Representing Youth
When Jessica Holmes, e-PRO, SFR, moved back to her hometown of Kilgore, Texas, from Louisiana in 2013 to be near her family, she was the youngest agent in town at 23. However, half of Kilgore’s population of nearly 15,000 is in the millennial generation. “Millennials were being underserved,” says Holmes, now 29, “and a lot of agents didn’t take millennial buyers seriously.” Holmes, who started her own brokerage in 2018, has raised the bar in her rural market by using technology, including professional photography and video, Facebook ads, and electronic signatures (next: 3D home tours, she says). “I tell all my agents that millennial buyers look for the most available agent, not the best,” she says, “but when you’re an agent who is available and has the tools to do the job right, you’ll grow your brand and earn lifelong clients.”