Before you create Markets in MarketBoost™, consider these important tips to help you maximize your engagement with clients and leads.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to setting up Markets, as they’re specific to both your area and your business.  Regardless of how straightforward or nuanced this is in your area, in this article you’ll find tips that will help you get your Markets set up right.

What Makes a Good Market?

In setting up your Markets, your goal should be to divide your territory into areas that are meaningful to the people looking to live there, as well as those who already do. Choose too large an area and your subscribers might lose interest in alerts that aren't specific enough to them. Select an area that's too small and your alerts might not include enough listings and data to be appealing.  

Location, location…

It’s a cliché because it’s true: location is usually the biggest factor in how a home is valued, as well as in a homebuyer’s search. When you’re setting up Markets, you’ll likely want to create different Markets for distinct geographical segments of the area you serve. Your Markets should correspond to how homebuyers in your area search, so don't be afraid to get specific. It's also possible to create one Market for a larger area, and then create additional Markets to divide that larger area into smaller pieces: for example, a Market for all of San Francisco, with additional Markets covering each neighborhood within the city.

Some typical geographic segments to consider when setting up Markets include:

Markets in Action: Use a basic search to focus on a zip code or city, and use Advanced Search to create Markets based on school districts or neighborhoods, when that information is available from your MLS. If your area is best divided using an option that's not available in MLS data, consider using a polygon to draw custom areas for your Markets.

The Type Is Right

Property Type is another major factor to consider when setting up Markets. Not only are different property types valued differently, but clients are typically focused on one property type in their search.  

Different property types to consider include:

 
Each market can be for only one property type (except for the option to create a combined house/condo market).

Markets in Action: The property types available to you depend on your MLS. Consider creating a Market for each property type within a particular area to make your Markets more relevant – or focus only on the type that you specialize in.

How Much is Enough?

While setting up your Markets, you’ll get a real-time count of the listings available using your current search criteria. This number should guide your Market setup. For instance, if the area you’ve specified has no listings for sale, you should consider removing some criteria to make sure your search yields results. If you have over 300 listing results, you might want to consider splitting your Market into two, or even three separate Markets. Additional criteria to help narrow searches include:

Markets in Action: Price can be a good tool to narrow a search, but use it carefully when creating Markets if you plan to use the Market Report. If you create too narrow a price range, the data presented in the Market Report -- such as median price/sq ft -- will become less meaningful.

Use Your Niche

If you're working with a specific focus, make sure your Markets represent that. If you're an agent specializing in golf course condos, your Markets should single out each course in your area. Setting up Markets that reflect your business will improve the listings and data that appear in your reports, and will leave no doubt to your subscribers and site visitors that you're the local expert.