real estate website business plan

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How to Create an Effective kvCORE Website for Your Real Estate Business

In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for any real estate business. One of the most powerful tools at your disposal is a well-designed website. Not only does it serve as a virtual storefront, but it also allows you to showcase your listings, connect with potential clients, and establish yourself as a trusted authority in the industry. When it comes to creating a website for your real estate business, one platform that stands out is kvCORE. In this article, we will explore how to create an effective kvCORE website that will help you attract more leads and grow your business.

Getting Started with kvCORE

First things first, let’s understand what kvCORE is and why it’s the ideal choice for real estate professionals. Developed by Inside Real Estate, kvCORE is a comprehensive platform that provides agents and brokers with all the tools they need to manage their online presence effectively. From lead generation and management to website design and analytics, kvCORE offers a range of features that are specifically tailored to meet the needs of the real estate industry.

To get started with kvCORE, you will need to sign up for an account and choose a subscription plan that suits your requirements. Once you have access to the platform, you can begin customizing your website and harnessing its powerful features.

Designing Your Website

A visually appealing and user-friendly website is essential for attracting and retaining visitors. With kvCORE’s intuitive interface and customizable templates, designing an impressive website becomes effortless.

Start by selecting a template that aligns with your brand image and target audience. Consider factors such as color schemes, font styles, layout options, and navigation menus when making your decision. Remember that consistency in design elements across various pages of your website helps maintain a cohesive look.

Next, focus on creating engaging content for each page of your kvCORE website. This includes well-written property descriptions, captivating images, and informative blog posts related to the real estate market. Ensure that your content is optimized for search engines by incorporating relevant keywords and providing valuable information to your visitors.

Lead Generation and Management

One of the key advantages of using kvCORE is its robust lead generation and management capabilities. The platform provides you with various tools to capture leads, nurture them, and convert them into clients.

Utilize kvCORE’s built-in lead capture forms strategically throughout your website. Place them on high-traffic pages such as property listings or blog posts to maximize their visibility. Make sure the forms are concise, easy to fill out, and offer something of value in return for the visitor’s contact information.

Once you start generating leads, use kvCORE’s lead management features to organize and prioritize them effectively. The platform allows you to assign leads to specific agents or teams, set up automated follow-up sequences, and track the progress of each lead through the sales funnel. By leveraging these features, you can streamline your lead management process and ensure that no potential client slips through the cracks.

Analytics and Optimization

To make informed business decisions and continuously improve your online presence, it’s essential to monitor your website’s performance using analytics tools provided by kvCORE.

Take advantage of kvCORE’s analytics dashboard to gain insights into crucial metrics such as website traffic, lead conversion rates, bounce rates, and more. By analyzing this data regularly, you can identify areas that need improvement or optimization.

Additionally, use A/B testing to experiment with different design elements or content variations on your website. This allows you to determine which changes have a positive impact on user engagement and lead generation.

Creating an effective kvCORE website for your real estate business is a powerful way to establish yourself as a leader in the industry while attracting more leads. By leveraging kvCORE’s comprehensive features, designing an eye-catching website, generating and managing leads effectively, and continuously optimizing your online presence, you can take your real estate business to new heights. Embrace the digital revolution and unlock the full potential of kvCORE for your real estate success.

This text was generated using a large language model, and select text has been reviewed and moderated for purposes such as readability.

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BUSINESS STRATEGIES

How to create a real estate business plan

• Nirit Braun

A real estate business plan is a strategic document that outlines the objectives, strategies and tactics a person or a team will employ when starting a business in the real estate industry. This comprehensive and clear plan not only defines the business' mission, vision and goals but also delineates the steps necessary to achieve them.

When starting a business, especially in a dynamic and competitive sector like real estate, a well-crafted business plan becomes an indispensable tool for success. It provides a structured framework that helps entrepreneurs make informed decisions, allocate resources effectively and stay focused on their objectives. By articulating the business' value proposition, target market, competitive landscape and revenue streams, the plan offers a holistic understanding of the venture's potential and challenges.

Looking to kick off your real estate business? Create a business website today with Wix. These real estate agent websites can help you get started.

In this section, we'll break down the key components involved in crafting a successful real estate business plan in six steps.

Executive summary

Company and domain name

Market analysis and research

Operations plan

Marketing and advertising plan

Financial plan

01. Executive summary

An executive summary is a concise overview of your entire real estate business plan. It serves as a snapshot that captures the essence of your venture, highlighting its key components and objectives. A well-crafted executive summary should provide a clear understanding of your real estate business' purpose, market opportunity, strategies and potential for success. It's typically the first section of the business plan and should be written after the rest of the plan has been completed.

To write a clear executive summary for a real estate business, follow these steps:

Start with a brief introduction: Describe your business’ mission, vision and the services you intend to offer. Highlight what sets your business apart in the competitive real estate landscape.

Summarize the market demand: Explain what kind of opportunity you aim to address with this type of business . Mention key trends in the real estate industry that support the viability of your venture.

Identify your target audience: Whether it's first-time homebuyers, property investors or commercial clients, briefly describe their demographics and needs.

State the unique value you offer to clients: This could be exceptional customer service, a specialized focus or innovative technology solutions.

Outline your key marketing strategies: Highlight how you plan to reach and engage your target market.

Provide a high-level overview of your projected financials: Include revenue projections, startup costs and funding requirements.

Introduce the key members of your team: Highlight how their skills contribute to the success of the real estate business.

Example of an executive summary for a real estate business: “ABC Realty is a dynamic real estate agency that specializes in helping first-time homebuyers navigate the complex property market. With a strong commitment to providing personalized guidance and support, we aim to simplify the buying process and empower our clients to make informed decisions. Our target market consists of young professionals and families looking for their dream homes in urban areas. Leveraging the latest technology and data analytics, we offer a seamless search experience that matches buyers with their ideal properties. Our marketing strategy involves a mix of social media engagement, local partnerships and educational workshops to establish our brand as a trusted resource in the real estate industry. Backed by a team of experienced agents and industry professionals, we are well-positioned to make homeownership dreams a reality while achieving sustainable growth and profitability. Our projected financials indicate a steady upward trajectory, with a goal of reaching profitability within the first two years.”

02. Company and domain name

Knowing how to name a business is crucial for a real estate venture and a key step before you register your business . It shapes your brand identity, influences client perceptions and establishes trust.

Additionally, selecting a suitable domain name for your business website is crucial for online visibility and accessibility. Your online presence should be in top form taking into account that 97% of homebuyers search for their homes online. Here's how to approach these decisions:

Company name

Should reflect your business' values and services

Keep it concise, memorable and easy to spell

Check for trademark conflicts to avoid legal issues

Consider using the free business name generator from Wix for inspiration

Be inspired by these real estate business name lists.

Domain name

Align it closely with your company name if possible

Choose a domain extension (.com, .net, .org) that's commonly recognized

Keep it short and free of complex words or hyphens

Ensure it's easy to pronounce and type

Learn more: How to make a website

03. Market analysis and research

Incorporating comprehensive market analysis and research into your business plan is essential for understanding the competitive landscape and formulating an effective business strategy. Conduct market research to identify trends, competitors and potential gaps in the market. Analyze your target audience's preferences, behaviors and pain points to tailor your services and marketing efforts accordingly.

Understanding the market dynamics allows you to position your real estate business strategically and offer unique value propositions that resonate with clients.

04. Operations plan

An operations plan outlines the logistical aspects of your real estate business, ensuring its smooth day-to-day functioning. This section should cover:

The physical location of your business office or headquarters

The size and layout of your office space

The equipment and technology required to run your real estate business

The roles, responsibilities and qualifications of your team members

05. Marketing and advertising plan

In the competitive real estate industry, a robust marketing and advertising plan is vital for attracting clients and establishing your brand presence. Your plan should encompass various strategies, including:

Social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) and online advertising

Creating valuable content like blog posts, videos and guides

Establishing partnerships with local businesses and industry associations

Hosting events and workshops that educate clients about real estate trends

You’ll also need to develop a suite of brand assets to use in your marketing efforts, starting with a company logo. You can use a free logo maker or real estate logo maker to get a professional design in minutes.

06. Financial plan

The average cost to start a real estate brokerage can range from $10,000 to $200,000 , so odds are you will need to secure financing. The financial plan outlines your real estate business' financial projections, funding requirements and path to profitability. It should include all your startup costs including licensing, office setup, marketing materials and technology.

Next, estimate income based on property sales, commissions and other revenue sources. Alongside this outline ongoing operational costs, such as rent, salaries, marketing and utilities. Then take the time to specify how your business will be funded initially, whether through personal savings, loans or investor contributions. Finally, predict when your real estate business is expected to reach profitability based on your revenue and expense projections.

Real estate business plan examples

Here are two templates for hypothetical real estate businesses, each including the main parts discussed in our how-to steps.

Real estate business plan template #1: ABC Realty

ABC Realty is a forward-thinking real estate brokerage focused on serving residential clients in urban areas. With a mission to simplify the home buying process for first-time buyers, we aim to provide personalized guidance and a seamless search experience. Our market research indicates a rising demand for affordable housing solutions and our team's expertise positions us well to address this need. Leveraging digital platforms and local partnerships, we're dedicated to establishing a brand known for trust, transparency and professionalism. Our financial projections show steady growth, with profitability projected within 18 months.

Company name: UrbanNest Realty

Domain name: www.urbannestrealty.com

Market analysis: Our research reveals a growing trend of Millennials seeking starter homes in urban areas.

Competitive landscape: Competitor analysis highlights the need for tailored customer service and simplified processes. We will tap into this by offering comprehensive support and leveraging technology to streamline transactions.

Location: A prime urban location with easy accessibility.

Premises: A modern office space designed for client consultations and agent collaboration.

Equipment: State-of-the-art computers, customer relationship management (CRM) software and virtual tour technology.

Staffing: Agents, property management experts and administrative staff.

Digital marketing: Social media campaigns, targeted online ads and search engine optimization.

Content marketing: Regular blog posts on home-buying tips, neighborhood insights and market trends.

Networking: Partnerships with local lenders, moving companies and interior designers to provide added value.

Events and workshops: Monthly homebuyer seminars and virtual property tours.

Startup costs: $60,000 (licenses, office setup, marketing materials)

Revenue projections (first year): $300,000

Revenue projections (section year): $500,000

Expenses: Monthly rent, salaries, marketing expenses and administrative costs

Funding: Personal savings and a small business loan

Profitability timeline: Projected within 18 months

Real estate business plan template #2: Empire Investments

Empire Investments is a dynamic real estate investment firm specializing in commercial properties. With an aim to provide high-value investment opportunities, we focus on acquiring and enhancing properties with substantial growth potential. Our strategy involves leveraging market trends, identifying undervalued assets and optimizing their value through strategic renovations and management. Our team of seasoned professionals ensures a comprehensive approach to portfolio management, driving investor returns. Our financial outlook is promising, with steady revenue growth projected over the next five years.

Company name: Empire Investments

Domain name: www.empireinvestmentsre.com

Market analysis: Our research highlights an increasing demand for mixed-use properties in urban areas.

Competitive landscape: Competitor analysis reveals a gap in the market for value-add properties. We'll focus on acquiring underperforming assets with the potential for repositioning and strong cash flow.

Location: Central business district for easy access to commercial properties.

Premises: A professional office space for meetings and deal analysis.

Equipment: Advanced financial analysis tools and property management software.

Staffing: Investment analysts, property managers, legal experts and administrative support.

Networking: Building relationships with commercial brokers, property managers and industry experts.

Content marketing: Thought leadership articles, market reports and investment guides.

Webinars and seminars: Monthly webinars on commercial real estate investment strategies.

Direct marketing: Targeted outreach to potential investors based on investment preferences.

Startup costs: $150,000 (licenses, office setup, due diligence expenses)

Revenue projections (first year): $1,000,000

Revenue projections (second year): $2,000,000

Expenses: Office overhead, salaries, marketing campaigns and property management costs

Funding: Combination of private equity, investor capital and personal investments

Profitability timeline: Positive cash flow projected within the first year, substantial returns expected over five years

Top benefits of writing a real estate business plan

Starting a business in real estate requires careful planning and a well-structured business plan offers a multitude of benefits that contribute to the venture's success. A business plan helps you in the following ways:

Attracting investors and funding: A well-developed business plan serves as a persuasive tool to attract potential investors and secure funding. It outlines the business's unique value proposition, market opportunities and growth strategies. By clearly articulating the revenue model and projected financials, entrepreneurs demonstrate their preparedness and potential returns, increasing the likelihood of obtaining an investment and raising money for a business .

Resource assessment: Writing a business plan helps entrepreneurs understand the resources, supplies and staff required to launch and operate the real estate business. This comprehensive assessment ensures that nothing is overlooked, from property acquisition and renovation costs to marketing expenses and administrative needs. By listing these requirements, entrepreneurs can plan for adequate funding and efficient resource allocation.

