Property Portals and Generational Marketing

Generational marketing could become a lot more important for property agents and portals, particularly as Generation X, the first Internet savvy generation, begins to dominate the property market.

Generation X describes the demographic currently aged 27 to 43.

According to research by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), in the US Generation X make up approximately 25% of Realtors® and over 55% of homebuyers. Generation Y are slowly advancing into the property market, while Boomers still make up most of the decision makers in companies.

It might be old news, but some are taking the hype about the different demographics very seriously.

According to a recent article by RISMedia you need to understand how to work with Gen Xers, as well as how to promote portals and properties to them.

The article states:

“Gen Xers are the first generation to embrace the full potential of the Internet. They may be going 100 MPH on the information highway but they still need help reading the road signs. They look for value in services and are willing to pay for it. They want choices. Services should not be “one size fits all.” Gen Xers want to see the value of a transaction and how it can fit into their financial future. Gen X consumers expect to access their transactions, reports and documents online 24/7.”

US based portal Homes & Land released data about their readers that corroborates NAR’s demographic research. They say 61% of their audience is between 25 and 44 years old.

Most interestingly, Homes & Land say 69% of their audience is female, with males making up just less than a third, or 31% of their audience.

homesandland.com exclusive with Yahoo!

US based homesandland.com have signed an exclusive deal with Yahoo! Real Estate, which sees the publisher offering its advertisers featured listings on Yahoo! Real Estate.

Rob Wicker, Homes & Land’s chief marketing officer was quoted on Inman.com as saying the deal was really just an expansion of the existing relationship between the two companies: “We’ve got over 20 partners right now, and we partnered with Yahoo at least 10 years ago”.

Like most portals, homesandland.com has long been referring listings to Yahoo! Real Estate. The new deal means homesandland.com will now receive a commission for any agents that upgrade to featured listings on Yahoo! Real Estate.

Real Estate Agents will be able to choose to upgrade as they load their listings on homesandland.com.

The move already seems popular, with Inman reporting that 1,500 agents choose to upgrade since the feature was introduced on 15 October. It is likely that other portals will follow.

The Homes & Land family includes Homes & Land Magazine, Move Magazine and HomesandLand.com. The group claims the website alone generates more than 1.46 million unique monthly visitors.