How B2B Brands Can Identify Their Target Audience

How well do you know your brand’s target audience?

Or, how well do you think you know your target audience?

We find that many brand managers in Europe assume they know their audience very well indeed. They might even have a very clear image in their head of the type of individual they are trying to target with all of their advertising and marketing strategies. 

What is often the case, however, is this image in their heads isn’t always completely correct. When it comes to targeting your audience in Europe and motivating them into making a purchase, you need to ensure that your understanding of this group is bang on. Any slight differences between what’s in your head and your audience could result in some of your targeted work falling flat.

If you know that you have this problem in your business currently, here are steps to take to understand your target audience better. If you follow them through, you’ll know how to discover your target audience and start fine-tuning your aim for them in all your campaigns.

Brainstorm your target audience.

The first thing you should do is sit down and brainstorm what you already know about your target audience. Think about the characteristics that all of the individuals who are most likely to buy your products will share. Are they in the same age group? What is their job title; what kind of salary do they earn? You should also look at the common challenges, needs, and objections that this group of people might face in their life.

One great tip is to take a look at the audience that your competitors are targeting. How does that group differentiate from yours? Examine the data-driven insights using the right tools to understand the entire funnel, and how you can leverage this data to incorporate your USP to retarget.

Take advantage of brand trackers.

Use a brand tracker to get measurable and actionable data on your audience. This data can give you various, but specific insights. For instance, tracking brand awareness will tell whether or not your ideal target audience actually knows about you. As well as that, tracking brand consideration will show if they would consider using your brand. You can also track this data for your competitors and compare how your brand fares against them. 

In addition, you might even discover that this isn’t actually the best audience for you to be targeting. By digging deep into all of this brand tracking data, you might see new audiences appear that you had never previously considered. Just make sure to choose a brand tracker that caters to niche audiences.

Develop a persona for your target audience.

Now it’s worth creating a persona of what the quintessential member of your target audience is like. There are so many benefits from audience personas, so why not use it?

For example, if you target the millennial generation, go beyond a generic idea of a millennial and think more closely about who you are selling to. If you find that millennial females who live in urban areas and work in the tech sector buy your product more than anyone else, then their defining features and characteristics should also be those of your audience persona. 

Once you have made a persona, it’s important that you inform everyone on your team. To keep everyone on the same track with all their strategic work, you all need to be targeting the same persona.

Start targeting.

Now that you know who you are aiming at, it’s time to start trying to reach them. In order to target your audience, focus your efforts on the channels they use most often. 

If you know that your target audience spends a lot of their online time using Twitter, then it’s worth starting a campaign on that social media platform. However, if you are targeting an older audience who might prefer to spend their evenings in front of their TVs than tweeting, think about running some TV adverts.

Researching the channels that your audience use really can help you immensely — not doing so could end with you shooting blindly and completely missing. 

How does running marketing campaigns help find your target audience, you may ask. Well, how can you be positive that they are the audience for you unless you see if they work? And don’t forget…

Continue to monitor.

So you research your target audience well and then start to target them using suitable methods and channels. Job done, right? Not quite.

Sure, you’ve taken the right kind of steps so that the right kind of consumers will see your brand marketing. But how do you know whether that’s really happening once your adverts and promotions are out there in the wild? How do you know that they are helping your sales?

Keep your eye on the ball and monitor how your marketing efforts are doing. You can do this by tracking your brand guidelines and campaigns to make sure that they are hitting the spot. 

It’s also worth noting that target audiences can change or shift over time, so monitoring them is a continuous task for every brand manager. As long as you do make monitoring a habit of a lifetime, then there’s no risk of you ever being left behind by competitors. 

Those steps don’t sound too difficult, right? If you follow through with them, you should discover new things about your target audience that you might never have realized. And those nuggets of wisdom could help you polish up your marketing campaigns like never before. 

Not only that, but you can now carry out all of your campaigns confidently, as your target audience shouldn’t be even easier to reach.

