There are many questions that should be asked before embarking upon a career of real estate investment. The first and foremost question however should be whether or not you are truly committed to making real estate work for you. This is not a business for the faint of heart. In order to truly turn a profit you must be at times ruthless when dealing with buyers and sellers but ethical to a fault when it comes to the work that must often be done in order to get a property in sellable condition.

The reason a serious commitment is needed in order to make real estate work for you is simple. There will be ups and downs along the way. The stock market experiences rises and falls on a regular basis. Just as you cannot dump all of your stock over one bad day the same holds true even more so in the realm of real estate investing. Property values in general rise gradually over time. This means that even if the values in a community falter chances are that they will eventually recover.

Those who bank on the slow and steady growth in the value are referred to as buy and hold investors. These investors are truly committed to their investment. Some of them elect to hold the property as a vacation property while others opt to earn an income on the property by renting it out to other families or vacationers, whatever their choice may be.

This is a great way for many people to enjoy the luxury of a vacation property without absorbing all of the expenses involved in owning a vacation property as the rentals will help compensate some of the costs when the owners (investors) are not in residence. This is a fairly common practice in high demand tourist areas in which people often enjoy vacationing. These types of investors are what some people refer to as serious real estate investors though all real estate investors need to take their purchases seriously.

Those who own rental properties must also be committed to making their investments work for them. Rental properties are not a ‘hands off’ type of investment, as they will need to be maintained in order to remain in demand by tenants. You must also make constant efforts to keep these properties managed and filled along with remaining certain that you are collecting your rent each month and that the properties aren’t falling into a state of disrepair or abuse by tenants.

Many investors retain the services of property management agencies in order to handle the minutia of month-to-month details and collections. This is a great idea whether you have one lone rental property or a vast portfolio of rental properties. Even better however, is the fact that if you keep your rental properties in reasonable repair throughout the years they can become liquid assets in time. In other words, they may actually pay for themselves a few times over if you invest for the long-term rather than focusing on the moment.

No matter what type of real estate investment you intend to have it is important that you are prepared to make the commitment to profit or profitability that is necessary in order for your venture to be deemed a success.

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While the exact dates for categorizing each generation are often in debate, Stefan Swanepoel, author of the 2007 Swanepoel Trends Report, says there is no debate about their existence and the fact that each has very different characteristics, resulting from the events that shaped them.

According to Swanepoel as the Boomers make way for Generations X and Y, the world is gradually dealing with the change – real estate is no exception. Each new generation reacts and seeks to change what the previous generations have done, leaving their own footprint on society and business. Although there is no agreement on the exact dates, the following is the generally accepted rule of thumb.

G.I. Generation (1901 – 1924)
Silent Generation (1925 – 1945)
Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964)
Gen X or Baby Busters (1965 – 1976)
Gen Y/Millenials/Echo Boomers (1977 – 1994)

The first Echo Boomers (Generation Y) are turning 30 next year, which puts the majority of them in their twenties today. They are a determined, daring and smart group that grew up in a period in which the Internet already existed. As a result, they are very comfortable with every aspect of the medium. They have surfed, watched, recorded, listened and downloaded just about everything they can and are now beginning to effect significant change in the real estate industry.

Even as homeowners Echo Boomers approach matters very differently. They are more likely to buy a home at a younger age than previous generations. They are also not like their Boomer parents that waited for marriage or even a long-term relationship before becoming homeowners. Their thoughts, desires and perspectives are going to change the way the industry conducts itself – like it or not.

The real estate industry is facing a large, escalating change in customer demographics. The Internet is maturing and the door is opening for entry into the industry by newer business models that are heavily focused on fulfilling consumer needs rather than just completing a sales transaction. In 2005, 40% of homebuyers were first time buyers and 50% of them were between the ages of 25 and 34 (Gen X and Echo Boomers). Even more telling – 38% of all homebuyers in that period were under the age of 35.

According to numerous studies undertaken by NAR and the California Association of Realtors® (CAR), approximately 70% of all homebuyers start their search on the Internet. In 2003 the percentage of Internet Buyers and Traditional Buyers was equal. In 2000 Internet buyers represented only 30%.

These new savvy online consumers are looking to the Internet as a tool to fulfill their home buying experience. What they use the Internet for and the extent and quality of service available are starting to shape the real estate process. “Home buyers and sellers are a generational melting pot and understanding each generation will soon become paramount for all brokers and agents,” Swanepoel says. “It is quickly becoming a necessity for agents to become a generational expert in order to effectively serve all their home buying and selling customers.”

