Turn 2012's Market Forecast to Your Advantage

It’s the almost-common consensus among real estate agents that we’re about halfway through a 10-year adjustment period for the real estate market. Veterans in the field have enough time and experience in the business to wait out such a period, and agents who opened up shop 8 to 10 years ago probably don’t want to quit just yet, but real estate rookies might hesitate to launch a career in real estate for a few more years. But they shouldn’t: Because of the advantages of social media marketing, now is a great time to begin buying and selling real estate and making a name for yourself.

This week, findings from Jones Lang LaSalle’s outlook were presented in its annual media webcast event. Here’s what they found: Despite the slow improvement in underlying demand for most segments of the commercial real estate market, total investment volume will continue trending upward.

 “… We anticipate the United States [real estate] recovery to be comparably stable in 2012, though the overall growth trajectory will remain modest. Debt financing will remain available for core real estate, and we expect the current slowdown in commercial mortgage-backed securities will be relatively short-lived, though the recovery in CMBS volumes will be choppy and will take time.”

That translates into actual growth in 2012, but slow growth. It’s not terrible news, but it’s also not great news. And it’s certainly not a surprise. So, what to do with it?

If economic indicators and market projections indeed point to another 5 years of adjustment before the real estate market rebounds in a significant way, this is an ideal time to devote marketing resources to online media and social media. This can be done with very little money (or a lot of money, depending on your budget) but overall it demands your time, focus and attention. It also demands an outside-the-box approach that goes beyond basic updates on a Facebook page or the occasional blog post.

Going back to some of our recent blog posts, here are some pointers: You can add some umph to your Craigslist real estate listings, study successful real estate blogs, and study how successful Realtors are using social media.

Five years is not a long time in the grand scheme of things. Work hard to market yourself in social media now, and you’ll be at the front of the pack when online searches escalate in tandem with a healthier real estate market.

View the original article on the ReachFactor blog.