By: Steve Habazin Entrepreneur Leadership Network VIP

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Adam Erhart

How To Identify Target Market | Target Market Examples Click here to subscribe: https://bit.ly/2HxjQRa If you don’t properly identify your target market then none of your marketing will work. Period. Not your ads, not your content, not your website, not your social media, nothing. It will all fail miserably. And I don’t want that for you. So in this episode I’m going to be breaking down exactly how to identify your target market and give you a few examples of what that might look like for your business. ***Marketing Resources: Work With Me: https://bit.ly/2FY2vzF Our Advertising Agency: http://aerh.co/1oVVeEc Facebook Ad Image Guide : https://bit.ly/2H9EPt9 FAST Content Formula : https://bit.ly/2JEu5kz 60 Second Video Ad Script : https://bit.ly/2GQF0Kl One Page Marketing Plan : https://bit.ly/2v6HPBp ***Let’s Connect: Website: http://adamerhart.com Click here to subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/2HxjQRa Twitter: http://twitter.com/adamerhart Facebook: http://facebook.com/officialadamerhart Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamerhart

Is This What The Housing Market Will Look Like In Three Weeks?

Back in mid-April an independent report from GlaxoSmithKline Chairman Sir Jonathan Symonds and Conservative Peer Lord Gadhia suggested that estate agents, along with cafes and restaurants, should be among the first to reopen – with business leaders adding that property is a key economic ‘multiplier’.

The report was released just before the government extended lockdown for another three weeks until May 7. Within that time the U.K. has slowly managed to suppress its curve, as the government reported on May 4 the lowest daily rise in deaths since March 30, raising hope that we’ve ‘passed the peak’.

Since then the government has been consulting on draft return-to-work guidance which has been shared with businesses and unions with the intended aim to restart the economy whilst maintaining health and safety. And this week, speculation on whether the property industry would be among the first to benefit from a relaxation of the lockdown increased with the reveal that Housing Minister Christopher Pincher had been speaking with the sales industry about property viewings.

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Whilst we have no official confirmation at this time, the reveal includes possible provisions to viewings such as that they could take place for no longer than 15 minutes, and that adequate PPE equipment must be worn by all parties. Viewings will be limited to two adults only and must be staggered to maintain social distancing – so no more open houses. For agency branches the rules maintain the necessity for safe distancing, such as screen protection between workstations and a ban on hot desking.

The veracity of this information will likely come to light on Sunday when it’s anticipated that we’ll discover the next steps as to whether we are in for another extended period of lockdown or if the restrictions on our livelihoods and businesses might be relaxed. Nevertheless, in support of the reveal NAEA Propertymark Chief Executive Mark Hayward commented on a recent Rightmove Hub webinar that he expects the housing market to re-open for business in three weeks’ time.

This would align with an anticipated three-week extension of the lockdown, giving preliminary businesses time to prepare to restore some functions as restrictions on certain industries are lifted. A recent survey from the British Chambers of Commerce found that most firms would be able to resume business within three weeks with sufficient notice; and two-thirds were confident that they could restart with just one week’s notice, or at no notice at all, if the possibility presented itself.

Given that the property industry is vital for the health of the wider economy, and because the act of buying and selling property is one of the biggest contributors of economic growth and sustainability, I am optimistic that the housing market will be first in line to resume business in the first wave of restrictions being lifted. The infrastructure is in place for many agencies to quickly restart viable operations if given enough notice.

But we should also remain wary that a quick economic return is not gambled against the risk of a second wave later in the year. Any lifting of the lockdown should be carefully considered with proper precautions in place to protect the health and wellbeing of buyers, sellers and property agents. Because the economic cost of a second lockdown could be far more severe than the first.

As countries around the world start to look towards the lifting of their own restrictions, the impacts of such decisions on domestic property markets will be warily observed here in the U.K.

The announcement on Sunday from the Australian government that they would be soon relaxing some of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions, including real estate, is one such example.  From next weekend in New South Wales, Australia, property agents and home sellers will be able to hold traditional property inspections and on-site inspections, with restrictions similar to those included in the draft plans in the U.K.

It should be noted however that Australia has done a very good job at flattening its curve while keeping infections below 7,000 and fatalities at less than 100. Contrast this scenario with Italy, which has over 200,000 confirmed cases and almost 30,000 deaths, and the outlook for relaxing lockdown restrictions takes a somewhat different perspective.

As of May 4, Italy launched into Phase 2 of its coronavirus lockdown: relaxing restrictions on small social gatherings and allowing key industries such as manufacturing, professional services and real estate to resume activity. There is some anger however at what is perceived as a ‘false reopening’ of the country as other businesses and facilities such as schools and facilities will remain closed during this phase. The danger considered is that the new rules on industry and social distancing do not go far enough to protect the economy, as well as the finances and health of the people.

