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

What Makes a Good Market?

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

Location, location…

It’s a cliché because it’s true: location is usually the most significant factor in how a home is valued, as well as in a homebuyer’s search. 

When setting up Markets, you’ll likely want to create different Markets for distinct geographical segments of the area you serve. Your Markets should correspond to how homebuyers in your area search, so don’t be afraid to get specific. 

It’s also possible to create one Market for a larger area and then create additional Markets to divide that larger area into smaller pieces. For example, you could create a Market for all of San Francisco, with additional Markets covering each neighborhood within the city.

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

Town Zip Code School District Neighborhood

Subdivision High-Rise Golf Course  

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

The Type Is Right

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

Different property types to consider include:

House Townhome

Condo Farm

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

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

How Much is Enough?

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

Bedrooms Minimum square feet

Bathrooms Minimum lot size

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

Use Your Niche

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