Strategic direction: A business plan outlines the business's short-term and long-term goals, providing a strategic direction for the real estate business. Entrepreneurs can define their target market, geographic focus and property types, enabling them to make informed decisions aligned with their objectives. This clarity prevents aimless pursuits and helps maintain focus on strategies that align with the business' vision.

Risk mitigation: A well-structured business plan anticipates potential challenges and outlines strategies to mitigate risks. Entrepreneurs can identify industry-specific challenges, such as market fluctuations or regulatory hurdles and devise contingency plans. By acknowledging these risks upfront, entrepreneurs can proactively address them and adapt their strategies as needed.

Operational efficiency: The business plan details the organizational structure, roles and responsibilities required to run the real estate business smoothly. Defining these elements helps entrepreneurs allocate tasks effectively and ensure that the right people are in place to execute the business strategies. This clarity enhances operational efficiency and minimizes the potential for confusion or overlaps.

Measurable progress: A business plan sets clear milestones and metrics to measure the real estate business' progress. Entrepreneurs can track key performance indicators (KPIs) against the projected goals, enabling them to assess their success and identify areas for improvement.

Real estate business plan FAQ

What is a business plan in real estate.

A real estate business plan is a document that outlines your goals and strategies for starting or growing a real estate business. It should include a market analysis, a business model, an operational plan and a financial plan.

Which real estate business is most profitable?

The most profitable real estate business depends on a number of factors, including your skills, experience and resources. However, some of the most profitable real estate businesses include:

Real estate brokerage: Real estate brokers help buyers and sellers buy and sell property. They typically earn a commission on the sale price of the property.

Real estate investing: Real estate investors buy and sell property for a profit. They may also rent out property to generate income.

Real estate development: Real estate developers buy and develop land for commercial or residential use.

Real estate property management: Real estate property managers manage rental properties for landlords. They typically collect rent, handle maintenance requests and screen tenants.

Can you become a millionaire from owning real estate?

Yes, it's possible to become a millionaire from owning real estate. However, it's important to remember that real estate investing is a long-term investment strategy. It takes time and effort to build a successful real estate portfolio.

Here are some tips for becoming a millionaire from owning real estate:

Start early. The earlier you start investing in real estate, the more time your money has to grow.

Invest in the right properties. Do your research and choose properties that are likely to appreciate in value.

Leverage your investments. Use debt to finance your real estate investments. This will allow you to purchase more properties with less money.

Reinvest your profits. Don't spend your profits from real estate investments. Instead, reinvest them in new properties.

Be patient. It takes time to build a successful real estate portfolio. Don't expect to get rich quick.

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Real Estate Website Business Plan

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Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

This revolutionary plan is setting the stage for the future of real estate. No existing franchised or corporate owned traditional real estate company will be able to compete with the fees and subsequent profits established by our industry plan.

Even if the structure of real estate sales in the future is automated to the point of not needing real estate agents, our company will have a firm hold on the FSBO (For Sale By Owner) market. We are committed to change and embrace the idea that is inevitable. Our ability to foresee needs for change will prepare us for a profitable future in the industry.

3.1 Market Segmentation

Established Realtors : The majority of our market will consist of the Established Realtor and is viewed as the future of real estate. These agents have embraced technology and are constantly looking for new ways to increase their profit margin. Our service is ideal for them in that the majority of this part of the market has already sought out a 100% commission program and has established a home office as well as a Web presence. This technology-savvy group will be the fundamental part of the industry in the future and will see our company as simply “the wave of the future,” in real estate.

New Real Estate Agents : We project our New Agent segment to be a much smaller share than our Established Realtors segment. We assume that agents new to the real estate industry will need more hands-on training found in traditional real estate offices. Though, as technology progresses and our website matures, even inexperienced agents will find Amerihall beneficial.

Old Timers : Our research shows that the Old Timers will resist change and not be as willing to accept new technology as the Established Realtors. This part of the market is predicted to be our slowest growth area.

3.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

Originally our target will be the more experienced, computer-literate agent in the state of Illinois. We will expand the target as our system becomes more refined. The expansion to a national level should take no less than two years. Our research shows that in the beginning, our clients will be within the age of 30 to 45, with annual sales between $1.5 and $5 million. The clientele should be centered on the northwest suburbs, expanding to the western suburbs, followed by greater metropolitan Chicago, and finally fanning out to rural Illinois. At this point we will re-evaluate the growth market to determine the best plan of action.

3.2.1 Market Needs

We believe that, with our direction centered on e-commerce, our business can focus on expanding Web services with a boundless growth potential. Our market may be directed to providing specialized real estate software to all real estate agents, including our competitors.

Phase 2 of our plan will focus on clients looking to sell real estate on their own. The term used for this type of client is FSBO (For Sale By Owner, pronounced fisbo). This part of the market is growing at an alarming rate. Research from many independent sources show this growth factor will result in a decline of top-producing real estate agents by as much as 50%.

We believe our service, through Web technology, and the largest market share of realtors will provide us with the needed tools to overcome the changing real estate sales trends. Our goal is to provide full-service real estate sales at a fraction of the cost associated with traditional real estate office.

Currently, the traditional real estate office provides the listing and sale of a client’s property at approximately 6% commission of the total sale. This figure is an industry norm that is usually set by the managing broker. This figure can go as low as 5% in metropolitan areas and as high as 10% for commercial or other unique properties. To put this in perspective, a home selling for $200,000 will cost an average of $12,000 in commissions alone, not to mention legal fees and other closing costs which can bring the figure to as high as $15,000 before capital gains tax. It is plain to see why clients are scrambling to find ways to sell their own properties. The current figures for licensed real estate agents in Illinois alone are 49,000 with a 98.2% share of all sales in real estate. The untold truth is that, of the sales of real estate, 82% of the listings are sold by another real estate agent outside the listing office. The buyer’s agent receives 2.5 to 3.0% of the total commission charged to the seller. This is the saving grace of the industry and the key to our future roles as a real estate sales company. Our proposal for Phase 2 is simply to establish a revenue base from the ever-growing FSBO market.

Our plan is to initiate a Web-based tool which allows the public to input a listing directly into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The client will be able to list a home and show the properties themselves. The advantage is that this will be accomplished by only paying 2.5% – 3.5%, compared to the industry standard of 6%. Through automation, the public will have the option of saving thousands of dollars and receive the same marketing strength of a client listing a property the conventional way. The client will still receive offers from other realtors who, upon closing, will still receive 2.5%-3.5% commission for bringing in the buyer.

If the client is in need of a full-service realtor at any time through the transaction, there is always the option of searching out a local Amerihall Realest® agent with whom they can negotiate a deal, depending on the services needed.

Our agents benefit by being guaranteed added income when services are rendered. In this regard, we hope that agents will accept our proposed strategy to pull in a new market and not consider it a threat to their livelihood.

Clients benefit by saving thousands of dollars when taking on the responsibility of showing their homes themselves, a task that is legal and preformed more and more by consumers on a regular basis in the industry.

Our share of the profit is 1% commission on the sale, and no overhead on our part. This will establish a future market in this ever-changing environment. This phase of the plan will not be initiated until the Web volume is appropriate.

3.2.2 Market Growth

Our initial plan will provide for 27,000 Amerihall brochures to be mailed to all of the active realtors within the Multiple Listing Services of Northern Illinois (MLSNI). The response should be expected to be no less then 1,800. The responding agents will receive a start-up package, which details our services and provides transfer forms and related independent contractors agreement, or the agent can join Amerihall at our website, www.Amerihall.com. This process is expected to bring in 1,000 new agents The bulk of our agents should then trickle in as their contracts expire with their existing offices. We project 1,500 agents within the first year.

3.3 Service Business Analysis

The following topics will list a number of attributes associated with our business structure. Our plan is simple: that we will have no competition due to the fact that no company will be able to compete under the existing structure of their corporations. The established national real estate companies (i.e. Re/Max, Century 21 and Coldwell Banker) cannot compete while under a franchise structure. Independently owned offices have too much overhead to be able to compete with our corporate structure.

3.3.1 Competitive Edge

We project that all agents working for Amerihall will increase their profit margin by 70%. We suggest that, by volume of agents alone, our advertising and sales will stand out well above the other real estate companies. Our agents will be able to offer their services for 25% of the normal rates and still realize a significant profit.

Our agents will have the ability of changing the industry standard by under bidding the competition to the point that traditional real estate companies will be unable to compete due to high operating cost.

3.3.2 Main Competitors

The two largest companies are Re/Max and Century 21. We expect much resistance from these two leaders in the industry. Our first obstacle may lie in a direct legal assault on our company in an effort to drain our assets, and give them strength through diffusion; the second effort will probably be centered on credibility. The focus will be on how a rogue real estate agent could possibly provide services as efficiently as traditional office agents. These situations can both be defended by a professional image and certainly by the technology our agents can bring to their disposal.

3.3.3 Competition and Buying Patterns

The uniqueness of our company, and our knowledge of the realtors’ needs, gives us an exceptional lead over any competitor. Our concern is over copycat companies and the ease of repeating our idea before we grab a firm national position. We are investing a great amount of energy using copyrights and patent laws to assure a firm position.

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How to Write a Solid Real Estate Business Plan in 2023

May 17, 2023

If you hope to grow your real estate business , it helps to know where you want to go.

According to research from the Harvard Business Review, “ it pays to plan. ” Based on their reporting, entrepreneurs who develop formal business plans were 16% more likely to achieve viability versus those who didn’t. Another study suggests business planning helps a firm grow 30% faster.

Additional data even suggests that how much time you commit to writing your business plan and when you write it can increase the likelihood of your business’ success.

Those reports—and many more like them—emphasize that writing a business plan is worthwhile. It can guide you and your team toward (and beyond) your real estate goals.

Let’s take a look at what a business plan is, why you need one, and the necessary elements to lay the foundation of your real estate business for the next 10 years.

What is a real estate business plan?

A business plan is a strategy outlining the major points of a business and how that business will grow and succeed in the marketplace—in our case, residential real estate.

The most common analogy is that of a map. A business plan lays out your road to success, including critical waypoints or milestones along the way and how you intend to accomplish them.

Why do you need a business plan?

In terms of real estate, business plans provide a clear outline of who you are and what you bring to the table, the foundation for your business, and how you plan to build upon that foundation.

Business plans can serve any number of purposes. They’re often used to secure capital or sources of financing, compel potential investors or partners to join or invest or help solidify joint ventures or partnerships. A great business plan can even attract skilled employees and top-level talent.

Understand the real estate professional you want to be

As a real estate professional, the services you provide might be fairly obvious. Whether you’re an individual agent, broker, or part of a larger team, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and the intangibles that set you apart directs your planning. Taking stock of who you are now and what you hope to achieve will allow you to better dissect and outline your future career.

Business plan timeframe

It’s worth noting that most business plans adhere to a timeframe of three to five years. Some are as short as one year, others as long as seven. Although everything in this article provides recommendations for a three to five-year plan, it’s worth looking beyond your short- to midterm goals.

As an agent, for a 10-year plan, consider such growth initiatives as joining a brokerage, partnering with other agents, or earning your broker’s license. If you’re already at the broker level, you might be ready to start your own brokerage or expand a small operation.

Regardless of your starting point and how big your ambitions are, ensure your business plan is objective and honest and includes reasonable and attainable goals.

Elements of a real estate business plan

A business plan can be narrow or broad, succinct or highly detailed. When constructing your business plan through the lens of real estate, particularly as an individual agent, it’s best to keep things simple, manageable, and achievable. Focus on where you are now, where you want to go, and how to get there.

Let’s review the individual elements of a simple business plan and what each section should include.

Executive summary

The executive summary serves as a brief overview of who you are, your purpose, and your goals. A good summary is typically one to two pages (although one is optimal) and should include the following:

• Description of services
• Summary of objectives
• Brief market snapshot
• Overview of market opportunities and competition
• Capital or partnership requirements, if applicable

Your executive summary is the one part of your business plan you can recite from memory. There’s no fluff. This is your elevator pitch to sell your vision and convince others to join you on your mission.

Overview and objectives

The overview and objectives section can vary somewhat based on your individual needs, but they should include three critical elements:

• Your mission statement
• Your history
• Your objectives

Your mission statement is why you do what you do, the guiding principle, or principles for your business. If you’re looking for inspiration, two excellent examples from the world of real estate include:

• Compass: Our mission is to help everyone find their place in the world. Compass is building the first modern real estate platform, pairing the industry’s top talent with technology to make the search and sell experience intelligent and seamless.
• Sotheby’s Realty: Built on centuries of tradition and dedicated to innovation, the Sotheby’s International Realty brand artfully unites connoisseurs of life with their aspirations through a deeply connected global network of exceptional people.

Your history is just that—when you started, location, leadership, milestones, and any notable services or specializations.