The lifting of restrictions is a sign that social distancing and lockdown conditions are working. But as each country looks to relax the rules the headline issues will remain how to ensure health and safety of those involved, and to minimalize the risk of a second wave of infections hammering economies further if COVID-19 cannot be eradicated entirely from local populations.

Naturally, the situation of each country is unique. While Britain’s coronavirus trend may be more in line with Italy’s, the fundamentals and scale of our economy are much more comparable to Australia’s. With that in mind our conditions for relaxing the lockdown must also be unique.

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Is The UK Housing Market About To Crash? This seems to be a hot topic at present with much scare mongering going around. This video is an unemotional analysis and forecast to give you hope and advice during these times of uncertainty. Neil McCoy-Ward is the Group Director of the Forward Thinking Group, the founder of the Property Cashflow Academy and is considered an expert in the UK property industry. =========================== Subscribe now! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3o2… DISCLAIMER This video is for entertainment purposes ONLY. I am not a financial advisor or attorney. These videos shall not be construed as tax, legal or financial advice and may be outdated or inaccurate; all decisions made as a result of viewing are yours alone.

Renters In Crisis: Housing Experts Say Canceling Rent Isn’t The Best Answer

As the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic extend into the future, Americans and policymakers are trying to figure out what type of assistance is needed for both homeowners and renters.

Since mid-March, more than 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment. The CARES Act, a $2 trillion relief package passed by the federal government, implemented financial safeguards for Americans, including expanded unemployment benefits and one-time stimulus payments. The Act also introduced up to 12 months of mortgage forbearance for federally backed mortgage loans on single-family homes.

But experts estimate the national foreclosure suspension leaves out the 44 million households that rent their homes. Now, lawmakers are proposing nationwide rent protections—like canceling rent—but housing experts say it’s not that simple.

What Lawmakers Are Proposing

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States and cities have stepped up and implemented their own eviction moratoriums by pausing evictions until after the national COVID-19 crisis ends. Although these moratoriums are a step in the right direction, housing experts have said since the beginning of the pandemic that these simply aren’t enough. Eventually the moratoriums will lift, courts will open back up and a flood of eviction proceedings will likely occur.

“But eviction moratoria on their own, as many governments are proposing or enacting, would only address a small part of the crisis,” reads a blog post from the Urban Institute’s housing research department, dated March 20, just one week after the national emergency was declared. “Without additional rent relief or flexible cash assistance, moratoria could reduce COVID-19 transmission risks today but create an eviction tsunami later.”

Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has introduced a sweeping proposal aiming to implement nationwide housing relief. The representative from Minnesota is calling for rent and mortgage payments to be canceled (as opposed to being suspended or postponed) for up to a year for all rent and mortgage holders with an existing rental or loan agreement on their primary residence. There are no income or payment level restrictions for who would be eligible. The bill also would provide a federally funded relief fund for landlords and mortgage lienholders to cover losses from the canceled payments.

“In 2008, we bailed out Wall Street,” Rep. Omar said in a statement. “This time, it’s time to bail out the American people who are suffering.”

Considering that renters are a financially vulnerable demographic, there is no doubt that massive waves of evictions could be coming. Research shows that renters have lower incomes and less financial stability than homeowners. A report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS) found that 25% of all renters in 2018 spent more than half of their income on housing.

This is far above the financial rule of thumb that recommends spending no more than 30% of income on housing. According to the JCHS report, in 2018, nearly half of renters spent more than that percentage, leaving them especially vulnerable to any potential decrease in household income.

Newly compiled data is already showing a decrease in how many Americans are paying their rent. According to a survey from the National Multifamily Housing Council, 89% of apartment households had made a full or partial April rent payment by April 19, compared to 93% of renters for the same time frame last year. And while the decrease is small for now, analysts say it’s just the beginning of what’s to come.

“Now it’s a question of when we will see these effects accumulate,” says Matthew Murphy, executive director of the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. “If the economy isn’t recovering and people aren’t back to employment, we will see more nonpayment and something will have to be done. The federal government is likely going to have to provide some sort of housing package.”

What National Rent Relief Could Look Like, According to Experts

The question of how the federal government can protect rent payers isn’t one that can be answered simply. Both experts say canceling rent would have significant ripple effects on communities, and doesn’t answer the question of who will eventually pay the associated costs.

“It’s not as simple as just canceling rent—we are all connected,” says Mary Cunningham, vice president for Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy at the Urban Institute. “Landlords pay state and local government taxes, which fund schools, libraries and parks. To prevent ripple effects, we should just help renters pay their rent.”

