With RPR, REALTORS® Give First-time Home Buyers First Class Guidance

What’s on the minds of current home buyers—specifically first-timers? The NAR has answered that question with the recent release of their Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends study for 2021. It provides a plethora of data and research into what age groups are buying real estate and what challenges, perceived or real, each group faces.

An additional article by NAR’s REALTOR^® Magazine, NAR Study: Young Adults Eagerly Entering, Dominating Housing Market breaks down and analyzes the info even further to reveal that Millennials now make up the largest group of first-time home buyers. It also shows that the top concern among all buyers is related to finding that perfect property:

• When asked, “What buyers want from real estate agents”, nearly 50% of all buyers said: “help finding the right home to purchase”
• When asked, what are the “Most difficult steps of the home buying process?”, again, over half of all buyers responded with: “finding the right property.”

It’s pretty clear that buyers, especially first-timers, want a knowledgeable and trusted advisor to help them find a home that’s just right for them. And experienced REALTORS^® who use RPR (Realtors Property Resource®), are positioned to deliver those results.

RPR is a digital platform (website, mobile app and blog) that offers REALTORS^® access to data, tools and reports on just about every property in the country. When used in tandem with your local real estate expertise and know-how, you can provide your first-time buyers with the latest market movements and trends, and accurate, data-backed advice to help them make informed decisions.

Here’s how Katheryn DeClerck, an Associate Broker with Howard Hanna | Rand Realty in Goshen, New York sees it: “First-time homebuyers need more information and assistance in the buying process than those that have bought before. The REALTOR^®, with the help of RPR, is uniquely positioned to offer what the first-time homebuyer needs.”

Katheryn continues, “This generation is known for using technology for information and problem-solving. Online, they can be inundated with data and information and they need help interpreting it to make it useful. That’s where I think the REALTOR^® and RPR come in. Property reports bring them so much more than they get from a typical MLS printout. Market activity, school, and neighborhood reports give them valuable comprehensive reports they can only get from a REALTOR^®.”

Reports are RPR’s bread and butter. Professionally designed deliverables that are easy for consumers to understand that you can send to your clients in minutes (if not seconds). They’re also a chance for you to communicate your unique message and your brand to every prospect and client. Check out this video, RPR Reports, for more details.

REALTORS^® who use RPR reports:

• Instantly respond to client needs with real estate reports that matter
• Give their clients as much or as little data property they see fit, in an easily digestible, professionally designed package
• Deliver up-to-date data and info on specific properties, neighborhoods, schools, market activity and much more
• Brand each RPR report with their name, photo, logo and contact information
• Customize reports to include biographies, testimonials, and marketing tools

“First-time home buyers need a keen insight into the markets they are looking to buy in. The RPR reports do just that!”, says Joe Sinnona, an Associate Broker with eXp Realty. “My initial consultation with them includes giving them a copy of a neighborhood and school report in their desired area. The data from these reports includes economic, demographic, quality of life, market statistics and school ratings. These reports educate them so they can make informed decisions on where they are looking to buy.”

Joe adds, “First-time buyers, especially the Millennial generation, really appreciate that I’m able to provide such in-depth data and that they can receive it in their desired format, typically via email or text. Many times I’ve been able to make a connection at an open house with the first-time homebuyer as they usually haven’t been given this type of information previously. RPR tools set me apart from other agents!”

RPR has recently made some changes and updates to the maps experience, which makes using them easier, faster and more intuitive. With them, you can visually search for properties and uncover market trends.

The map layers offer various views and ways to “zone in” on areas, neighborhoods and properties themselves. From aerial, road, and overhead views, to schools, estimated values, heat maps, and geographic overlays, users can draw or designate maps in ways that will help you and your clients.

Miriam Treger, an Associate Broker with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services in Williamsville, New York sums it up perfectly: “A key feature within the RPR website is the map tools. By using these mapping tools, a REALTOR^® will be able to use a broader brush to expand the search areas, within the buyer’s price point, such as neighborhoods, ZIPs, cities, opportunity zones, or counties on the map, and then searching one or more of those areas. This allows the buyer to learn more about other communities to help them make good decisions. This really helps identify properties for buyers in areas that they may not have considered in their initial search.”

Well said, miriam. Watch this video, RPR: Map Search & Analysis for a quick tutorial on how to get familiar and started using RPR Maps.

First-time buyers, and all buyers for that matter, want their agent to help them find a property that fits their needs. As the industry’s leading digital real estate tool, RPR will help you make a memorable first impression and be more efficient and more productive. It will also “wow” your clients and help you take more of them to the closing table.

Here’s what RPR offers every REALTOR^®:

• Easy access to data and detailed reports via the nation’s largest property database
• Data and tools to gauge the market and research properties, markets, neighborhoods, and schools
• Customizable, client-friendly reports, branded with your info
• Access data on-the-go and respond to clients in seconds with RPR Mobile™

Want to learn more? Check out these RPR Webinars to help further your RPR knowledge. Explore the page to find on demand video tutorials and printable guides on a wide variety of topics. And remember, RPR is a member benefit offered by the National Association of REALTORS^®. You’ve already paid for it—you should be using it!

If you haven’t created your RPR account, do so today. Visit narrpr.com and follow the easy steps.