Objectives are your primary-stated goals. A common technique for establishing your goals is through the “SMART” method, ensuring your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Objectives that might cover the course of a 10-year plan include:

• Rebrand the company website in 30 days.
• Establish social media presence in 90 days.
• Close five transactions per month in year one, and double transaction volume by year three.
• Double the size of the firm by year five.
• Expand operations to include two additional offices by year seven.
• Attain broker license and open independent brokerage within a decade

Again, these are just examples. Make sure your goals are targeted and realistic to achieve within your set time frame.

Pro tip: if you’re on a team, designate key decision-makers

Often, your business will need to make progress on multiple objectives at the same time. These can include finding new leads, staying connected to old clients, and continuing to grow into new markets. To ensure all your team objectives remain active, group them based on category and designate a member of the team who will be responsible for managing achievements, setting milestones, and assessing progress.

For example, you may have a team member who manages marketing objectives. Another will manage networking and community outreach goals, while someone else presides over revenue goals and forecasting. While these team members are not solely responsible for achieving the objectives, they can take responsibility for pursuing progress and ensuring that everything aligns.

The goal of designating key decision-makers is to ensure that someone takes ownership over each critical pursuit of your team. If you have a lot of objectives but not enough decision-makers to manage the load, prioritize the most business-critical objectives by considering short-term vs. long-term needs.

You should also determine who has the final say. One of your team members may be the final decision-maker on publications: they review, approve, and assign for publishing all of your team’s articles and periodical material. Another team member may be the key decision-maker on approvals for expenses, while another may be the go-to expert for real estate negotiations that fall outside of normal operating procedures.

This step removes potential bottlenecks caused by indecision or lack of ownership. When there’s not a clear decision-maker, things can stagnate.

Market opportunities and competitive analysis

The best business plans outline where market conditions are ideal for the rapid growth of a business. This involves taking stock of the market’s demographics and existing opportunities, both current and future. Points to consider:

• Size and stability of the market. Is it on an upward trajectory? Downward spiral?
• What segment of the market will I target? What demographics make up the market?
• Is there a demand for a particular type of housing? Is there a type of homebuyer (first-time, luxury, young professional with children) that’s more prevalent than others?
• Are there more sellers than buyers? Is the opposite true?
• What do I offer clients that the competition does not? Can I stand out in this market and generate revenue?

Also, pinpoint specific market changes or circumstances that could significantly impact your business and others in your segment. Make sure you document them.

In many business plans, competitive analysis is worthy of its own standalone section. Regardless of how you present it, devote some space to your competition.

Include both immediate and secondary competitors, and note if the market is primed for new competitors in the future. Also, identify the risks and opportunities present when comparing your service and niche market versus others vying for the same or similar business.

Pro tip: focus on client needs first and your abilities second

Service-oriented real estate teams don’t focus on securing sales or conversions first. Instead, they freely extend value that authentically addresses the pain points of their clients and community. To start, consider some common sources of frustration, anxiety, and uncertainty among your clients. These might be:

• Uncertainty about market shifts
• Lack of connection to the community, especially if they’re new in town
• Confusion about property taxes
• Distrust toward real estate agents
• Unique weather and climate patterns in their area

Although these pain points are not directly solved by real estate services, trying to sell a property or promote yourself as an option for selling their current property does not align with what they need. Instead, the key is to act as an advisor and become a trusted resource in real estate-related concerns:

• Uncertainty about market shifts: Email prospects regularly about changes in mortgage rates, real estate inventory trends, and house-buying/selling trends in their neighborhood or a neighborhood they’re interested in.
• Lack of connection to the community, especially if they’re new in town: Provide resources about local sites, community events, and popular attractions based on their interests.
• Confusion about property taxes: Send reminders about property tax protest deadlines and homestead exemption filing deadlines. Offer to meet and discuss “comps” in their neighborhood, so they can protest their property taxes effectively.
• Distrust toward real estate agents: Provide helpful advice and referrals to other professionals in your network (i.e., plumbers, electricians, etc.) with no mention of real estate.
• Unique weather and climate patterns in their area: Send content about timely home maintenance and protection reminders before hurricane season, the first snowfall, or other relevant weather events in your area.

These actions address your clients’ needs, not yours. In doing so, you maintain open channels of communication and strengthen your brand identity.

SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis is a useful tool for framing different attributes within your real estate team and determining your strategic position. Through its matrix-like formatting, you can identify your team’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Use data-backed facts to fill out this analysis. Consider:

• Strengths: Is your team brand recognizable? Do you have an in-house expert for each specialization within residential or commercial real estate (or both)? Do you have an active pipeline of new leads ? What is your unique selling proposition (USP)?
• Weaknesses: Do you lack social media or online content? Is your team brand relatively new or unrecognizable ?
• Opportunities: Has your team just branched out to a new area of real estate? Is market demand growing in your area? Have you uncovered a new source of referrals ?
• Threats: Is there a new team that covers the same niche and offers the same USP as your team? Are mortgage rates rising enough to slow down demand?

By uncovering and specifying factors in each grid of the SWOT analysis matrix, you can identify areas that need immediate attention or business factors that can be capitalized on. For a more strategic use of SWOT analyses, use these best practices:

• Revise your SWOT analysis every month or quarter to address changes.
• Create competitive SWOT analyses of key competitors within your niche. This strategic work allows you to discover your competitive advantage over other businesses in more detail. You can also determine factors in which your competitors have an advantage and move to counter them.
• Digitize your SWOT analysis. This ensures every member of the team can readily access it and make suggestions.

Pro tip: differentiate yourself

Once you’ve completed your SWOT analysis, focus on the strengths section first and hone in on your unique selling proposition .

• Do you offer more personalized attention than other teams?
• Do you have an expert real estate agent for first-time homebuyers?
• Or do you have a well-earned reputation for always preparing the right pricing strategy for clients who want to sell their homes?

No matter what your USP is, be sure to showcase it in all of your marketing materials, pitches, and communications.

If you don’t have a single USP, review both your mission statement and your SWOT analysis. These two documents can help you identify the factors that differentiate your real estate team from others.

Marketing plan

The marketing plan identifies and details how you will reach and attract your target market. Effectively, it’s an exercise in the type of real estate client your services will appeal to most and having a plan that ensures they take notice. Key points to outline:

• Demographics of your ideal client, including age, location, income, and profession.
• What attracts this client? Turns them off?
• What type of neighborhoods, amenities, or lifestyle are they seeking?
• Which marketing and advertising channels are they most receptive to? Which ones do your competitors frequent?
• Are you positioned better than your competitors to attract this client?
• What are the benefits your real services offer to attract your ideal client?

From there, you can build a reasonably detailed profile of your ideal client—buyers and sellers drawn to your real estate services. After that, your advertising and outreach efforts will take shape and should feature:

• Marketing and advertising budget
• Planned marketing channels
• Digital footprint, including website, social media, or digital outreach marketing (such as email)
• Plans to nurture non-specific outreach efforts such as referrals, SEO , open houses, etc.
• How will you measure your marketing success? How will you address changes to your strategy if necessary?
• In addition to attracting clients, how will you market your business as a whole?

It doesn’t hurt to include marketing materials in your plan if you already have them. Items like brochures, print ads, website descriptions or screenshots, or advertising contracts are worthy of inclusion.

Pro tip: consider investing in a client relationship management (CRM) tool

Instead of keeping paper notes or an old-fashioned Rolodex, organize all of your client information in a Client Relationship Management (CRM) system . This type of platform allows you to create and maintain a detailed profile of your prospects and clients. You can include data such as:

• Personal details
• Real estate preferences
• Budget considerations
• Important dates
• In-progress and past transactions

Not only can you use this information to stay on top of your client network, but you can also use it to create personalized emails and automated communications .

If you use a real estate email marketing tool, for example, you can send certain segments of your network emails based on specifics in their profile. It’s a lot easier than manual communication and ensures no one falls off your team’s radar.

Financial plan

A financial plan is a fairly straightforward snapshot of the economic health of your business. It should feature basic elements such as:

• Profit and loss statement: also called income statement or pro forma, this shows a company’s profitability (or loss) over a certain length of time
• Cash flow statement: an overview of your actual cash position
• Balance sheet: where you stand regarding assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific point in time
• Operating budget: detail of your income and expenses, usually over 12 months
• Break-even analysis: outlines the revenues necessary to cover all costs and your business’s potential to be profitable

Depending on your real estate business position or if you’re an individual broker or agent, you can simplify this area with just an operating budget and break-even analysis.

Ongoing evaluation

Finally, it’s critical to understand that your real estate business plan is not a one-and-done proposition or something to be written, tossed in a drawer, and forgotten. Make time to periodically reevaluate your progress and see where you stand in reaching your goals. Once every 90 days is a good rule of thumb, but feel free to be more or less frequent as necessary.

If you find yourself behind schedule, don’t be afraid to make strategic decisions to correct course and get you and your real estate career goals back on track. And if you start hitting those goals early, it might be time to make some new ones.

Revamping your real estate business plan?

From beautifully crafted websites and property pages to stunning photography and virtual tours, our platform provides a suite of digital tools to help you stand out from the competition. Contact our team of experts today to begin refining your online presence.

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Blog Business

5 Real Estate Business Plan Examples & How to Create One?

By Danesh Ramuthi , Nov 28, 2023

Crafting a business plan is essential for any business and the real estate sector is no exception. In real estate, a comprehensive business plan serves as a roadmap, delineating a clear path towards business growth. 

It guides owners, agents and brokers through various critical aspects such as identifying target markets, devising effective marketing strategies, planning finances and managing client relationships.

For real estate businesses, a well-written plan is crucial in attracting potential investors, showcasing the company’s mission statement, business model and long-term income goals.

So, how can you write one?

Leveraging tools like Venngage Business Plan Make r with their Business Plan Templates to create your own real estate business plan can be transformative.

They offer a lot of real estate business plan examples and templates, streamlining the process of crafting a comprehensive plan.

Click to jump ahead: 

• 5 real estate business plan examples

How to write a real estate business plan?

• Wrapping Up

5 Real estate business plan examples

As I have said before, a well-crafted business plan is a key to success. Whether you’re a seasoned agent or just starting out, examples of effective real estate business plans can offer invaluable insights.

These examples showcase a range of strategies and approaches tailored to various aspects of the real estate market. They serve as guides to structuring a plan that addresses key components like market analysis, marketing strategies, financial planning and client management, ensuring a solid foundation for any real estate venture.

Real estate business plan example

There are various elements in a real estate business plan that must be integrated. Incorporating these elements into a real estate business plan ensures a comprehensive approach to launching and growing a successful real estate business. 

What are they?

• Executive summary: The executive summary is a concise overview of the real estate business plan. It highlights the mission statement, outlines the business goals and provides a snapshot of the overall strategy. 
• Company overview: An overview on the history and structure of the real estate business. It includes the company’s mission and vision statements, information about the founding team and the legal structure of the business. 
• Service: Here, the business plan details the specific services offered by the real estate agency. This could range from residential property sales and leasing to commercial real estate services. The section should clearly articulate how these services meet the needs of the target client and how they stand out from competitors.
• Strategies: A very crucial part of the plan outlines the strategies for achieving business goals. It covers marketing strategies to generate leads, pricing strategies for services, and tactics for effective client relationship management. Strategies for navigating market shifts, identifying key market trends and leveraging online resources for property listings and lead generation are also included.
• Financial plan: The financial plan is a comprehensive section detailing the financial projections of the business. It includes income statements, cash flow statements, break-even analysis and financial goals. Besides, a financial plan section also outlines how resources will be allocated to different areas of the business and the approach to managing the financial aspects of the real estate market, such as average sales price and housing market trends.

Read Also: 7 Best Business Plan Software for 2023

Real estate investment business plan example

A real estate investment business plan is a comprehensive blueprint that outlines the goals and strategies of a real estate investment venture. It serves as a roadmap, ensuring that all facets of real estate investment are meticulously considered.

Creating a business plan for real estate investment is a critical step for any investor, regardless of their experience level Typically, these plans span one to five years, offering a detailed strategy for future company objectives and the steps required to achieve them.

Key components:

• Executive summary: Snapshot of the business, outlining its mission statement, target market, and core strategies. It should be compelling enough to attract potential investors and partners.
• Market analysis: A thorough analysis of the real estate market, including current trends, average sales prices and potential market shifts.
• Financial projections: Detailed financial plans, including income statements, cash flow analysis, and break-even analysis.
• Strategy & implementation: Outlines how the business plans to achieve its goals. This includes marketing efforts to generate leads, pricing strategies and client relationship management techniques.
• Legal structure & resource allocation: Details the legal structure of the business and how resources will be allocated across various operations, including property acquisitions, renovations and management.

Real estate agent business plan example

A real estate agent business plan is a strategic document that outlines the operations and goals of a real estate agent or agency. It is a crucial tool for communicating with potential lenders, partners or shareholders about the nature of the business and its potential for profitability.