Rep. Omar’s proposal includes a Rental Property Relief Fund to be established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The proposal would allow landlords to apply to have the full cost of any canceled rent payments covered by the federal government. Funding this could be difficult, considering the state of housing in America is one that is historically underfunded, and some experts say it’s often an afterthought for policymakers.

“Before the pandemic, we were poorly housed when it comes to affordability and there was no political will to do anything about it,” says Cunningham. “We definitely have strong research on how to keep people housed—it’s not that we don’t know how to do it, it’s that we won’t pay for it.”

Instead, Cunningham says, expanding existing programs, like the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program, could be a better option. These vouchers allow the government to subsidize portions of rent payments and were utilized during other times of economic distress, including during the aftermath of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Vouchers also have the advantage of reflecting local rent values, which fluctuate across the country and increase in higher cost of living areas like California and New York.

The Housing Choice Voucher Program has traditionally focused on lower-income individuals and families, but COVID-19 is sparking a broader renters’ crisis that requires rethinking existing assistance and options.

Murphy suggests that policymakers introduce new housing relief initiatives that will complement programs already passed in the CARES Act, such as sending more cash directly to Americans specifically to help pay their rent. As of now, most Americans say they’ll be spending their stimulus payments on bills. Additional stimulus payments in the future could continue that trend and help keep a roof over Americans’ heads.

Any successful responses to the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic must address both renters and landlords. Murphy notes that providing assistance to landlords to cover costs like property taxes and water bills could prevent buildings from “tipping into financial distress.” Addressing cash flow issues, Murphy says, could better keep buildings and communities afloat.

Rent Relief Available Now

There’s no way of knowing when federal renter relief will be passed into law or what it might look like. Until then, renters should familiarize themselves with any eviction moratoriums in effect in their state or city. Arizona, for example, has halted evictions of renters facing economic hardship due to the pandemic until July 24.

But even with moratoriums in place, renters could still be at risk for eviction. There are reports of people being threatened with eviction in California during the COVID-19 crisis because landlords don’t understand or respect the current laws that are in place.

Addressing potential evictions is only the first step in assisting renters. Equally—or even more—important is what happens after these moratoriums are lifted. Some states are already implementing safeguards for what might happen in the future: Washington state isn’t allowing landlords to treat pandemic-related unpaid rent like regular debt that can result in an eviction. While all rent payments that are delayed between mid-March and June 4 will still be owed, landlords are required to work with tenants to offer them a reasonable payment plan.

Staying Informed

Information about current safeguards for your state or city can typically be found on your state government or city mayor’s websites. Because evictions are handled through the court system, state judicial departments also are involved in setting non-eviction rules and dates. In many states, the details are contained in governors’ executive orders. The fastest way to find up-to-date state-specific information online may be to search COVID rent relief and the name of your state.

Whatever rent payment programs are developed or legislated—and whether they’re implemented at the local, state or federal levels—it’s important that they don’t cause new waves of crises after the primary COVID-19 crisis period has passed. It would only make a bad situation worse to provide relief to renters for several months that then creates new financial problems. However these programs ultimately are funded, the right solutions will require both short- and long-term thinking that takes into account the needs of both landlords and renters.

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Source: Renters In Crisis: Housing Experts Say Canceling Rent Isn’t The Best Answer

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Renters plunged into economic hardship by the coronavirus will be protected from being kicked out of their homes under a national plan to protect Australians from homelessness. Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement after meeting with his war cabinet saying the protections would last for at least six months. “States also agreed today, and further work will be done on this, on working to identify how relief can be provided for tenants in both commercial tenancies and residential tenancies, to ensure that in hardship conditions, there will be relief that will be available, and ensuring that tenancy legislation is protecting those tenants over the next six months at least,” he said. “That work will be done by states and territories, as it is a state and territory matter, and that work will be led by Western Australia, together with New South Wales, working with all the other states and territories, to bring back some model rules that can be applied in hardship cases. “So understanding what the trigger might be and how in those circumstances the tenants would be able to maintain their tenancies.” Mr Morrison said that decision would “mean something for landlords” but did not specify whether the government would compensate them. Instead he spoke about how every Australian would need to make a sacrifice. “Now, I know that will mean something for landlords, just as the decision taken today means something for banks, just like the decisions we have already taken as a Commonwealth government means things for our balance sheets, and as a people, for the Commonwealth government, as it does for the states,” he said. “All Australians are going to be making sacrifices, obviously, in the months ahead.”

