world with 38 million Spanish speakers
We should all start looking at the real numbers and facts and begin wrapping our minds around the opportunity. There sits a community that wants to be assisted by professionals whom they feel they can trust.
Myths and stereotypes should be kicked to the side, and we should become real estate surfers. We should have positioned ourselves already for the big wave because if you don’t, you might not be able to catch it in time.
If the numbers impress you, it’s smart and a good business practice to pursue the community that is looking for assistance.
Because they don’t know who to go to or what to do, you need to make yourself accessible to them so you can be that professional guiding them through the homebuying process.
What do you have to lose? Just new business, so jump in.
Neil Terc is the president and founder of Yourcasa.com and SuCasa.com. Follow Neil on Twitter @neilterc.