A well-crafted real estate agent business plan will include

• Where you are today: A clear understanding of your current position in the market, including strengths, weaknesses and market standing.
• Where you aim to be: Sets specific, measurable goals for future growth, whether it’s expanding the client base, entering new markets or increasing sales.
• How can you get there: Outlines the strategies and action plans to achieve these goals, including marketing campaigns, client acquisition strategies and business development initiatives.
• Measuring your performance: Defines the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to assess progress towards the set goals, such as sales figures, client satisfaction rates and market share.
• Course correction: Establishes a process for regular review and adjustment of the plan, ensuring flexibility to adapt to market changes, shifts in client needs and other external factors.

For real estate agents, a comprehensive business plan is not just a roadmap to success; it is a dynamic tool that keeps them accountable and adaptable to market changes.

Realtor business plan example

A realtor business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the strategic direction and goals of a real estate business. It’s an essential tool for realtors looking to either launch or expand their business in the competitive real estate market. The plan typically includes details about the company’s mission, objectives, target market and strategies for achieving its goals.

Benefits of a realtor business plan and applications:

• For launching or expanding businesses: The plan helps real estate agents to structure their approach to entering new markets or growing in existing ones, providing a clear path to follow.
• Securing loans and investments: A well-drafted business plan is crucial for securing financing for real estate projects, such as purchasing new properties or renovating existing ones.
• Guideline for goal achievement: The plan serves as a guideline to stay on track with sales and profitability goals, allowing realtors to make informed decisions and adjust strategies as needed.
• Valuable for real estate investors: Investors can use the template to evaluate potential real estate businesses and properties for purchase, ensuring they align with their investment goals.
• Improving business performance: By filling out a realtor business plan template , realtors can gain insights into the strengths and weaknesses of their business, using this information to enhance profitability and operational efficiency.

A realtor business plan is more than just a document; it’s a roadmap for success in the real estate industry. 

Writing a real estate business plan is a comprehensive process that involves several key steps. Here’s a detailed guide to help you craft an effective business plan :

• Tell your story : Start with a self-evaluation. Define who you are as a real estate agent, why you are in this business and what you do. Develop your mission statement, vision statement and an executive summary​​.
• Analyze your target real estate market : Focus on local market trends rather than national or state-wide levels. Examine general trends, market opportunities, saturations, and local competition. This step requires thorough research into the real estate market you plan to operate in​​.
• Identify your target client : After understanding your market, identify the niche you aim to serve and the type of clients you want to target. Create a client persona that reflects their specific needs and concerns​​.
• Conduct a SWOT analysis : Analyze your business’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. This should reflect a combination of personal attributes and external market conditions​​​​.
• Establish your SMART goals : Set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely goals. These goals could be financial, expansion-related or based on other business metrics​​​​.
• Create your financial plan : Account for all operating expenses, including marketing and lead generation costs. Calculate the number of transactions needed to meet your financial goals. Remember to separate personal and business finances​​.
• Revisit your business plan to monitor & evaluate : Treat your business plan as a living document. Plan periodic reviews (quarterly, semi-annually or annually) to check if your strategies are advancing you toward your goals​​​​.
• Defining your mission & vision : Include a clear mission and vision statement. Describe your business type, location, founding principles and what sets you apart from competitors​​.
• Creating a marketing plan : Develop a marketing plan that addresses the product, price, place and promotion of your services. Determine your pricing strategy, promotional methods and marketing channels​​.
• Forming a team : Ensure the cooperation of colleagues, supervisors and supervisees involved in your plan. Clarify their roles and how their participation will be evaluated​​.

Related: 15+ Business Plan Examples to Win Your Next Round of Funding

Wrapping up

The journey to a successful real estate venture is intricately linked to the quality and depth of your business plan. From understanding the nuances of the real estate market to setting strategic goals, a well-crafted business plan acts as the backbone of any thriving real estate business. Whether you’re developing a general real estate business plan, focusing on investment, working as an agent, or operating as a realtor, each plan type serves its unique purpose and addresses specific aspects of the real estate world.

The examples and insights provided in this article serve as a guide to help you navigate the complexities of the real estate industry. Remember, a real estate business plan is not a static document but a dynamic blueprint that evolves with your business and the ever-changing market trends.

Crafting a strategic real estate business plan is a crucial step towards achieving your business goals. So, start shaping your vision today with Venngage.

Explore venngage business plan maker & our business plan templates and begin your journey to a successful real estate business now!

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• Writing a Business Plan

Writing a business plan may seem a daunting task as there are so many moving parts and concepts to address. Take it one step at a time and be sure to schedule regular review (quarterly, semi-annually, or annually) of your plan to be sure you on are track to meet your goals.

Why Write a Business Plan?

Making a business plan creates the foundation for your business. It provides an easy-to-understand framework and allows you to navigate the unexpected.

Quick Takeaways

• A good business plan not only creates a road map for your business, but helps you work through your goals and get them on paper
• Business plans come in many formats and contain many sections, but even the most basic should include a mission and vision statement, marketing plans, and a proposed management structure
• Business plans can help you get investors and new business partners

Source: Write Your Business Plan: United States Small Business Association

Writing a business plan is imperative to getting your business of the ground. While every plan is different – and most likely depends on the type and size of your business – there are some basic elements you don’t want to ignore.

Latest on this topic

NAR Library & Archives has already done the research for you. References (formerly Field Guides) offer links to articles, eBooks, websites, statistics, and more to provide a comprehensive overview of perspectives. EBSCO articles ( E ) are available only to NAR members and require the member's nar.realtor login.

Defining Your Mis​sion & Vision

Writing a business plan begins by defining your business’s mission and vision statement. Though creating such a statement may seem like fluff, it is an important exercise. The mission and vision statement sets the foundation upon which to launch your business. It is difficult to move forward successfully without first defining your business and the ideals under which your business operates. A company description should be included as a part of the mission and vision statement. Some questions you should ask yourself include: 

• What type of real estate do you sell?
• Where is your business located?
• Who founded your business?
• What sets your business apart from your competitors?

What is a Vision Statement ( Business News Daily , Feb. 21, 2023)

How to Write a Mission Statement ( The Balance , Jan. 2, 2020)

How to Write a Mission Statement ( Janel M. Radtke , 1998)

Using a SWOT Analysis to Structure Your Business Plan

Once you’ve created a mission and vision statement, the next step is to develop a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.” It is difficult to set goals for your business without first enumerating your business’s strengths and weaknesses, and the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. Evaluate by using the following questions:

• Do you offer superior customer service as compared with your competitors?
• Do you specialize in a niche market? What experiences do you have that set you apart from your competitors?
• What are your competitors’ strengths?
• Where do you see the market already saturated, and where are there opportunities for expansion and growth?

Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat (SWOT) ( Investopedia , Apr. 21, 2023)

How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis for Your Small Business ( SCORE , Apr. 28, 2022)

SWOT Analysis Toolbox ( University of Washington )

Setting ​Business Goals

Next, translate your mission and vision into tangible goals. For instance, if your mission statement is to make every client feel like your most important client, think about the following:

• How specifically will you implement this?
• Do you want to grow your business?
• Is this growth measured by gross revenue, profit, personnel, or physical office space?
• How much growth do you aim for annually?
• What specific targets will you strive to hit annually in the next few years?

What are Business Goals? Definition, How To Set Business Goals and Examples ( Indeed , Mar. 10, 2023)

Planning and Goal Setting for Small Business ( U.S. Small Business Administration )

• Regular work goals.
• Problem-solving goals.
• Innovative goals.
• Development goals

Establishing a Format

Most businesses either follow a traditional business plan format or a lean startup plan.

Traditional Business Plan

A traditional business plan is detailed and comprehensive. Writing this business plan takes more time. A traditional business plan typically contains the following elements:

• Executive Summary
• Company description
• Market analysis
• Organization and management
• Service or product line
• Marketing and sales
• Funding request
• Financial projections

Lean Startup Plan

A lean startup plan requires high-level focus but is easier to write, with an emphasis on key elements. A lean startup plan typically contains the following elements:

• Key partnerships
• Key activities
• Key resources
• Value proposition
• Customer relationships
• Customer segments
• Cost structure
• Revenue stream

Creating a Marketing Plan

You may wish to create a marketing plan as either a section of your business plan or as an addendum. The Marketing Mix concerns product , price , place and promotion .

• What is your product?
• How does your price distinguish you from your competitors—is it industry average, upper quartile, or lower quartile?
• How does your pricing strategy benefit your clients?
• How and where will you promote your services?
• What types of promotions will you advertise?
• Will you ask clients for referrals or use coupons?
• Which channels will you use to place your marketing message?

Your Guide to Creating a Small Business Marketing Plan ( Business.com , Mar. 22, 2023)

10 Questions You Need to Answer to Create a Powerful Marketing Plan ( The Balance , Jan. 16, 2020)

Developing a Marketing Plan ( Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation )

Forming a Team

Ensuring the cooperation of all colleagues, supervisors, and supervisees involved in your plan is another important element to consider. Some questions to consider are:

• Is your business plan’s success contingent upon the cooperation of your colleagues?
• If so, what specifically do you need them to do?
• How will you evaluate their participation?
• Are they on-board with the role you have assigned them?
• How will you get “buy in” from these individuals?

How to Start a Rock-Solid Real Estate Team ( The Close , May 26, 2020)

Don’t Start a Real Estate Team Without Asking Yourself These 8 Questions ( Homelight , Jan. 21, 2020)

Implementing a Business Plan and Reviewing Regularly

Implementation and follow-up are frequently overlooked aspects to the business plan, yet vital to the success of the plan. Set dates (annually, semi-annually, quarterly, or monthly) to review your business plans goals. Consider the following while reviewing:

• Are you on track?
• Are the goals reasonable to achieve, impossible, or too easy?
• How do you measure success—is it by revenue, profit, or number of transactions?

And lastly, think about overall goals.

• How do you plan to implement your business plan’s goals?
• When will you review and refine your business plan goals?
• What process will you use to review your goals?
• What types of quantitative and qualitative data will you collect and use to measure your success?

These items are only a few sections of a business plan. Depending on your business, you may want to include additional sections in your plan such as a:

• Cover letter stating the reasoning behind developing a business plan
• Non-disclosure statement
• Table of contents

How To Write a Business Proposal Letter (With Examples) ( Indeed , Mar. 10, 2023)

How To Implement Your Business Plan Objectives ( The Balance , Aug. 19, 2022)

The Bottom Line

Creating a business plan may seem daunting, but by understanding your business and market fully, you can create a plan that generates success (however you choose to define it).

Real Estate Business Plans – Samples, Instructional Guides, and Templates

9 Steps to Writing a Real Estate Business Plan + Templates ( The Close , Apr. 17, 2023)

How to Write a Real Estate Business Plan (+Free Template) ( Fit Small Business , Jun. 21, 2022)

The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Real Estate Business Plan + Free Template ( Placester )

Write Your Business Plan ( U.S. Small Business Administration )

General Business Plans – Samples, Instructional Guides, and Templates

Business Plan Template for a Startup Business ( SCORE , May 12, 2023)

Guide to Creating a Business Plan with Template (Business News Daily, Feb. 21, 2023)

Nine Lessons These Entrepreneurs Wish They Knew Before Writing Their First Business Plans ( Forbes , Jul. 25, 2021)

How to Write a Business Plan 101 ( Entrepreneur , Feb. 22, 2021)

Books, eBooks & Other Resources

Ebooks & other resources.

The following eBooks and digital audiobooks are available to NAR members:

20 Minute Manager: Creating Business Plans Gather Your Resources, Describe the Opportunity, Get Buy-in (eBook) E

The Straightforward Business Plan (eBook)

Business Plan Checklist (eBook)

The SWOT Analysis (eBook)

The Business Plan Workbook (eBook)

Start-Up! A Beginner's Guide to Planning a 21st Century Business (eBook)

Complete Book of Business Plans (eBook)

How to Write a Business Plan (eBook)

The Easy Step by Step Guide to Writing a Business Plan and Making it Work (eBook)

Business Planning: 25 Keys to a Sound Business Plan (Audiobook)

Your First Business Plan, 5 th Edition (eBook)

Anatomy of a Business Plan (eBook)

Writing a Business Plan and Making it Work (Audiobook)

The Social Network Business Plan (eBook)

Books, Videos, Research Reports & More

As a member benefit, the following resources and more are available for loan through the NAR Library. Items will be mailed directly to you or made available for pickup at the REALTOR® Building in Chicago.

Writing an Effective Business Plan (Deloitte and Touche, 1999) HD 1375 D37w

Have an idea for a real estate topic? Send us your suggestions .

The inclusion of links on this page does not imply endorsement by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR makes no representations about whether the content of any external sites which may be linked in this page complies with state or federal laws or regulations or with applicable NAR policies. These links are provided for your convenience only and you rely on them at your own risk.