Elon Musk Buys Out the Neighbors

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Elon Musk, the high-profile billionaire who has placed bold bets on driverless cars and space flights, is known for his over-the-top antics: He appeared in a Los Angeles court earlier this week, telling a jury that a Twitter message he sent suggesting a Thai cave rescuer was a pedophile wasn’t meant to connote the word’s dictionary definition and was in response to what he viewed as an unprovoked attack.

But when it comes to his personal real estate, Mr. Musk uses the same strategy adopted by a number of the mega-wealthy: buy up the neighborhood.

Over the last seven years, Mr. Musk and limited-liability companies tied to him have amassed a cluster of six houses on two streets in the “lower” and “mid” areas of the Bel-Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, a celebrity-filled, leafy enclave near the Hotel Bel-Air.

Those buys—plus a grand, 100-year-old estate in Northern California near the headquarters of Tesla, the electric car concern he heads—means Mr. Musk or LLCs with ties to him have spent around $100 million on seven properties. He didn’t respond to requests for comment.

In 2012, after three years of renting it, Mr. Musk bought a 20,248-square-foot white stucco Colonial mansion, according to Brian Ades, a real-estate agent with Sotheby’s International Realty who represented Mr. Musk in his purchase of the Los Angeles home. Limited-liability companies with ties to Mr. Musk own two other houses on that same street, records show, including a ranch house once owned by actor Gene Wilder. The ranch was turned into a private school, other records show; in an interview on BTV (Beijing Television) published on YouTube, Mr. Musk said he created the school for his five sons.

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In 2015 came additional purchases that shifted to an adjacent street up a steep canyon. Duck Duck Goose, a limited-liability company that shares its addresses with the Musk Foundation and the headquarters of SpaceX, the rocket company where Mr. Musk is CEO, bought a modest ranch house for $4.3 million. A year later, another LLC tied to Mr. Musk bought a large, unfinished, white contemporary three doors down, and then, a little more than two years later, a different LLC also registered to the SpaceX headquarters address snagged a white brick Colonial next to that. All three houses sit on a cul-de-sac of five homes, making neighbors wonder whether Mr. Musk—or SpaceX—is trying to take over the whole end of the street.

The buy-out-the-neighbors approach is a familiar one among the mega wealthy, including tech billionaires. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg paid more than $50 million for five homes in Palo Alto, Calif., while the Mercer Island, Wash., compound of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen comprised 13 different adjoining lots and included eight houses.

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A number of Mr. Musk’s purchases appear to be appreciating. Prices have grown in the neighborhood since his first purchase, with record sales prices in recent months, says Sally Forster Jones, executive director of luxury estates at real-estate firm Compass. One real-estate agent believes the homes are to accommodate employees and associates of Mr. Musk’s various businesses, while some neighbors said they think he wants to build a tunnel connecting his properties on the two different roads.

In December 2018, Mr. Musk mortgaged five of his homes (four in Los Angeles, one in Northern California) to Morgan Stanley Private Bank for a total of $61.3 million, according to recorded deeds.

Here is a rundown of Mr. Musk’s portfolio:

Los Angeles 

  • Purchased in May 2002 for $5.4285 million.
  • Sold in March 2011 for $6.453 million
  • 6,500 square feet, four bedrooms, six bathrooms

Elon Musk bought this house in Bel-Air when he was married to Justine Musk, whom he met while attending Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. In her blog, which is filled with tales of clubbing, celebrities and parties, Ms. Musk said the house took two years to find, and the couple stayed at the Mondrian and the Hotel Bel-Air on house-hunting trips. She said neighbor Joe Francis, founder of the raunchy video series Girls Gone Wild, attended parties at their home and is “eccentric, charming when he wants to be.” “We hung out constantly,” said Mr. Francis, who confirmed that he lived next door.

After Ms. Musk received the house in the divorce, she wrote in her blog that her financial adviser and business manager told her she had to sell it and “fire half your domestic staff.” She sold it in 2011 for $6.453 million to George McCabe, the founder of a Boston-based investment firm, or as Ms. Musk described it in her blog, to “nice young man from the east coast who plans to use it as a second home.” Ms. Musk didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Los Angeles

  • Purchased in December 2012 for $17 million.
  • Estimated current value: $22.3 million per Zillow
  • 20,248 square feet, seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms

The Elon Musk Revocable Trust bought this mansion from Mitchell Julis, co-founder of hedge fund Canyon Capital Advisors, according to public records. The 1.7-acre property overlooks Bel-Air Country Club, according to the listing, and includes a lighted tennis court, five garages, a pool and spa, gym and guest quarters. The house, resembling a French country estate, has a wine cellar that holds 1,000 bottles of wine and a two-story library.

