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Are you a new property agent who has just passed your RES exams?
Or are you a real estate agent looking to make a comeback in the real estate business?
If you belong to the above groups, this article might be useful for you.
There are many methods to build your property agent career. One of the most popular and efficient methods that I personally like is the Geographical Target Area (GTA) method.
In this article, let me share with you what this method is and how I have used this method in my real estate career.
What is the GTA method?
The GTA method in property context refers to the marketing strategy of targeting the sale and purchase of properties in a specific location.
Within the GTA, some agents choose to focus on a specific property type. Others do not limit the types of properties they focus on.
For example, I have colleagues who specialise in the landed properties in District 19. There are a good number of landed properties there and they only focused on this property type.
I have also worked with property agents who specialise in specific condos within an area. A good example is the Bayshore area in District 16. There are a number of real estate agents who make that area their GTA.
So what are the benefits of working within a GTA?
Benefits of using a GTA method
There are many benefits to using the GTA method for your real estate business. We will discuss them as follow.
(1) Efficiency in marketing
When you work in a GTA, you prospect within that area.
Think about it. Is it more efficient to concentrate your marketing efforts within an area, or all over Singapore?
My GTA is in District 15 and 16. I have a prospecting system whereby I prospect to the residents living in the condos at Tanjong Rhu and Meyer Road.
According to the marketing rule of Seven, your prospective seller or buyer needs to see or hear your marketing messages at least seven times before they sell or buy through you.
By concentrating my marketing efforts within an area, the frequency of my prospects seeing or hearing from me is higher. I am thus more efficient in reaching out to my prospective clients.
(2) Saves time
As a real estate agent, one of our main responsibilities is to conduct viewings.
On a typical weekend, our day is filled with viewing appointments.
Imagine the schedule if we do not work in a GTA. We will be traveling from one end to the other end of Singapore.
However, if we were to work in a GTA, our viewings will be within the same area or even within the same condo!
Easier to manage data
Apart from saving time commuting for viewings, what I really like about working within a GTA is the efficiency in managing data.
As a GTA specialist, we must be updated on the units that were sold and those that are in the market. What is the latest transacted price? Which unit is recently listed in the market? What is the price that the seller is asking for? These should all be at our fingertips.
A real estate agent spends a lot of time researching, compiling and updating our spreadsheet.
Working in a GTA means we only have to update one set of data, rather than working on a new spreadsheet each time we meet a seller or buyer.
And that means doing less for more!
(3) Establish yourself as an authority in the GTA
Being a specialist in a GTA means we are the person most familiar with the area.
Which are the units that were just listed in the market? What is the asking price? Which are the units that were just sold? What were the transacted prices?
Which condo is popular with buyers and tenants? How fast will a unit be taken up within the stack in that condo?
With all the data that we have, coupled with our experience in the GTA, we establish ourselves as an authority in the GTA.
This means we have a competitive edge over other property agents as our prospective sellers and buyers will be looking for someone who is more knowledgeable about the area!
Steps To Identify Your GTA
Now that we know the benefits of working within a GTA, let us take a look at the steps to identify your GTA.
Step 1: Identify the area that you are most familiar
Familiarity breeds comfort.
When I work with my associates in identifying their GTA, one of the first areas I explore is the area where they live.
This is a pragmatic approach.
We are always more familiar with the area that we live in. This gives us a head-start as we already know the area.
Also, working in the area where we live means we travel a shorter distance to where we need to work.
Last but not least, clients tend to trust you more if you are also a resident in the area where you work. That's where the marketing strategy of "Resident Agent" comes about.
With that in mind, we will proceed to the next few steps to confirm if this is the GTA worth investing our time and financial resources.
Step 2: Identify the property types you are most comfortable with
The next step involves identifying the property type you are most comfortable with.
By property types, I am referring to HDB, condo, landed properties or new launches.
I know of property agents who like to do HDB properties. They are familiar with this property type and like to work with heartlanders.