Ultimate Guide: 11 Points to Writing a Real Estate Business Plan

Failing to plan is planning to fail. Your business plan is the GPS for success. Instead of wandering, push towards your goals and objectives with clear direction. Developing a real estate business plan is critical to forming a healthy and sustainable business. 

A real estate business plan is an important step for any real estate agent looking to build a successful career in the industry. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, there are certain key elements that should be included in any plan. First and foremost, it is essential to set clear goals and objectives.

A study of 2,877 business owners found that companies are twice as likely to secure loans and funding if they have a business plan and 75% more likely to grow. Another study showed that 64% of companies who created a plan increased their businesses, compared to 43% of companies that hadn't yet finished a plan. 

Your own business plan is an essential tool for any business, small or large. Real estate agents use business plans to map their marketing strategies, target their advertising, and track their progress. A business plan helps agents set goals and stay on track throughout the year. It is also a valuable reference point when meeting with clients and potential investors. 

While there are many different ways to create a real estate business plan, certain elements should be included in every scenario. These elements include an overview of the business, the company's goals and objectives, a marketing strategy, and a financial analysis. By having these key components, companies can ensure that their real estate business plan is comprehensive and will help them achieve their desired results.

Harvard Business Review (HBR) stated that the chances of success rose by 12% for those that spent no longer than three months on their plan . With any longer proving futile. So, how do you write a business plan for your real estate business without getting bogged down in the details? In this post, we'll look at actionable steps agents and brokers can take to outline, execute and measure the performance of a business plan.

As a real estate agent, you know that the housing market can be unpredictable. You need to be prepared for the ups and downs of the market, and one way to do that is to have a business plan. Your business plan will help you set goals and track your progress. It will also force you to think about the costs of running your business and how you will generate leads. There are many online resources that can help you write a business plan, but the most important thing is to get started. By taking the time to write a plan, you will ensure that your business is ready for whatever the housing market throws your way.

What is a real estate business plan?

A business plan is a written document that captures the future of your business. It details what you plan and how you plan to do it.

Real estate business plans are essential for two reasons. First, they provide a road map for agents to follow as they work to build their businesses. Second, they force agents to think through all the crucial aspects of their business, such as their marketing efforts, target market, and financial goals. 

By taking the time to write a Real Estate Business Plan, agents can ensure that they are taking all the necessary steps to build a successful business.

A Real Estate Business Plan is an essential tool for any business, whether you are just starting or have been in business for years. There are many benefits to creating a Real Estate Business Plan, including: 

• Having a Real Estate Business Plan forces you to take a step back and assess your business as a whole. It allows you to see where your business stands, and identify any areas that need improvement.
• A Real Estate Business Plan provides a roadmap for your business. It can help you to set goals and track your progress over time.
• A Real Estate Business Plan can help secure your business funding. If you seek investment from Venture Capitalists or Banks, they will often require a copy of your business plan before considering your request.
• A Real Estate Business Plan can help you to attract and retain top talent. If you are looking to hire employees or contractors, having a well-crafted business plan can be a significant selling point.
• A Real Estate Business Plan can be a valuable tool for managing day-to-day operations. A clear and concise plan can help you better decide where to allocate resources and how to utilize your team's time and talents best.
• A Real Estate Business Plan can help you to measure and track your marketing efforts. By setting specific goals and objectives, you can more effectively gauge the success of your marketing campaigns and make necessary adjustments along the way.
• A Real Estate Business Plan can serve as a valuable sales tool. A professional business plan can give you a significant competitive advantage if you are looking to sell properties or convert leads into clients.
• A Real Estate Business Plan helps to keep you organized and on track. Trying to run a successful real estate business without a plan is like trying to drive from New York to Los Angeles without a map - chances are, you'll get lost along the way!

Having a Real Estate Business Plan gives you credibility in the eyes of others. If you are working with other professionals such as lenders, appraisers, or title companies, having a well-developed business plan shows that you are serious about your business and increases the likelihood that they will want to work with you in the future.

Last but not least, creating a Real Estate Business Plan is empowering! Taking the time to develop a comprehensive plan shows that you believe in yourself and your business and sets the foundation for long-term success.        

Precisely, it conveys your business goals, the strategies and tactics you'll use to achieve them, potential problems you may run into along the way and how to overcome them, roles and responsibilities, SWOT analysis, and measurement strategies.

What should a real estate business plan include?

Real estate business plans are different from traditional business plans. 

Real estate agents need to focus on their target market, their uniqueness, and how they will succeed against the competition. Real estate business plans should also include an analysis of the current market conditions and the potential for growth in the future. In addition, real estate agents should outline their marketing strategy and have a budget for advertising and promotions. By taking the time to create a comprehensive business plan, real estate agents can increase their chances of success in this competitive industry.

Real estate business plans vary in length and complexity, but all should include the following elements: 

• An overview of the real estate market 
• A description of the agent's target market 
• A marketing plan 
• A financial plan 
• A discussion of the agent's competitive advantages 

Real estate business plans provide a roadmap for agents to achieve their goals. They should include specific strategies for generating leads, marketing properties, and closing deals. The business plan should also outline the agent's budget and target income. Additionally, the real estate business plan should set forth a schedule for prospecting, listing appointments, and open houses. By following a real estate business plan, agents can increase their chances of success in real estate.

How do you assemble a real estate business plan?

A business plan is essential for any real estate business, whether you're just starting out or have been in the industry for years. It provides a roadmap for your business, laying out your goals and strategies for achieving them. But how do you go about assembling a business plan?

First, you'll need to identify your target market. Who are you trying to reach with your real estate business? Once you know your target market, you can start developing your marketing strategy. What methods will you use to get potential clients? How will you differentiate yourself from other real estate businesses in your area?

Next, you'll need to put together a financial plan. What are your revenue sources? How much money do you expect to bring in each month? What are your expenses? How much do you need to save for a rainy day? A clear financial picture will help you make sound decisions for your business.

Lastly, don't forget to include a personal development plan. What skills do you need to improve to succeed in the real estate business? What classes or training programs can you take to close more deals and earn more commissions? A well-rounded business plan will help ensure your real estate business is booming.

Writing a Real Estate Business Plan in 11 Easy Steps

1. write a detailed business description.

There's a story and context behind your business, and the business description is where that should shine. Write a brief overview of your Real Estate business. Include your business goals and how you plan on achieving them. Then create a description of your company, including its history, structure, and other relevant information.

The mission statement is part of the business description — which helps keep the rest on the track. Many mission statements follow a familiar format, like:

"To be the best, full-service Real Estate company in the Triangle and to enhance our quality of life through active community involvement.".

In a microstudy of 200 mission statements, it was found that mission statements most often talk about the company's dedication to customers (85%), shareholders (37%), employees (21%), and society (3%).

As well as a defined mission statement, make sure to include:

• When you were founded
• Where you are located
• Who the leaders are
• Special advantages/partnerships
• Market opportunities
• Legal structure

A very brief real estate business description example is:

"Norris & Company Real Estate is Vero Beach's premier upscale real estate firm. They specialize in luxury waterfront homes and condominiums, particularly in Vero Beach and Indian River County, FL."

2. Market Analysis

Research the Real Estate market in your area and identify any trends or opportunities. Include this information in your business plan.

Real estate agents must constantly be aware of the market conditions in their area to serve their clients best. Agents can provide expert guidance and advice by understanding the trends and opportunities.

When writing your Real Estate business plan, including a comprehensive analysis of the market conditions in your area. It will help you better understand your client's needs and identify potential opportunities.

Your market analysis should include:

• An overview of the Real Estate market in your area
• Identification of any trends or opportunities
• An explanation of how you will address these trends or options in your business plan

By including this information in your Real Estate business plan, you will be able to show potential clients that you are knowledgeable and prepared to help them navigate the Real Estate market.

3. Perform a SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is a technique used to identify and define several key characteristics that will impact your business: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Think of it this way:

Strengths and Weaknesses are internal. Threats and Opportunities are external.

An analysis can be as simple as making lists of items under each category.

For example, a strength could be a solid and experienced sales team, while a weakness might be that your business is expensive to run because you haven't nurtured supplier relations.

It could be as simple as filling four sheets of paper with descriptions of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats — collaboratively or alone. To make the answers clearer and the exercise more manageable, you can use questions like:

• What do our competitors do better than us? Threat .
• What's our unique selling point? Strength .
• Why have customers churned in the past? Weakness .
• Which markets are underserved in your territory? Opportunities .

4. List Your #1 SMART Goal

It's great to be ambitious, but focusing on one goal makes it easier to stay motivated, track progress, and see the measurable effect of achieving it. Even better if that goal is a SMART Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timed – goal.

Examples of SMART goals you might set for your growing real estate business are:

• Build a new real estate website in the next three months
• Hire and onboard three new SDRs in the next six months
• Increase monthly leads by 50% by next year
• Sell ten houses in the Dallas metro area in the next 30 days.

Pick one at a time and focus on it! Sticking to an achievable goal with a time limit makes it more likely to come to fruition. And, even just writing it down makes you 42% more likely to attain it.

5. Identify Your Market Niche

Before setting out your facts and figures, it's essential to spotlight your target market and how you'll serve this niche. It helps you decide what's realistic and feasible to achieve in your business plan.

Determining your market niche is a fancier way of saying: Who are your services best suited to? While honing in on a narrow target seems a little exclusionary, niche marketing can save you time, effort, and money on marketing.

One tool to help you define your market is a buyer persona. A persona is a fictional typification of your ideal customer, with information that enables you to steer your sales and marketing in the right direction.

It's essential to assess your niche and ensure it is consistent with the market in your area.

For example, if you've decided to focus on first-time buyers, do some research to look at relevant stats and figures:

• What percentage of sales in your market were to first-time buyers in the last 12–14 months?
• What was the average sales price to first-time buyers?

Also, assess how competitive this market is:

• Are you the only agent catering to the young first-timer?
• Are you competing with well-known heavy hitters?

A competitive SEO audit can be a helpful starting point in finding your competitors in the online space, where almost all leads will turn at some point in the buying process.

6. Implementation Plan

Before you can begin implementing your real estate business plan, you must clearly understand your goals and objectives. What are you trying to achieve with your business? Are you looking to buy and hold properties for long-term appreciation, or are you more interested in flipping houses for a quick profit? 

Once you have a good idea of your goals, you can start to put together a plan for how to achieve them. For example, if you're interested in buying and holding properties, you'll need to generate enough income from rentals to cover the mortgage and other expenses. If you're more interested in flipping properties, you'll need to find motivated sellers and then negotiate deals that provide you with a healthy profit margin. 

Regardless of your goals, careful planning is essential for success in the real estate business.

Breaking your goals into action steps makes them more tangible and ensures you're making strides to fulfill them. Here are some keys to converting your real estate business plan into actual business practices.

7. Monitoring & Evaluation

Successful real estate businesses have a plan to monitor and evaluate their progress. This plan includes setting clear goals, measuring progress against those goals, and making adjustments as needed. Without this proactive approach, it can be challenging to identify areas of improvement or stagnation. 

Additionally, a well-executed monitoring and evaluation plan can help to keep employees focused and on track. By regularly assessing performance and goal progress, businesses can ensure that they are making the most of their resources and achieving their desired results. Ultimately, a sound monitoring and evaluation plan are crucial for any real estate business that wants to stay ahead of the competition.

8. Risk Management

Real estate investing comes with a certain amount of risk. But with a well-thought-out risk management strategy, you can minimize the potential for loss and maximize your chances for success.

One of the most critical aspects of risk management is diversification. Investing in various property types in different markets spreads your risk and increases your chances of finding a profitable investment.

Another critical element of risk management has a solid business plan. Thoughtfully consider each step of the real estate investing process, from finding deals to financing them to managing the properties. Have a clear exit strategy for each investment to know when to sell or refinance. And always remember to stay within your comfort level; don't let greed or fear make decisions for you.

With careful planning and discipline, you can create a real estate investment portfolio that withstands market fluctuations and generates long-term wealth.

9. Financial Plan

Having a sound financial plan for your business is essential. To assist you, we've created spreadsheets you can use to estimate goals, income, and expenses. You will find specific instructions in the spreadsheets, but here are some guidelines for creating a financial plan:

To create your plan, determine what your expenses will be.

Here are three main areas your expenses may fall into:

• Licensing: These expenses will include training, state exam fees, etc.
• Personal: This can consist of your wardrobe, technology fees (like computer and phone), and car fees.
• Business: Business expenses include broker fees, website and MLS fees, marketing, advertising, etc.

Our template divides these expenses into the startup and yearly costs to help you discern which payments will recur and which are one-time-only. Here's an example of what your startup expenses might look like.

Yearly expenses might include recurring costs like office rent, electricity bills, and annual license fees.