The purchase was later transferred to an LLC called Callisto that is linked to Mr. Musk. Mr. Musk’s decision to buy multiple houses was “motivated by utility,” since he has a big family and staff and puts up a lot of visitors, said Mr. Ades, the real-estate agent. He added that Mr. Musk was “ahead of his time,” since the real-estate prices in that part of Bel-Air have skyrocketed. According to the L.A. Department of Building and Safety records, in 2014 Mr. Musk put in new French doors in the master suite, remodeled the master closet and bathroom and remodeled the kitchen.

Los Angeles

  • Purchased in October 2013 for $6.75 million.
  • Estimated Current Value: $7.8 million per Zillow
  • 2,756 square feet, three bedrooms, three bathrooms

The Elon Musk Revocable Trust bought this house for $6.75 million, considerably less than its original listing price of $7.995 million, records show. The three-bedroom ranch house with a guest cottage, right above the Bel-Air Country Club, was once owned by Mr. Wilder, who bought it in 1976 for $314,000. It was later transferred to an LLC associated with Mr. Musk.

Ad Astra, the school Mr. Musk started for his five sons (a pair of twins and a set of triplets), was registered at this address, though the school’s address has since been switched to a building partially leased by SpaceX in Hawthorne, Calif., about 17 miles away. According to the admissions page on its website, the school, founded in 2014, is for students between 8 and 14 years old and is focused on problem solving, ethical thinking and collaboration. For admissions for this school year, applicants had to solve problems, such as picking one of 11 planets for a new home for humans, or deciding who is to blame for the death of a lake from pollution.

Los Angeles

  • Purchased in July 2015 for $20 million.
  • Estimated Current Value: $20 million per Zillow
  • 7,026 square feet, six bedrooms, eight bathrooms

Originally built in 1954, this house was altered in 2009, according to public records. It sold for $1.825 million in 1998 and then for $2.49 million in 2002 before an LLC called Camellia Ranch bought it in 2015 for $20 million. The mailing address for Camellia Ranch is SpaceX’s headquarters, and it shares a P.O. box with Excession LLC, Mr. Musk’s family office. Jared Birchall, who works for Mr. Musk, is listed as an authorized signatory.

Hillsborough

  • Purchased in June 2017 for $23.364 million.
  • Estimated Current Value: $27.2 million per Zillow
  • 16,000 square feet, 10 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms

Known as de Guigne Court, this 100-year-old mansion sits on 47.4 acres and has bay views, a pool, hiking trails and a ballroom. When the property was first marketed in 2013, its seller Christian de Guigne IV, 78, had made any sale contingent on him retaining a life estate in the property, which would give him exclusive use of it during his lifetime. The estate was then taken off the market, then put back on with the contingency removed.

Located on a leafy hilltop roughly 20 minutes south of San Francisco and north of Silicon Valley, the property has been in the same family for 150 years. Mr. de Guigne’s grandparents built the approximately 16,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style home; the family said it was designed by San Francisco architects Bliss & Faville (who also designed the St. Francis Hotel) around 1912. The main house includes a ballroom, a flower-arranging room, five bedrooms, seven full baths and two half baths. A staff wing has six bedrooms and three baths. A pavilion with 18th-century Chinese wallpaper overlooks the pool.

By the time an LLC tied to Mr. Musk bought the house for $23.364 million in 2017, it was a third of its original $100 million price. The only permit recorded since Mr. Musk bought the house was in October 2018, for removing and replacing kitchen cabinets. Greg Goumas, with Sotheby’s International, says the house was in its “original condition” when it sold and was in need of significant modernization.

Brentwood

  • Purchased by an LLC tied to then-wife Talulah Riley in August 2014 for $3.695 million.
  • Sold in August 2019 for $3.925 million
  • 3,000 square feet, four bedrooms, four bathrooms

In August 2014, a year after Mr. Musk married Ms. Riley (an actress who appeared in the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice) for the second time, an LLC tied to her bought this house for $3.695 million, according to records. Built in 1959, the four-bedroom, white, mid-century modern home has floor-to-ceiling windows that curve around a crescent-shaped saltwater pool and ocean views, according to the listing. The couple later divorced.

