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After an unusually slow spring and summer, which saw home sales dip when they typically spike, you may be wondering how to get more buyers interested in your market. Stubbornly low inventory doesn’t help and has kept many would-be buyers on the sidelines. But when you don’t have enough homes on the market to show clients, it’s time to start selling other attributes of your city to keep potential buyers interested.
Think about all the amenities—parks, restaurants, and cultural institutions, for example—that make your neighborhood a desirable place to live. Use these items as talking points to seduce buyers not just with an individual property but with the lifestyle your area affords. We looked at five major housing markets where real estate professionals are going beyond local market data to entice their clients.
Detroit
There are many things that make downtown Detroit a wonderful place to call home. Several parks, an internationally acclaimed riverwalk, major sports venues, and a wide variety of restaurants have helped draw people into Motor City—and keep them there.
“Billions of dollars are being pumped into downtown, attracting diverse clients, and it’s raining opportunity,” says Moe Bzeih, a sales associate with Century 21 Curran & Christie in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn.
Condominiums are in high demand right now in the downtown area, according to Bzeih. In fact, “Condos are selling in 10 days or less at $300,000-plus,” he says. “Downtown, downtown, downtown—stay there, invest there, live there.”
San Antonio
The city had the largest population gain nationwide between 2016 and 2017, putting it at the top of the list of fastest-growing cities in the U.S. San Antonio adds 60 people a day, on average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As a result, its housing market is booming.
There are many reasons why a potential buyer would want to buy a home there, says Daniela Andreevska, content marketing director at real estate data analytics company Mashvisor. “San Antonio offers a very diverse, friendly, and young population,” she says. “One of the top reasons to buy a home or an investment property to rent out in San Antonio is the steady job growth, as well as the stable economy.”
As far as the future of real estate in Alamo City goes, Andreevska says it will remain affordable. “Median home prices are likely to continue being relatively low in San Antonio for the rest of the year and even beyond, much below the level in many other hot real estate markets across the U.S. Moreover, single-family homes will continue dominating the housing market.”
Philadelphia
The Philadelphia market is hot right now, and it doesn’t appear to be cooling down anytime soon. According to Trulia, the median sales price in The City of Brotherly Love as of July 25 was $193,000.
“Condominiums and townhomes are in high demand citywide,” says Michael Kelczewski of Brandywine Fine Properties Sotheby’s International Realty in nearby Wilmington, Del. “Single-family properties sell well throughout suburban locations,” he adds.
When it comes to area hot spots, Kelczewski points out that the “suburbs to the east, heading toward the Main Line—Haverford, Narberth, and Drexel Hill—all remain popular. Strong employment levels and growing earnings should continue to support a strong housing market.”
Jacksonville, Fla.
With more than 500 neighborhoods, Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida. “Real estate prices are relatively low, with a median home price of $300,600, which is below the level of other hot housing markets,” Andreevska says.
Having lived in Jacksonville and South Florida, homeowner Kate Genematas agrees. “You definitely get a lot for your money in Jacksonville,” she says. “Waterfront is always a little pricier, of course, but I feel like you get a lot more for your money compared to other cities in South Florida.”
With less than 1 percent of homes on the water, Jacksonville has the highest premium of waterfront living in the U.S., at 72 percent, according to a recent Zillow study. It doesn’t appear to be fazing the city, though. “The Jacksonville real estate market is expected to continue growing and to become even hotter in the coming years,” Andreevska says.
San Diego
“Out of the major cities in California to choose from, San Diego is where you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck, real estate-wise,” says California-based real estate investing expert Nick Vertucci.
Other real estate professionals agree. “San Diego is a great place to buy a home because the city is amazing,” says the husband-and-wife team of John and Melissa Steele, who run Steele San Diego Homes. “We like to say that it has all the benefits of a big city without many downsides.”
The median home price in San Diego County has risen 8.6 percent since April 2017, according to CoreLogic. “Four-bedroom homes are the hottest commodity,” says Vertucci. “The average sale price for single-family homes in San Diego is $595,000, which could land you a nice three-bedroom, three-bathroom house out in Linda Vista.” If you’re unfamiliar, Linda Vista is a residential community in San Diego located east of Mission Bay.
“The San Diego market is still very hot, and homes of all types are flying off the market,” Steele says. “If a property is well-priced, it’s not uncommon for it to be off the market within a matter of a week or two, regardless of the type of home.”
He points out that the market will continue to be active through the rest of the year but predicts a slowdown at some point. “It is typical to see a little bit of a slowdown around the holidays, specifically between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, as many buyers and sellers choose to avoid the process of moving during this time,” says Steele.
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