Estimating income is the biggest concern for most new agents. To do this, you must decide how much money you need to make in your first year and how much you would like that figure to grow. You will also need to research some basic statistics for your market, like the average sale price for homes.

Use our business plan template to help calculate these numbers.

Transactions and Leads 

To meet your income goals and cover expenses, you'll need to conduct a certain number of transactions. And, to complete a certain number of transactions, you'll need to work a set number of leads. There's no need to work this figure out by hand. ‍

Our template will automatically calculate the number of transactions and leads you will probably need to meet your goals. Still, you will have to assess these figures to decide whether they are reasonable. For example, if you plan to work part-time as an agent in your first year but need to close 20 transactions to meet your goals, you are unlikely to have enough time.

10. Create a Personal Development Plan

A personal development plan is an essential tool for any real estate business. By taking the time to assess your strengths and weaknesses, set goals, and create a roadmap for success, you can ensure that your business is on track to reach its full potential. While it may seem daunting, creating a personal development plan is simple. 

Start by taking stock of your current situation. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your goals for the future? Once you clearly understand where you are starting, you can begin to map out a plan of action. Set realistic goals and create a timeline for achieving them. Put together a resources list and ensure you have everything you need to reach your goals. Finally, implement your plan and monitor your progress along the way.

Remember, your development plan should be flexible and adapt as your needs change over time. With some planning and effort, you can create a roadmap for success that will help you achieve your long-term goals in the real estate business.

11. Write an Executive Summary that Captures the Vision

Your executive summary is an anchor point you can use to understand the overall goals, cement the parameters of your target market, and make decisions aligned with your plan. It's also a way to get inspired by your original vision.

For real estate, it would include points on:

• Target neighborhoods and price ranges
• Target clients and a brief description of the persona
• Brief marketing plan overview
• Market threats and opportunities

Think of the executive summary as the section of your business plan you would explain to a friend a football game when asked how you plan to make money as an agent or broker in your local town/ city or state.

Note: due to the specific details in the executive summary, this part of the business is typically one of the last completed items.

Real Estate Business Plan Template

If you're considering starting a real estate business, you'll need to create a business plan template. Here's a basic template that you can use to get started. Remember that your business plan should be tailored to your specific business and industry.

• Executive Summary

The executive summary is a brief overview of your business plan. It should include your company's mission statement and an overview of your products or services, target market, and growth strategy.

• Company Description

This section will provide an overview of your company, including its history, structure, and team. Be sure to include information on your company culture and values.

• Mission statement

In this section, you will summarize the reason for being and the guiding principles of your organization. For example: "We are a nonprofit that provides free legal aid to those in need." You can also provide a brief overview of what we want them (the users) to come into contact with. 

Why should they care about our mission or message by telling them why it is vital to their lives now and later down the line?

• Company goals

This section will provide a high-level overview of your company's top business goals for its first years in operation.

• Market Analysis

In this section, you will need to analyze your target market thoroughly. It should include information on your customers, your competition, and the overall industry.

• Product or Service

In this section, you will need to describe your product or service. Be sure to include information on your pricing strategy and any unique features or benefits your product or service offers.

• Marketing and Sales Strategy

In this section, you will need to outline your marketing and sales strategy. It should include information on how you plan to generate leads and convert them into customers.

• Operational Plan

This section will need to provide an overview of your business operations. It should include your production process and distribution and fulfillment strategy.

This section will briefly describe what your company offers to customers.

• Target customer

To effectively reach the people we want as customers, you must provide a clear overview of who they are and how your product or service can benefit them. In this section, I'll go over some questions worth asking yourself when determining who your potential clients may be. 

• Best Practices

Write out your ideal practices for how you'll deal with qualified leads versus unqualified leads, how quickly you'll follow up with interested parties, your methods for helping a leader throughout the final steps of the sales process, and how you'll stay in touch with customers after papers have been signed.

• Financial Plan

In this section, you will need to provide detailed financial information for your business. It should include your income, balance, and cash flow statements. The following will include startup expenses, assets, liabilities, capital, break-even analysis, and loan repayment.

• Exit Strategy

This section will need to provide an overview of your exit strategy. It should include information on how you plan to sell or exit your business in the future.

Individual Agent Real Estate Business Plan

Real estate agents need a business plan like any other entrepreneur. A real estate business plan outlines your goals, strategies, and how you plan on achieving them. It is essential to have a business plan because it will help you stay focused and on track. Real estate is a competitive industry, so you need to be able to stand out from the rest.

A business plan will also be helpful if you ever need to seek funding for your business. Investors and lenders will want to see that you have a well-thought-out plan before they give you money. 

Creating a Real Estate Business Plan is essential if you want to build a successful career in real estate. With our easy-to-use template, you can get started today and be on your way to achieving your long-term goals.

There are many benefits to creating a Real Estate Business Plan, including:

• Clarifying your goals and strategies
• Mapping out a clear road map for your business
• Identifying potential obstacles and solutions
• Helping you stay organized and on track
• Increasing your chances of success

So, if you are considering starting a real estate business, sit down and write a business plan. It will be worth it in the long run!

Real Estate Team Business Plan

Before you start your real estate team, it's essential to have a business plan in place. It will help you define your goals, map your strategies, and track your progress over time. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a business plan, certain key elements should be included. Here are a few of the most important things to keep in mind:

• Your team's mission statement: What sets your team apart from the competition? Why do you exist?
• Your target market: Who are you trying to reach with your services? What needs do they have that you can address?
• Your marketing strategy: How will you get your target market and communicate the benefits of working with your team?
• Your financial goals: How much revenue do you hope to generate? What are your expenses? How will you fund your business?

By thoughtfully developing your real estate team business plan, you'll increase your chances of success in an increasingly competitive industry.

Real Estate Brokerage Business Plan

A real estate brokerage business plan is a document that outlines the goals, strategies, and financial projections of a real estate brokerage business . It should include an executive summary, market analysis, business model, operational plan, and financial plan. The executive summary should briefly describe the company, its target market, and its competitive advantages. The market analysis should assess the size and growth potential of the target market. 

The business model should describe how the real estate brokerage plans to generate revenue. The operational plan should outline the business's day-to-day operations, including staffing and marketing initiatives. Finally, the financial plan should provide detailed information on the anticipated costs and revenues of the company. A well-crafted real estate brokerage business plan can be valuable for attracting investors and achieving long-term success.

Remember that your business plan is a living document that should be updated as your company grows and evolves. Regularly reviewing and revising your business plan ensures that your real estate brokerage is always moving in the right direction.

Ready. Set. Plan

Whether you've got a ready-to-execute business plan or it's still being drafted, the most important thing is to start now — and fast.

At its core, a real estate business plan should outline the steps necessary to achieve specific goals, such as increasing sales or expanding into new markets. It should also identify potential obstacles preventing the business from achieving its objectives. By taking the time to create a comprehensive business plan, real estate businesses can increase their chances of weathering storms and coming out on top in the long run.

A business plan puts you on a clear track that makes your business 75% more likely to grow.

By following the above points, you'll be well on writing a comprehensive Real Estate Business Plan.

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Business Model and Feature Analysis of a Real Estate & Property Listing Website

Last Updated: July 14, 2022

Online real estate business models are witnessing impressive growth from past few years. These models eliminate manual efforts while providing a wider reach to customers. The captivating and user-friendly UI of real estate listing websites also provides a satisfying customer experience to visitors.

A major reason behind the growth of real estate websites is that customers trust these websites to be a reliable source of information. According to a report from National Association of Realtors (NAR), 87% of new homebuyers confirmed they used the internet as an information resource during their home-buying process, and nearly one-third mentioned they first learned about their newly purchased home from an online channel. The same report also states that real estate related searches on Google grew 253% over the past four years.

These stats surely highlight the demand for a property listing website as well as growth potential, but before you jump into the pool of property listing you need to understand how the online property listing website actually works. In this post, we have carefully analyzed online property listing market and have covered all the vital aspects which will give you an insight into the business before starting it.

Real estate listing marketplace business model

The business model of a Real Estate listing website revolves around connecting property buyers with sellers. It saves time and efforts of both the parties and bridges the gap between them.  The broker/seller lists the property on the website which is available to the people looking to buy/rent.

So the basic function that a Real estate listing website performs is: –

• Rent property
• Sell Property

So after a buyer or a seller understands their requirements they go through these simple process: –

Process for Buyers

• Select the City/ Region/ Country where they want to rent/buy property
• Choose the property suitable for you among the entire list of properties
• If you haven’t registered on the website then register with your phone number and email id.
• After you have registered yourself an automatic message is sent to the seller to contact you
• If that does not happen then, the contact number of the seller is available for you
• Contact the seller and fix an appointment

Process for Sellers

• Register on the website
• List the property on the website by mentioning the locality and the address
• Fill in all the details of your property i.e. number of rooms, property size, the number of floors etc.
• Fill in the contact details and your property will be listed on the website

Popular real estate listing websites

• Magic bricks
• Home Finder

Revenue model

Subscription fees – The revenue model of a property listing website is channeled through brokers. Most websites provide a subscription model to the broker who wants to list their property on the portal. This model allows the broker to list as many properties they want under a certain package which also gives an extra advantage to the website owner as they get a comprehensive list of properties.

Featured Listing – Another easy way to add revenue is by providing feature listing option to brokers as well as individuals. Those sellers who wish to make a quick sale can brand their property on the homepage of the website. Brokers, as well as individuals, will get attracted to this revenue model as listing your property on the homepage of the website can attract a lot of buyers on the property and drive sales.

Secondary revenue stream

• Personalized assistance to help you find and manage relevant buyers for your property.
• Know the right price of the property from an expert
• Expert guidance on all property related issue from experts in astrology.
• Speak to a legal attorney for all legal advice on property matters such as purchase/lease/rent, property tax, legal advice, property disputes

These revenue models can bring maximum benefits and can be used for different type of users

• Individuals
• Agent or Brokers

Critical features

Go beyond just high-quality images –  One of the essential features is to have high-quality pictures on your website. When a customer has to choose if they like a specific property or not, it is through pictures. The website owner has to be very careful about pictures while screening a listing by brokers or individual.

Today, even high-resolution pictures are not enough to convince a potential customer. Many property listing websites are providing 3D view and virtual tours of properties. Website owners also need to optimize images strategically to drive traffic without reducing the website’s loading speed.

Highlight the USP of every property – It is very important that you paint a picture for potential buyers. Include as many details about the flooring, appliances, equipment, etc. Writing a description is the best way to depict in a paragraph about the neighborhood and location which cannot be covered in a picture of the property. For a buyer to make the final decision about the property they surely need to know the details about the neighborhood.

Testimonials – There is nothing better than a user’s review & testimonial to generate potential customer’s confidence on your service. Most property portals include a testimonial on the homepage of the website to grab the attention of users. Incorporating videos from a user on the homepage of the website can yield better results than written testimonials.

Property value calculation – The broker has full knowledge of the market trends and the prices of property, but when an individual sells the property on such portal they need some guidance as to how much their property is worth in the current market.

Home loans – The property listing owner needs to realize that not everyone has enough funds to buy a dream property. So the listing website should have tie-ups with banks that can provide home loans to the customer easily.

Talk to an expert – There are a lot of confusion when it comes to selecting the perfect property you want to buy or while selling your own property. Queries about property tax, legal documents, property disputes, etc. An expert can be provided by the property listing website to give guidance to the seller or buyer. This will help clear confusion and result in more people listing and search for property on your website.

Have a look at the Business Model Canvas below to know the various components involved in setting up an online property listing website.

Recommended Read:  Your Real Estate Website is a Failure without These Design Elements

In a technology-driven world, people prefer shortlisting property online and eliminate those properties which are not in accordance with their needs. To save the time and efforts of visiting every property and later selecting the best out of the list, people prefer searching for the property online.

Property listing website may not be a new business idea but after checking and analyzing the market trend, it has a secure and promising future. Those who are planning to start a property listing website, there is a huge scope. Entrepreneurs need to keep in mind the latest technology and tactics involved in building a formidable real estate listing website. The above-mentioned points will help you stay informed about the latest trends.

Get Your Real Estate Listing Website Developed by Experts

How much does it cost to start a real estate website?

Website developers are available at an hourly rate and the rate varies as per technology, experience, country and brand reputation. In the USA and Canada, you can find a developer for your real estate website for anywhere between $40 to $100 per hour. In the UK and other European countries, the rates vary from $25 to $75 per hour. In Asian countries like India, Philippines and Israel, the hourly estimates are $25 to $60. 

How long will it take to develop a real estate property listing website?

The timeframe of the project depends on the selected development methodology, which can either be agile development methodology or waterfall development methodology. 

• In agile development methodology, a software is incrementally developed in multiple sprints and each sprint lasts one to two weeks. Due to this, you can launch a real estate property listing website within a few weeks and keep introducing changes at later stages.
• In waterfall development methodology, every feature and functionality is finalized beforehand and the entire website is developed as a whole instead of parts. Due to this, the entire time frame takes between 2 months to 12 months. 