The house went on sale in February 2019 for $4.5 million and sold in August 2019 for $3.925 million.

Los Angeles

  • Purchased in July 2015 for $4.3 million.
  • Estimated Current Value: $4.9 million per Zillow
  • 2,963 square feet, four bedrooms, four bathrooms

On a recent late Sunday morning, the grounds of this half stucco, half stone, one-level white house looked unkempt, with a scruffy, bush-filled front yard, a stained glass window, a clay rabbit and dead plants in pots by the front door. Seven large trash bins sat outside the garage, a common sight, according to neighbors, who also said that last February the house was lit up with pink lights for Valentine’s Day. Neighbors said there appeared to be people at the home sometimes, but it didn’t appear anyone was living there full-time.

Duck Duck Goose, an LLC with ties to Mr. Musk, paid 10% above the original asking price, according to public records. Photos from the 2015 sales listing show a brick patio and a grassy back yard overlooking the canyons, rooms with pink walls, floral wallpaper and blue floral wall-to-wall carpets, and a wood-paneled living room.

Los Angeles

  • Purchased in September 2016 for $24.25 million.
  • Estimated Current Value: $27.3 million per Zillow
  • 9,309 square feet, six bedrooms, seven bathrooms

An LLC tied to Mr. Musk bought this contemporary made up of geometric masses, one with two-story glass windows. It sits behind a frosted glass wall. Neighbors said the property is frequently the site of construction, which started in 2011; the L.A. Department of Building and Safety has pages and pages of permitting record documents associated with the property, including one for a residential elevator and another for a fire-sprinkler system.

Los Angeles

  • Purchased in January 2019 for $6.4 million.
  • Estimated Current Value: $4.2 million per Zillow
  • 3,943 square feet, four bedrooms, three bathrooms

The 1958 Frankel Family Trust sold this home to Wyoming Steel LLC for $6.4 million on Jan. 15, 2019, records show. The address for Wyoming Steel is shared with SpaceX’s headquarters. The home is a two-story, white brick Colonial house, with shutters, a pool and a brick front walkway lined by a white picket fence.

By: Nancy Keates

Source: https://www.wsj.com/news/author/nancy-keates

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Elon Musk | The Rich Life | Forbes 23.7 Billion Dollar Net Worth SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/2z9TmzZ JOIN AS A MEMBER: https://bit.ly/2MgeEDC Support The Channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mccrudden SHOP MERCH @ https://www.michaelmccrudden.com/ When you’re rich like Elon Musk (Tesla and Space x) you don’t just buy a house in Bel Air, you buy up a neighborhood. After securing his first Bel Air address in 2012 for a cool $17 Million he went ahead and bought up all the neighboring mansions scooping up a total of 6 properties to a sum of $80 Million dollars. #elonmusk #cybertruck #therichlife #michaelmccrudden #tesla #networth #forbes

2020 Real Estate Outlook: Expert Predictions For Mortgage Rates, Home Prices, Tech And More

The 2019 housing market has been one of low rates, high demand and limited supply—particularly on the lower-priced end of the market.

Will 2020 be more of the same? According to experts, yes and no.

We spoke to six mortgage, real estate, and housing professionals. Here’s what they say is in store for the year to come:

Mortgage rates will stay low—or maybe go lower.

Mortgage rates currently sit at 3.75%, according to Freddie Mac’s most recent numbers—nearly a 1% difference from the monthly average a year ago. The drop in rates caused a surge in refinancing over the last few months, and purchase activity ticked up as well.

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According to Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at title insurance and settlement services provider First American, there’s “emerging consensus” that rates will remain low next year—likely somewhere between 3.7% and 3.9%, she says.

Forecasts from Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association back this up, both predicting 2020 rates within this range. Fannie Mae actually predicts rates will clock in even lower, vacillating between 3.5% and 3.6% throughout the year.

Sean Hundtofte, chief economist for online mortgage lender Better.com, says that thanks to these continued low rates, refinancing should remain a popular choice in the new year. And for homebuyers, he says, they’ll “be able to afford more house than they would have otherwise.”

Prices will keep on rising.

Home prices will continue their climb upward, according to experts, largely thanks to tight inventory and high demand.

According to the latest home price forecast from property data firm CoreLogic, home prices should tick up by 5.6% by next September—up from the just 3.5% jump we saw this year.