Learning to work effectively with each different generation is as much about improving one’s personal skill set as it is re-engineering the real estate professional. That said, according to Tom Stevens, immediate past president of NAR, the next generation of homeowners is already beginning to exert its influence on the housing market so there is no time to lose.

Between 2001 and 2005, NAR reported that the number of first time homebuyers under the age of 25 increased from 11% to14%. When you increase that age to 35 the percentage jumps to 64%. Add to that the fact that the median age of buyers who used the Internet to search for homes in 2005 was 38 and the picture becomes very clear. In 2005, 40% were Generation X and 39% were Echo Boomers … that’s 8 out of every 10 new homebuyers.

Gen X and the Echo Boomers represent the push for newer approaches and processes that are integrated into the “technology” platforms they are not only familiar with but the very ones they helped develop. Companies like Edina and others that are re-engineering their businesses to understand, market to and focus on this growing younger market are smart and wise.

For the others, don’t wait too long or you may find your business eclipsed as fast as new concepts like MySpace, YouTube and Facebook became mainstream. If you are looking for more information on how to restructure your company, look no further than the 159-page Swanepoel TRENDS Report.

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Generating home buyer and seller leads is no small task, especially for a real estate agent who is looking for ways to get some. There are many strategies involved in generating home buyer and seller leads, but their effectiveness is necessarily dependent on current market conditions and current market conditions.

A general approach for struggling real estate agents needing home buyer and seller leads is to employ multiple marketing strategies to leverage leads and prospects. Sure-fire techniques vary, so it is safe to say that trying diverse methods can increase the odds of generating viable leads.

Three Proven Lead Generating Strategies

Below are two successful lead generating strategies that work in most market conditions, Farming Expired Listings and an assortment of Lead Generation Ideas and Referrals.

1. Farming Expired Listings. You know about it, but are you doing it? Farming Expired Listings can be a passive way of generating buyers and sellers. If you get the listings from sellers you’ll then have something to attract buyers.

And guess what? When you have lots of listings sellers will call you you wanting to do business with you. I guess you can say that your for sale signs are kind of a status symbol that advertises you as a successful agent. And everybody wants to do business with a winner…right?

2. Lead Generation Ideas. If you think it you can generate leads by doing it; holding open houses, handing out flyer, networking, putting on home buyer and seller seminars, mailing letters, etc. I call this multiple streams of leads.

The point here is to create as many lead streams as you can, so that when one dries up others will continue generating leads for you. For example, some people work exclusively with sellers, but in a sellers market their commissions may dry up to nothing. So, it behooves them to be great listing agents who may also specialize in first time buyers and low to medium priced condos.

3. Referrals. No matter what your lead generating strategy is it’s important to connect with them people on a personal level, as people will do business with strangers that they like before they will with acquaintances that they dislike.

The real estate business is a business built on trust and constant contact with past and potential clients can cultivate that type of relationship. If you continue connecting with your past clients, the possibilities of getting referrals, recommendations and new acquaintances are high.

Remember, relationships are built and strengthened over time and the more past clients you have the more positive leads you’ll get.

Lead Generation Etiquette

Personally connecting with prospects is of the utmost importance in establishing relationships with buyers and sellers. Unlike what you think, selling isn’t just about having the gift of gab – it’s also about having the gift of likeability. So, the more you connect with people, the better the odds of you getting the quality and quantity of leads you need to have a successful career in real estate sales.

So, here’s the kicker. When you meet old and new acquaintances let them initiate the conversation about your real estate business. It is better if you let them start and open up with the idea to make the conversation casual and less business-focused. It also lets you seem less eager … maybe even a little desperate?

Some real estate agents fail miserably in this regard because they are overly aggressive and cannot wait for others to open up the topic. However, with human nature being what it is people who are serious about real estate business will open up no matter what; you just have to wait your turn before you pitch in.

Getting help from family, friends and co-workers will also increase the odds of generating home buyer and seller leads. But warn them about the opening up thing because you want them on the same page as you. A unified approach is important. So, let them just talk casually until others ask about you and your real estate connections.

Summarily, home buyer and seller leads can be realized from many different aspects, circumstances and situations. The most important thing to remember is to maximize your commitment to build trust and good rapport with everyone you meet.

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