There are also real estate agents who focus on condominiums. Some of them are not familiar with HDB policies and prefer to work on condominiums.
And there are property agents who like the landed property segment. This is a segment that requires different knowledge and it is a good area to specialize in.
Step 3: Check if there is a healthy number of transactions and listings within the GTA
After identifying the area and the property types, the next step is to check if there is a healthy number of transactions and listings in that GTA to sustain your business.
For HDB transactions, I will go to the HDB website to check the number of transactions that took place over the past 1 year.
Click here to check HDB transactions.
One of the strategies for agents looking to target HDB properties will be to focus at areas with flats reaching their Minimum-Occupation-Period (MOP) soon. This group of owners might want to upgrade or cash out after fulfilling the 5 years MOP.
For condominiums and landed transactions, you can use the URA website to check the units that were recently transacted.
Alternatively, if you have subscribed to 99.co or Edgeprop, you can also use it to check the transactions.
A good rule of thumb is to focus on bigger developments with at least 500 units. This should give you healthy transactions for your business.
P/s: I will write a separate article to discuss strategies to target HDB properties. Stay tuned!
Prospecting Within Your GTA
So after identifying the GTA to work in, what prospecting should we do to generate business?
(1) Mailers
I am a big fan of mailers, and I build my GTA primarily using the mailers.
I started off in my real estate career building my GTA in Marine Parade HDB estate. There are a total of around 7,000 units (around 6,000 units after you deduct the rental units and commercial units).
I have a template for the mailers that I do for my GTA. The color scheme and design are consistent, only the contents are updated. This is important for residents to remember my mailers, and therefore remember me.
Branding is important for the real estate business. In my mailers, my photo is always on the most prominent page.
Within the mailers, I will put in details like recent transacted price, testimonials from clients, units that I have transacted personally and units that I am currently marketing.
(2) Website
I started my own website last year.
It is not difficult to create a website. The challenge lies in getting the website listed organically on the first page of google search.
The website is a goose that lays golden eggs. I have witnessed for myself the number of leads you can generate consistently in the long term using a website.
While I am not an expert in website marketing, I am glad we have a digital team within the group to help one another with website marketing.
(3) Facebook / Instagram Sponsored Ads
Social media is a must for modern prospecting.
I have a dedicated Facebook and Instagram page - Living In East Coast. This page serves to connect myself with my followers and enhance my branding as a specialist for East Coast properties.
(4) Door to door canvassing
Door-to-door canvassing is a traditional but powerful form of prospecting. It is a great way to network and introduce yourself to the GTA that you are working within.
In order to do a successful door-to-door canvassing, you must do detailed research before you hit the streets. Common questions owners ask include the estimated price their properties can fetch, the procedure to buy and sell etc.
Do bring along your name cards and flyers to leave at the gate if nobody answers the door.
As there are restrictions to enter condominiums, door-to-door canvassing can only be done for HDB and landed properties.
(5) Other Methods
There are many other prospecting methods like tele-marketing, open house, direct mails etc which you can explore.
I will discuss the different prospecting methods in my other articles. Stay tuned!
Conclusion
There are many methods and strategies to build our real estate business. Working within a GTA is one of the most efficient methods.
Once you have decided on your GTA, prospect consistently.
If you would like to have a chat on how we can work together, drop me a whatsapp or schedule an appointment using the link below.
I believe my experience will be able to help you in achieving your goals in this industry.
See you soon!
Related Readings
Vivian joined the real estate industry in 2002.
Having been in the real estate business for almost 2 decades, she knows the rewards and challenges that a real estate agent face.
While the real estate career offers lucrative income and flexible work hours, it also presents many challenges - financial insecurity as we do not have basic pay, time management as we juggle work, children and family all at one time.
Only those who have walked the same journey will understand.
Vivian would now like to pay it forward by mentoring fellow agents, especially women who want to build a real estate career.
It is her vision to see women achieving their dreams, and live their lives with purpose and passion through a successful real estate career.
Call Vivian at 98577714 to embark on this journey.