Why do architects tend to live in the best houses, musicians have the best record collections, and writers have the best libraries? It’s a simple matter of expertise; if you work in an industry, you have access to the best information in the field.
This rule applies to real estate agents too. Making a savvy real estate investment is, more often than not, a simple matter of knowing what people want, what price point makes the most sense, and where the market is going. And that, in a nutshell, is exactly what good real estate agents do for their clients.
So if you’re an agent, why not use that institutional knowledge for your own benefit?
The pandemic has disrupted the housing market, and you could argue that buying is risky right now. But that only means that agents are even better positioned than usual to capitalize on this opportunity; after all, as risk increases, so does the potential reward.
If you still need more convincing, here are the top reasons why agents make the best investors—even during the pandemic.
Who Knows the Market Better Than an Agent?
Selling and buying a house requires a fine-tuned sense of not only where the neighborhood is at but also where the neighborhood is going. Is it headed up or down? Do the sellers know that? Are they pricing the house accordingly? Finding underpriced homes is crucial to successful investing, and agents have the market insight to find, and close, these deals.
A good agent is also a good reader of people, meaning they can understand where the seller is coming from. Are they a motivated seller, or are they stubborn? Do they have realistic expectations? Are they moving because they just got a divorce? Did they just get a job in a different city? An agent can understand a seller’s wants and needs more easily than a regular buyer or investor.
Agents Have a Network in Place
What many amateur investors don’t realize is that buying, selling, or renting a property really is a group project. And while the investor is the leader, they need a strong support staff around them—everything from contractors, to real estate photographers, to mortgage lenders, to home-staging services—to make sure the deal gets across the finish line.
One of the biggest challenges for investors just starting out is building up a network of partners they can depend on. Because the sad truth is, quality of work varies wildly, and not everyone in the real estate industry is totally honest.
The Market Is Looking Rosy
It’s hard to look up the news without seeing headlines about how bad the economy is. It’s true—a lot of markets are down, and a lot of people are experiencing serious financial adversity.
But the housing market is actually doing pretty well—you just have to know where to look.
Because of the 2008 financial crisis, many members of the public are conditioned to associate any economic downturn with an accompanying downturn in housing prices. But 2008 was unique because the housing market caused the crash, so it’s no surprise that housing prices crashed. Although the pandemic has made the economy a little shaky, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the housing market, and it shows—average list prices are actually higher now than they were in 2019.
Agents understand what this means. While the larger economy is still experiencing turbulence, the housing market is looking up. If you’re investing, now is the time to get in because home prices are virtually guaranteed to skyrocket once the pandemic is over.
In a Time of Insecurity, Real Estate Is Still the Safest Investment
All investments are about managing risk, and in this time of high insecurity, most investors have lost their appetite for risk. This is why gold has hit record highs; with nearly everything looking riskier than ever, investors want to put their money somewhere safe.
But as safe as gold is, property is even safer.
