Realtors and Neighborhood Engagement

 

There is a growing interest among real estate agents about the power of engaging with neighbors and neighborhoods to improve an area’s appearance and the perceived value. Neighborhoods do have reputations and when there is connection and involvement between neighbors that actually helps to increase the value of the home and the ability to resale quickly.

In the Spring of 2024, two different national real estate groups asked for my input. These Q&As are a way to try and capture the main content of those who discussions.

1 Your work with the Neighboring 101 series has evolved into an ongoing opportunity for people to learn from experts monthly. Can you elaborate on why a sense of community, neighboring, and placemaking are crucial for individuals and families and community players like real estate agents?

A: Realtors would be interested to know that creating a sense of community with connected neighbors increases the value of homes and the interest in certain neighborhoods. It is not immediate, but it can help influence the reputation of a neighborhood. This connectedness also reduces crime (documented examples of 60 recent reductions). And, when people feel  connected, they are more likely to volunteer (think homeowners board) and more likely to participate in community decisions. Being connected has health benefits – longer life, quick recovery from surgery, living in your home longer, and safety. It also creates strong social capital, which has its own value when it comes to work, or your business, or even job hunting. Real Estate agents can get practice with this in their own neighborhood. 

2. In your definition, neighboring is "The art and skill of building relationships with those immediately around you." How do you recommend real estate agents extend neighboring efforts for new residents? How far out from immediate neighbors should these efforts go?

I use that terminology because it gives people a goal. Certainly, neighbors can be more than the eight living next to you, but it should never be less. Most of us, myself included, still fall into this trap; we try to define the word neighbor so that it begins to lose some of its power. We end up thinking to ourselves, "Wow, that's incredible. Everyone is my neighbor, and I'm doing a lot of good stuff so I'm just neighboring all the time. Look at me, I’m a wonderful person." So every time we go to a fundraiser or do a service project, we say we are loving our neighbors, yet only 15 percent of us know the names of the people living right next door. Then we also run the risk of only calling people who look like us and think like us neighbors. That way, we avoid all conflict, and we are never challenged. We like who we want and we feel awesome! Our neighboring goal is to consider anyone we like as our neighbor. And the ultimate problem is that we hit nothing when we aim for everything. So when we insist we are neighbors with everybody, we end up being neighbors with nobody. If we are not careful, we turn “love your neighbor” into nothing more than a catchy saying. 

3. Considering the importance of community building, how can real estate agents proactively identify and support neighboring opportunities and efforts for their clients? What role can real estate agents play in facilitating and supporting the neighboring process? Are there specific strategies or resources they should leverage?

Assessing neighborhood gifts should be relatively easy for realtors, especially if they use real estate sales as an analogy. For instance, when preparing to list and market a property, a realtor looks for the qualities of the property most in demand by potential buyers. While we’re not selling a neighborhood per se, we are looking for its best qualities to celebrate, enhance, and promote, both to the people already living there and the community. Rather than writing marketing marks for the MLS, we’re hoping to instill a sense of pride in residents and develop future economic opportunities in the area. Do not overlook the gifts of the people living there either. How can you leverage existing neighborhood events or help start new neighborhood events? Take advantage of an asset – a neighborhood park, a trail, a business, or something historical. As an outsider to a neighborhood, you also have to find someone who lives there to take the lead. What you leverage is likely as varied as the neighborhood itself. If the neighborhood is established and has an active association that already does events, join with them in what they are doing.   

4. In your experience, have you observed any innovative approaches by real estate agents to foster a sense of community among residents? How effective have these strategies been in creating a welcoming environment for new homeowners?

 In Salem, Missouri, prior to the pandemic, the realtors and the city there worked together on a newcomers event once a month. Various people shared community highlights and city updates and helped people find ways to plug into the community.

As for being welcoming, research shows most Americans think this is something that should happen but very few actually ever do it. Good intentions I’m sure, but it just doesn’t happen. In my own neighborhood I’ve started hosting welcome parties where I have the new resident come to my drive and I invite the neighbors over for ice cream and to meet the new folks. I think this is something that real estate agents could actually do after the move in happens. 

Community festivals can be a lot of fun too! One town in Kansas does a family picnic down main street. Another in Michigan does an annual community breakfast!

A three-year Gallup study of 26 U.S. cities  known as the Soul of the Community found that peoples’ love and passion for their community may be a leading indicator for local economic growth. Three community qualities – social offerings, openness, and beauty – have consistently emerged as the leading drivers for community attachment over the study’s three years of research. This study explored the connection between local economic growth and peoples’ emotional bond to a place. Three years of survey data clearly show a significant, positive link between resident attachment and local GDP growth. One theory is that when a community’s residents are highly attached, they will spend more time there, spend more money, be more productive, and be more entrepreneurial. The study bears out that theory and now provides all community leaders the knowledge they need to make a sustainable impact on their community.

5. Are there specific challenges that real estate agents might encounter when trying to promote community engagement for their clients? How can these challenges be effectively addressed and overcome?

 Time is always a challenge. Doing this in a new or different way can be a roadblock. The absence of immediate feedback or results could be a hurdle too. This is the long game. 

I think a general lack of knowledge in ABCD is a problem with the approach and the cultural narrative about what makes someone a good neighbor. 

The other challenge is that outsiders coming in have limited influence and impact the social capital of a neighborhood. It has to be someone who lives there and has roots. So maybe the question is how they can empower a client to take on a role in the neighborhood. Again the challenges depend on the neighborhood. I have a friend who lives out east. She saw her neighborhood needed to be cleaned up so she and a friend started picking up trash while walking (pwalking) and before long she had 15-20 other neighbors joining with her on a Saturday once a month! See interview at https://youtu.be/CE-qLY-tTm4

6. In your view, what role does technology play in supporting neighboring and community building? How can real estate agents leverage technology to enhance their clients' experience as they integrate into a new community?

 I love technology. I had a Radio Shack computer and then later an IBM personal computer with dual disc drive. I taught myself HTML and I have networked computers. I am not shy about technology. I was an early adopted of social media and smart phones. But my eyes have also been opened to how the spike in social media and spike in loneliness climb together on graphics. And I see how social media and phones have pulled out of our neighborhoods and driven us deeper into our homes. I understand that people want to use Social Media to communicate in a neighborhood but please, do not let that be the only tool you use. And whatever tool you do use, the goal should be to build connections among neighbors, real face-to-face connections, not just to entertain them or get more likes on Facebook. That frankly offers nothing but false hopes. Do driveway chats each month or do neighborhood service projects to get neighbors connected.

7. Considering the success of the Neighboring series, what advice do you have for real estate agents looking to create lasting connections for their clients in the neighborhoods they serve? Are there key principles or practices they should prioritize to foster a sense of community?"

 Well, it is more than just the Neighboring 101 series. The umbrella program is known as the Engaged Neighbor Program. Neighboring 101 is one of the classes or tools we use to talking about neighboring and community development. But so is Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day (March 20) and National Good Neighbor Day (Sept. 28) and Missouri Good Neighbor Week (Sept. 28-Oct 4) and Show-Me Neighborhood Art Week (June 1-15) and things like the Neighborhood Leadership Academy.