A professional web development company can guide you which development methodology would be the right fit for your requirements. 

How do real estate property listing websites make money?

As stated above, there are two main revenue streams that real estate website owners can use to make money:

Subscription Fees: The website owner can charge brokers a subscription fee and provide access to advanced features and some free listings. 

Featured Listings: To highlight specific property listings, the website owner can also levy special featured listing charges.

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Disclaimer: The Blog has been created with consideration and care. We strive to ensure that all information is as complete, correct, comprehensible, accurate and up-to-date as possible. Despite our continuing efforts, we cannot guarantee that the information made available is complete, correct, accurate or up-to-date. We advise - the readers should not take decisions completely based on the information and views shared by FATbit on its blog, readers should do their own research to further assure themselves before taking any commercial decision. The 3rd party trademarks, logos and screenshots of the websites and mobile applications are property of their respective owners, we are not directly associated with most of them.

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FATbit Chef is the official broadcaster of everything that happens inside FATbit. Count on the invisible reporter for detailed analysis based posts, new service additions, and other brand related updates.

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Real Estate | How To

How to Write a Real Estate Business Plan (+ Free Template)

Published June 30, 2023

Published Jun 30, 2023

REVIEWED BY: Gina Baker

WRITTEN BY: Jealie Dacanay

This article is part of a larger series on How to Become a Real Estate Agent .

• 1 Write Your Mission Statement
• 2 Conduct a SWOT Analysis
• 3 Set Specific & Measurable Goals
• 4 Plan Your Marketing Strategies & Tactics
• 5 Create a Lead Generation & Nurturing Strategy
• 6 Calculate Your Income Goal
• 7 Set Times to Revisit Your Business Plan
• 8 Why Agents Need a Real Estate Business Plan
• 9 Real Estate Business Plan Examples & Templates
• 10 Bottom Line
• 11 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

A real estate business plan lays the groundwork and provides direction on income targets, marketing tactics, goal setting, lead generation, and an overview of your industry’s competition. It describes your company’s mission statement in detail and assesses your SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) as an organization. Business plans should include measurable goals and financial projections that you can review periodically throughout the year to ensure you meet your goals.

Continue reading to see real estate business plan examples and discover how to write a real estate business plan. Start by making your own by downloading and using the free real estate business plan template we’ve provided below.

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Real Estate Business Plan Template

Thank you for downloading!

💡Quick tip:

Market Leader provides a comprehensive paid inbound lead, automated marketing, and CRM solution to help agents acquire, engage, and nurture real estate leads.

Furthermore, Market Leader offers and guarantees you a number of exclusive seller and buyer leads in your target niche at a monthly rate.

1. Write Your Mission Statement

Every real estate agent’s business plan should begin with a mission statement, identifying your values and why your business exists. Your mission statement serves as the guide to achieving your ultimate business objective. When you create a solid clear mission statement, all other items identified in your realtor business plan should be aimed at fulfilling this statement.

Compass’ mission statement: “Our mission is to help everyone find their place in the world.” (Source: Compass )

Your mission statement should identify your target audience, what product or service you provide, and what makes your business distinct. As seen in the example above, a powerful mission statement should be short and concise but sums up a business objective.

Let’s take Compass’ mission statement above as an example: “Our mission is to help everyone find their place in the world.” The statement identifies what the company offers, for what reasons, and who it benefits.

2. Conduct a SWOT Analysis

SWOT is an acronym that stands for a business’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The primary objective of these four elements is to assess a business by evaluating internal and external factors that can drive decision-making and help you make more money . Conducting a SWOT analysis as you develop your business plan for real estate uncovers opportunities to differentiate yourself from the massive competition currently on the market.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths and weaknesses are internal parts of your organization. Strengths identify what product or services you provide better than others, your access to resources, and items that benefit your customers. Weaknesses are items that need improvement, lack of resources, or what your competition does better. These are items within your control to change because you can convert a weakness into a strength.

See the example below if “Agent X” was doing their SWOT analysis:

Opportunities & Threats

External factors drive opportunities and threats and are areas you can take advantage of to benefit your business. Examples of opportunities can be shifts in the current marketplace, emerging trends you can capitalize on, features that competitors lack, or even changes with your competitors. Threats, on the other hand, are anything that can negatively impact your business. You don’t have control over changing the opportunities or threats, but you can develop a practice to anticipate and protect your business against the threats.

The opportunities and threats for “Agent X” would be:

When you complete your SWOT analysis, use it as a guide when creating strategies to meet your business objectives. To gain the most benefit from creating a SWOT analysis, make sure you are being realistic about your business and evaluating it in its present state. You don’t want to be unrealistic by listing strengths or opportunities that don’t exist yet, and you want to allocate time and money to the most impactful solution to your business issues.

If “Agent X” completed the above SWOT analysis, a few strategies they could derive would be:

• Incentivize agents to keep them at the brokerage for longer
• Implement a technology-based key machine to reduce lost keys and keep the team accountable
• Find a competitive advantage against competing brokerages and use that in marketing messages

Zillow agent finder (Source: Zillow )

To help agents locate other brokerages operating in your preferred market, agents can use Zillow’s agent finder page as a research tool to see which agents or brokerages are operating in a specific area. You can find an agent by location, name, specialty, and language. Once you click on a Zillow profile , you can read their reviews, see their team members, contact and website information, and property listings. Take a deep dive into your competitor profiles and can use the information to implement strategies within your own business.

Visit Zillow

Read how our experts feel about this real estate lead generation company in our Zillow Premier Agent review .

3. Set Specific & Measurable Goals

You’re ready to set some business goals after clearly defining your mission statement and SWOT analysis. Goals can help set the tone to increase your performance and drive your business in the right direction. Your goals should have a definitive way to show progress, which can be a prime motivator to keep you on track to achieving them.

Each goal should follow a pattern to identify set criteria. This will ensure that your daily efforts are performed to meet business objectives within a set period. A way to do this is by using SMART goals:

Examples of SMART goals for agents or brokerages:

• Increase closed transactions by 20% to a total of 150 deals within the next year
• I will ask all closed clients for a referral and review within 30 days of closing the deal

Goals can be split into short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goal lengths vary between days and weeks but do not exceed six months. Short-term goals can also be worked on simultaneously with long-term goals. Long-term goals can take up to six months or more to complete and require careful planning and perseverance. A mix of short-term and long-term goals will help you maintain motivation.

All goals are equally important; however, success will stem from how you prioritize each one. Slowly add on additional goals as you have the capacity and feel comfortable with the current progress of your current set of goals. Without identifying your business goals, you’ll leave your results up to luck to attain your business objectives.

4. Plan Your Marketing Strategies & Tactics

Developing marketing strategies and tactics and implementing them help you identify and locate your current value proposition in the real estate industry, along with specific timelines for execution. In addition to determining your overall business objectives and goals, your marketing strategy and plan should include the following:

• Pinpoint general marketing goals
• Estimate projected marketing budget
• Know your geographic farm area data and identify your target niche audience
• Analyze market competition
• Identify your unique selling proposition
• Establish a timeline and set your plan in motion
• Track your progress and readjust as needed

While a marketing strategy identifies the overall marketing goals of your business, developing marketing tactics will help you achieve those individual goals. They can include referral business tactics, retention efforts, and ways to acquire new customers. For example, you can offer incentives to anyone who refers your business, or you can implement new email drip campaigns to help increase lead conversion rates.

These tactics should have set key performance indicators (KPIs) to help you evaluate your performance. For instance, a KPI you can set for your business could be that referral business should exceed 20% of your lead generation sources.

If you’re unsure how to put together your marketing plan, check out our article Real Estate Marketing Plan Template & Strategy Guide and download the free template to get started.

Postcard campaign example (Source: ProspectsPLUS! )

If direct mail is part of your promotion strategy, services like ProspectsPLUS! can help easily create and distribute mailers to a targeted area. It also has options for postcards , brochures, newsletters , flyers, and folders. You can also send mailers to prospective clients by geographic or demographic farm areas through its campaigns. Check out its templates and mailing options today.

Visit ProspectsPLUS!

Read how our experts feel about this real estate direct mail service in our ProspectsPLUS! review .

5. Create a Lead Generation & Nurturing Strategy

Having a successful lead generation strategy will help you maintain business growth. Lead generation can be performed organically and through paid advertisements to attract and convert prospective clients. In addition to generating leads, agents should have systems to manage, nurture, and re-engage with contacts to maximize opportunities.

Generating leads through a multipronged approach is the best way to maintain lead flow. Use organic strategies like hosting an open house, reaching out to your sphere of influence, and attending networking events. Employ paid generation strategies, such as purchasing leads from a lead generation company or setting up a website to funnel potential clients. Your marketing strategies will directly correlate with your lead generation strategies.

Every lead is an opportunity, even if they don’t immediately convert into a deal. Effectively nurturing leads can make sure no opportunity falls through the cracks. Agents can nurture leads by continuously engaging and developing relationships with prospective leads . It’s important to provide prospective clients with a constant flow of essential and relevant information, depending on where they are in the real estate buying or selling process.

Here are the top lead generation companies for real estate agents and brokers:

Engage more efficiently with buyer and seller leads using Market Leader’s new feature Network Boost. Network Boost has shown a 40% increase in agents successfully connecting with leads. Market Leader social media experts design highly targeted and optimized ads for your Instagram and Facebook. As visitors engage with your ads, they will be prompted to complete a form and funnel directly into your Market Leader client relationship manager (CRM). This will also trigger an automatic marketing campaign that nurtures your clients and lets you know they are ready to engage with you personally. Try Market Leader’s Network Boost today.

6. Calculate Your Income Goal

Your income goal is one of the most critical items to be included in your business plan. While this may be more difficult for new agents who are still learning the business, it’s still necessary to estimate the amount of money you will earn for the year. Work with an experienced agent or mentor to help you estimate your monetary goals. For professional agents, review your previous years to judge your income goals for the upcoming year.

To calculate your income goal and the amount of work you’ll need to complete to get to that goal, you’ll need to have some basic number estimates:

• Net income: The amount of money you will put in your pocket after commission splits with your real estate brokerage.
• Fee split with brokerage: This is the agreed-upon commission split you have with your brokerage for each completed transaction. For example, if you have a 70/30 split with your brokerage, you will collect 70% of the commission, and your brokerage will receive a 30% commission for each deal.
• Estimate of completed deals per year: You also want to estimate the number of deals you intend to complete yearly. Remember that some months will be busier than others, so make sure to account for holidays, weather, and your schedule.

Real Estate Yearly Goal Calculator

By figuring out these numbers, you can give yourself a realistic number for your income goal. Compute the gross income commission (GCI) or amount of money you must make before the commission splits and the average profit per deal and month you’ll need to reach your goal.

For a more detailed breakdown of your yearly goal, download and use our yearly goal calculator. Input your information into the highlighted yellow boxes, and the spreadsheet will automatically calculate the GCI, total deal count, and gross income you’ll have to earn each month to reach your goal. Adjust the average gross commission per deal and brokerage split as necessary.

FitSmallBusiness Year Goal Calculator

For additional information on real estate agent salaries, review our article Real Estate Agent Salary: How Much Do Real Estate Agents Make?

7. Set Times to Revisit Your Business Plan

Business plans are only effective if you use them. A business plan is a roadmap for your business, and you’ll need to revisit it often to ensure you’re staying on track. It should be a constant resource to guide you through meeting your goals and business objectives, but it’s not necessarily set in stone if you need to make any changes.

Agents should revisit their business plans monthly to measure progress and make any changes to stay the course. If you find that you’re missing the times set for your goals, then you should continue to revisit your business plan regularly. Changing the business plan itself should occur annually once you can have a complete picture of your yearly performance. Evaluating the business plan can help you discover new strategies and ensure you have the appropriate resources for the upcoming year.

Overall status of sales activities in the dashboard (Source: Pipedrive )

Sales software like Pipedrive can help you track your overall business performance when revisiting your business plan. It presents company sales data in easy-to-visualize dashboards that track your business performance and contains forecasting tools to project future revenue. It can maintain company and team goals with progress tracking to keep goals top of mind.

Visit Pipedrive

Read how our experts feel about this real estate customer relationship manager (CRM) system in our Pipedrive review .

Why Agents Need a Real Estate Business Plan

A real estate business plan keeps you up to date on market developments and one step ahead of your competitors. It also enables you to test lead-generating tactics and create new marketing campaigns while keeping track of results over time. A solid business plan for a real estate agent presents the following:

• Where you are at the moment
• Where you would like to be
• How you’re going to get there
• How to evaluate and measure your performance
• When and when to correct the course

Real Estate Business Plan Examples & Templates

Real estate agents and brokerages don’t have to build their business plans from scratch, as many resources provide different examples. Business plan templates can also have different objectives. Some are used to secure financing or help you focus on lead generation, while others are single-page plans meant to get you started.

