A reader seeks more information about marketing himself as a neighborhood expert. He came to the right place. That's been Realty Times primary business model for years, putting agents front and center before consumers as the experts in their areas.

"Hi Blanche, I have been searching for an article about "Neighborhood Experts." I will be sending out my newsletter and I want the homeowners in my Farm to understand what value a neighborhood expert brings to the table. Why should homeowners choose a expert in their community? I thought you would have some ideas from your perspective.

You emailed me a while back and asked if I had a request for an article, well here is one."

-- Vic Romero CRS, e-PRO, ABR, Broker Associate / Notary, Certified Relocation Specialist

Realty Times responds:

Hi, Vic.

Setting yourself up as a local market expert is a smart idea. Many agents promote themselves as experts in all things real estate, when in fact they usually only have experience in one type of housing product, usually single-family, purchased with a conventional loan; one or two neighborhoods; and a relatively small number of buyers and sellers. Many agents don't have a specialty at all for fear of discouraging potential clients who may be seeking a particular kind of agent. They don't want anyone to know that they've never sold a condo or that they aren't just as good at representing a client 200 miles away as one next door.

Limiting your appeal is the downside of choosing a specialty, but the upside is that you get to gear your business toward a niche that helps you establish yourself as the expert in that arena. That's one reason why I encourage agents to establish a niche -- so marketing is more concise and their workloads are easier. If you're known as the Kondo King or the Eastside Expert, those are catchy phrases you can use to your advantage. You might not sell as many single-family homes or homes on the Westside, but you'll do more business where people know you are really good.

There are so many specialties associated with real estate that it's hard to name them all here but just to give readers an idea, there are listing specialists, senior specialists, property managers, rental agents, buyers' agents, condo specialists, relocation experts, new home specialists, farm, ranch and other raw land specialists, commercial real estate agents, and much more.

There's also the neighborhood specialist.

So what you're talking about is promoting yourself as a neighborhood specialist over some other niche. I notice that you're a relocation specialist and that dovetails nicely with being a neighborhood expert. So, it's all a matter of marketing, imaging and branding which should be pervasive throughout your personal marketing materials such as business cards, fliers, and websites, and other means of promotion.

The question for you is do you really have a neighborhood you want to own? How narrow do you want the perimeters to be? How wide?

Those were questions Realty Times struggled with when we created our Market Conditions Reports, a means of providing agents with Internet exposure aside from listings. Agents told us they wanted to sign up for multiple neighborhoods, sometimes neighborhoods known only locally that don't appear on other searches. That's because they know that consumers look locally, even if they use a national or international site.

For example, you won't find the Park Cities in Dallas on any map, because "the Park Cities" is a colloquialism, along with "Preston Hollow" and "Uptown". Highland Park and University Park, two towns are within the borders of Dallas. These areas are the Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive of Dallas. In fact, Highland Park was platted by the architect that laid out Beverly Hills in California, Wilbur David Cook. Preston Hollow is north of the Park Cities, and Uptown is north of downtown Dallas. Those are about the only guidelines you'll be able to find, but where these "neighborhoods" are is the kind of information only a local expert, seller or homebuyer would know.

So the first problem is definition. What is a neighborhood? Where does one end and another begin? Contrary to some beliefs, zip codes are not neighborhoods. Depending on how a zip code is assigned, one five-digit number can encompass several "neighborhoods" known to locals. Neighborhoods are simply what they are called. They're references that are passed along until they become common knowledge.

Your goal is tapping into the romance, intimacy and desirability of certain neighborhoods.

It helps to have been born in the neighborhood you want to sell, or living there. Otherwise you just look like a carpetbagger, but that's okay, too, as long as you know what you're talking about, and that's proven by what you write and say about market conditions in your neighborhood.

Anyone can read MLS info, but as a real player, you should know which companies are hiring, firing, what's being built, what's being torn down, what's up for rezoning, all about the schools, city services, city politics, neighborhood amenities, neighborhood blights, and so on. Even better, you should be working actively and visibly to improve the neighborhood you want to sell by any means that interests you, from mentoring at the schools to joining neighborhood watch associations and service leagues. Nothing shows more caring than action and caring is what the neighborhood needs to see to distinguish you from other agents who want to sell homes there.

Those are a few ideas off the top of my head, and many of those we used when we designed Market Conditions Reports and our newsletter for agents, Real Estate Update.

Finding real estate is a matter of drilling down until you strike oil. On our Market Conditions Reports, consumers can start with the state, the city, then the neighborhoods, and they can talk directly to agents who actually serve those areas, without referral fees, prequalifying or any other third-party interference. Our newsletter is made up of stories that appeal to any buyer, seller, or homeowner who is interested in real estate. The agents have a place where they can customize the newsletter and add local news of their choice.

I didn't find many other articles on our site that specifically touts neighborhood specialties, but you can try searching our site with a variety of keywords and see if you find what you're looking for.

Here are search results on Realty Times for:

• neighborhood expert

• local expert

• local

• market conditions

• niche marketing

As you can see, each keyword brings up widely different results.

Thank you for writing and I hope these ideas have been helpful.