Much of the consumer world is generic, or even worse, it’s designed to be cheap/affordable. People need things now, they want things, and the market is there to sell them options that fit.
Media segmentation, especially in social media, is undoing the concept of our collective knowledge, or collective brain. People are actually able to specify what they want to see, or are shown things that it would appear that they would like to see. Collectively, the offering consists of many, many different profiles, with likely combinations of products and services directed to their preferences. So for example, someone living the blue collar cowboy life in Wyoming, would not likely receive “The 10 Best Sport Coats To Wear To Martini Bars in New York” posting even though it goes out to millions of people.
In the residential real estate market, there’s been an explosion of housing design, housing innovation and smart options for homeowners, that can create substantial value. And, because most of us have not seen many of these new products and combinations, we cannot know about them. Or even if we have seen a few things, we aren’t seeing the financial effect of that innovation, on that house. The results are available, but most people are, honestly, not looking. So the reality is that, in general, “the market” is unaware of much of the leading edge of home value innovation.
Why is this? Well, most Realtors are transactional, they spend their time acquiring and providing service to their clients for free, until someone transacts. Appraisers are risk-based, first. Their entire training and professional DNA is built on centering their outcomes as close to the middle of “the box” as possible. Lastly, lending parameters are based on strong data, dislike unique items, and almost discriminate against innovation.
The new market is made up of very unique people with unique needs, wants, and desires. And you know what, there doesn’t need to be 1000 buyers, to justify the price of a home. There is only space for one. Go forth, look, learn, ask, and enjoy improving your home, and your homes’ value at the same time.