Here are five real estate business plan examples you can use to create yours:

Lead Generation & Income Plan

Market Leader business plan example (Source: Market Leader )

This business plan is from Market Leader, a third-party lead generation platform. It specializes in lead generation, marketing, and converting leads into customers with an attractive IDX (Internet Data Exchange) website and robust automation tools. Agents can also participate in purchasing leads through their lead products to receive a guaranteed number of leads per month.

A Single-page Business Plan

Business plan for real estate (Source: PngFind )

Agents who are new to writing a business plan can start small. Business plans do not have to be multipage to be effective. This single-page business plan helps identify a single goal followed by three areas to focus on and five objectives for each focus area. As real estate agents begin to feel comfortable with goal setting and completion, they can continue to add to this single-page business plan with duplicate pages, identifying additional goals.

Business Plan for Real Estate Brokers

Real estate broker business plan (Source: AgentEDU )

This robust real estate broker business plan is designed to address organization and management goals. It contains pages identifying personnel information like title, job description, and salary. The business plan also encourages the broker to identify operational goals for future personnel changes. It’s best suited for a broker with a larger team to help drive operational change.

Business Plan With Detailed Financials

Example of real estate agent business plan template (Source: FinModelsLab )

This multipage business plan contains eye-catching graphics and detailed company financial information for real estate agents and brokers seeking funding from outside investors. One of the last sections of the business plan is a financial planning section geared toward showing how viable your business is through your provided income statements, cash flow, and balance sheet reports.

Real Estate Developers’ Business Plan

Realtor business plan template sample (Source: Upmetrics )

Upmetrics’ real estate business plan templates are easy to edit and share and contain professional cover pages to help agents convert their business ideas into actionable goals. The business plans from Upmetrics are geared toward agents looking to transition into real estate development. This plan includes vital sections important for a developer to analyze, such as building location, demand for housing, and pricing.

Real estate CRM (Source: Market Leader )

Market Leader’s business plan is centered around driving more business through lead generation. It helps agents understand their lead sources, average sales price, and how much commission was earned in a given year. It also allows agents to set income and transactional goals for the following year.

Visit Market Leader

Bottom Line

Whether you are a new real estate agent or looking to grow your brokerage, writing a real estate business plan template will help you define the steps needed to build a successful business . It serves as a guided roadmap to help you achieve your business goals, identify areas of improvement, and provide guidance in all aspects of your business, from marketing, operations, and finance to your products and services. Business plans can help determine if your business is viable and worth the financial investment.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a real estate business plan.

A real estate business plan is a document that presents an outline of your organizational goals. A business plan lays out future company goals and structured procedures to achieve them. Business plans commonly contain plans for one to five years at a time, though they can differ from investor to investor.

A real estate business plan will put you in a position to succeed while also assisting you in avoiding potential pitfalls. It serves as a guide to follow when things go as expected and when they diverge from the initial plan of action. Also, a real estate business plan will ensure that investors know the steps they need to take to succeed.

How do I jump-start my real estate business?

It is important to note that starting a real estate business is not a simple task. Before launching a firm in any field, entrepreneurs should spend numerous hours researching and developing a solid business plan. As you start your real estate business, use the following tips as guidance:

• Think about your professional goals
• Conduct extensive research
• Organize your finances
• Create a business plan
• Establish an LLC
• Make a marketing plan
• Create a website
• Start campaigns
• Keep track of leads
• Develop a network of connections

How can I grow my real estate business?

You can use multiple strategies and ways to grow your real estate business. They include:

• Assess your current situation
• Invest in your professional growth
• Establish strategic alliances
• Take advantage of omnichannel marketing
• Start blogging
• Create consistent social media profiles and campaigns
• Improve your website
• Consider working with a marketing company
• Optimize your signs and direct mail

About the Author

Find Jealie On LinkedIn

Jealie Dacanay

Jealie is a staff writer expert focusing on real estate education, lead generation, marketing, and investing. She has always seen writing as an opportunity to apply her knowledge and express her ideas. Over the years and through her internship at a real estate developer in the Philippines, Camella, she developed and discovered essential skills for producing high-quality online content.

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7 Steps to Writing a Real Estate Business Plan (+ Worksheet)

Chris is a writer, coach, speaker, and technology analyst specializing in marketing, lead generation, transactional best practices, and everything in between. See full bio

• Do You Really Need a Business Plan?
• 7 Steps to Writing Your Plan:
• Identify Who You Are
• Analyze Your Target Market
• Identify Your Target Client
• Conduct a SWOT Analysis
• Establish Your Goals
• Create a Financial Plan
• Monitor & Evaluate
• 3 Top Tips for a Killer Plan

A real estate business plan is an essential strategy document that ensures that your business is equipped to survive and grow. It ensures that your time, energy, and cash are being spent efficiently in pursuit of your goals. 

However, unless you went to business school or are an experienced entrepreneur, it can be hard to know where to begin writing your business plan. That’s why we developed a detailed real estate business plan worksheet that you can start using today! Download it below and follow along as we walk you through the seven easy steps to creating a killer real estate business plan.

Download Your Free Real Estate Business Plan Worksheet

Do I Really Need a Business Plan?

Yes. Yes, you do. Even if you’re a solo agent with a supportive broker. Statistically, businesses with a plan do better than those without a plan. Here’s why: 

Your business plan is your roadmap, your blueprint. It will help you reduce risk, identify threats and weaknesses early on, exploit every opportunity, and fortify every strength. 

A killer business plan forces you to think through your goals and objectives, as well as your budget, so that you have a real chance of success right from the beginning. It keeps you realistic and establishes a way for you to clearly monitor and evaluate your success. 

We know business plans sound dull and boring, but we’ve put together a comprehensive worksheet so all you have to do is conduct the deep thinking for the answers and pull it all together. It can actually be a pretty fun exercise. So get ready to dream big, think creatively, plan strategically, and establish yourself for real success. 

Our Free Real Estate Business Plan Worksheet

Ready to get started? Our plan has all the essentials you need to set your business up for success this year and into the future.

Each section provides space for a thorough self-assessment. You’ll get a chance to nail down exactly what services you offer, who your customers are, and how your business will serve them. Our business plan worksheet is the perfect launchpad: a necessary step to take your real estate business to the next level.

Next, we’ll walk you through each step of the template. 

Write a Real Estate Business Plan in 7 Easy Steps

1. tell your story: identify who you are as a real estate agent.

The first step to successful real estate business planning is always self-evaluation. Who are you, why are you in the real estate business—and maybe most importantly—what do you do?

We call this section “Who You Are,” and ask you to develop your:

• Mission statement (your reason for being in real estate)
• Vision statement (what the world looks like once you’ve achieved your mission)
• Executive summary (one to two sentences that summarize what you do)

Need a little more coaching on creating perfectly powerful mission and vision statements? Check out our article on how to make the most of these crucial blocks of your business foundation.

2. Analyze Your Target Real Estate Market

In this section, you’ll examine every corner of the market: which sections are hot, which have slowed down, and most importantly, where the opportunities are. We suggest taking your time and really digging into the MLS and your local Realtor association’s data to figure out exactly what the numbers reveal.

Don’t spend too much time examining numbers on the national or even state-wide levels. Real estate is a local pursuit; what matters most is what is happening on the street level of your community. 

As you’re looking at your local market, also consider your competition. What are your fellow agents doing that’s working? How have they differentiated themselves? Where is the market underserved? 

In our worksheet, we ask you to examine and record:

• General trends (days on market, typical commissions, average sold price, etc.)
• Market opportunities (observed imbalances in supply and demand)
• Market saturations (where is there too much and of what)
• Local competition (who’s out there, and what are they doing well; where are they lacking; are there gaps in services)

3. Identify Your Target Client 

Now that you have deep insight into your market and have identified potentially underserved niches, consider how you will fill this need and what type of clients you want to target. 

Perhaps you’ll be a condo specialist? Maybe you’ll focus on first-time homebuyers. What about the vacant land game? Think long and hard about what you are good at, what you are passionate about, and what the market needs. Once you have an idea of the hole you can fill in your market, you have a good idea of who your customers are.

Once you know who you are targeting, understand them as best you can by creating a client persona. What are their specific needs and concerns? How can you best market to them? Start to understand their stories and you’ll be able to solve their problems. 

4. Conduct a SWOT Analysis

A SWOT—Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats—analysis is a common tool in business plans, and is especially important in our real estate business plan worksheet.

Here, you evaluate each of these categories using what you’ve discovered about yourself and your business as you’ve been writing. Think of it as a summary-thus-far. 

Then, combine that knowledge with what you know about yourself and how you work. For instance, maybe you are strong in analysis but weak in cold calling. Maybe there is no brokerage that focuses primarily on millennials (opportunity). Maybe your target market is heavily focused on new construction and there’s a construction slowdown forecasted (threat). Generally, strengths and weaknesses are internal, while threats and opportunities are external. 

The SWOT analysis is a great document to keep nearby even after your real estate business plan is complete. In fact, we know several top-producing agents who make a copy of this section and tack it on the bulletin board in their office, just so it is top of mind every day.

5. Establish Your SMART Goals

In this section, you’re going to lay out a variety of different goals for your business: financial, expansion, and more. Use the research and analysis you’ve completed to solidify your goals into measurable statements you can come back to and evaluate periodically.

The key to making this section valuable is to make your goals SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.  

Here are some goals you might want to think about:

• A specific gross commission income
• A targeted number of transactions in a specific location
• A certain number of leads in a given time
• Hiring an inside sales agent or assistant within a given time
• Spending a certain amount of time working vs home with the family

6. Create Your Financial Plan 

The penultimate section of your real estate business plan is all about getting the math to pencil out. While financial planning is not everybody’s strong suit, most of the work has already been done for you thanks to the careful investigation you’ve done in the previous sections of your real estate business plan.

In this section of our worksheet, you’ll take account of all your operating expenses, including all your marketing and lead generation costs. You will also be able to calculate the number of transactions required to make the numbers come together. If you’re just starting out and don’t have set expenses yet, don’t worry. This will give you the opportunity to set a budget! 

💰 Pro tip: Remember to separate your personal and business money. You should never draw cash from the same place to buy milk and Facebook ads. Not separating these two sources will make taxes a nightmare, plus it’s easy to go over budget. If your starting assets don’t meet or exceed your startup costs, you’ll need to go back and adjust your strategy until they do.

7. Revisit Your Business Plan to Monitor & Evaluate 

Finally, don’t forget to complete the follow-up section at the end. It may be tempting to get started right away on the plans you’ve made, but you need to plan to revisit your strategy.

Your real estate business plan is a living document, not something carved in stone. We suggest a quarterly check-in to see if the strategies you chose are advancing you toward your goals.

Chris’ Tips: 3 Strategies for Improving Your Real Estate Business Plan

Chris Linsell, Senior Real Estate Writer , The Close

You’ve got your real estate business plan worksheet, and we’ve walked you through exactly what you should expect every step of the way. But, before you start putting pen to paper, we’ve got three tips you should remember when building out your plan of attack.

📌   Pro Tip

1. Your Business Serves Customer Needs First and Your Abilities Second

A common misstep in real estate business planning is building a business around your specific skills, resources, or talents before understanding whether your community has a need for them. 

For instance, if you identify in your SWOT analysis that you’re fantastic at face-to-face, cold lead interaction (you love to door-knock), but you’re working in a community that’s almost exclusively partially occupied vacation homes, you’re likely not going to get the success you desire. 

Start by identifying the needs of your real estate community first , then examine how your skills will meet those needs.

2. Focus on Differentiating Yourself

But don’t throw out those things that make you special! Spend time thinking about what you do better than anyone else and use those abilities to tackle community needs. Creating a business model that looks like everybody else’s is a recipe for mediocrity. The better you explain your unique value to potential clients, the more likely they are to become actual clients.

3. Short-term Strategies Should Support Long-term Goals

Your real estate business plan is about setting goals for yourself and your career. But you’ll never reach those goals if your short-term, day-to-day habits don’t support them.

As you plan and strategize your future while creating your real estate business plan, make sure you’re setting realistic goals that your time, talent, and resources will support. There’s nothing wrong with being aspirational. But don’t set yourself up for failure by creating goals you don’t have the resources to reach.

Bringing It All Together

Creating a killer real estate business plan is a crucial step, one that is often overlooked by individual agents. But with some deep thought, careful analysis, realistic planning, and hard work, you’re sure to create a strategic document that will support and inspire you in the lean times and keep you on track in the excellent times. 

We want to hear from you. How is your real estate business plan coming together? Have any tips? Questions? Let us know in the comments, and let’s keep the conversation going.

Chris is a writer, coach, speaker, and technology analyst specializing in marketing, lead generation, transactional best practices, and everything in between.

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