As Daryl Fairweather, chief economist for real estate brokerage Redfin, explains, “Right now we aren’t seeing a ton of new listings. Without more listings coming on the market, there will be more competition starting off in early 2020 and that will lead to more price pressure.”

The problem will be worse on the lower end of the price spectrum. According to Ralph DeFranco, chief economist for mortgage insurer Arch MI, entry-level home prices will rise higher than incomes next year—and disappointing construction numbers will only compound the issue.

“Low interest rates and a shortage of starter homes will continue to push up prices,” DeFranco said. “This is especially the case for lower price points, since builders have tended to focus on more expensive, higher-profit houses and less on replenishing low inventories of entry-level homes.”

It seems the price growth may continue beyond 2020, too. Data from Arch MI shows the chance of home price declines at a mere 11% for the next two years. There are currently no states or metro markets projected to see prices declines in that period.

Inventory will be tight.

Housing inventory is going to remain limited for much of 2020, experts say. And interest rates and record-high homeownership tenures are a big part of the problem.

According to recent data from Redfin, the average homeowner is staying in their home 13 years—up from just eight years in 2010. In some cities, homeownership tenures are as high as 23 years.

As Kushi explains, “You can’t buy what’s not for sale.”

“While historically low rates increase buying power and make it more likely for potential buyers to attain their homeownership dream, they also increase the risk of a long-run housing supply shortage, which we predict will continue through 2020 and possibly intensify,” Kushi says. “As first-time buyers lock-in these historically amazing rates and existing owners refinance—in droves in recent months, everyone will stay put and not sell. Where’s the incentive?”

There’s a chance that increasing construction may offer some relief in the inventory department. Last month’s residential construction report from the Census Bureau saw building permits and housing starts both increase over the year. At the same time. builder confidence was at a 20-month high, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Still, it may not be enough to meet the needs of today’s buyers, Kushi says.

“As for building new homes, builders have a reason to be cautiously optimistic, given pent up demand stemming from a strong economy, lower mortgage rates and continued wage growth,” she says. “However, building pace still lags behind historical standards, and it will likely take months before we can begin building at a pace that will support the demand.”

Millennials will keep up their homebuying streak, while Boomers hold up inventory.

Data from Realtor.com shows Millennials made up a whopping 46% of all mortgage originations in September—up from 43% one year prior. Meanwhile, shares of Baby Boomer and Gen X mortgage activity declined.

It’s no wonder, either. Millennials rank homeownership as one of their top goals in life—higher than even marrying or having kids—and with interest rates low and incomes up, it’s the right time to buy a home for many.

Unfortunately, they face an uphill battle. As Kushi explains, “Looking ahead, Millennials may be entering a tougher housing market in 2020. A limited supply environment, combined with growing demand and increased competition for homes, is accelerating home price growth once again.”

The Baby Boomer generation is part of the challenge for this younger cohort, as many are choosing to age in place—keeping more homes off the market than ever before.

In fact, a recent study from Freddie Mac shows that if today’s older adults—those born between 1931 and 1959—behaved like earlier generations, then an additional 1.6 million homes would have hit the market by the end of the last year.

As Kushi puts it, “The fate of Millennial homebuying to close out 2019 and into 2020 will depend on two factors: if there is anything for them to buy, and whether rising purchasing power stemming from increasing income and historically low mortgage rates can continue to outpace house price appreciation.”

The suburbs will be a big draw thanks to Millennial demand.

As home prices skyrocket, cash-strapped Millennials are looking toward more affordable places to put down roots—namely smaller, suburban towns on the outskirts of major metros.

The trend has led to an uptick in “Hipsturbia” communities—live-work-play neighborhoods that blend the safety and affordability of the suburbs with the transit, walkability and 24-hour amenities of big cities.

Melissa Gomez, an agent with ERA Top Service Realty in New York, has seen the trend in action.

“Being based in the boroughs of NYC, I see Hipsturbia happening every day,” she said. “As cities like New York become increasingly expensive, younger people and families are looking for more bang for their buck with real estate, schooling and everything in between. And slowly but surely, it is breathing new life into small towns outside of major urban hubs.”

The Urban Land Institute recently named Histurbia as one of its top real estate trends to watch in 2020.

As the report explains, “If the live-work-play formula could revive inner cities a quarter-century ago, there is no reason to think that it will not work in suburbs with the right bones and the will to succeed.”

The industry will continue to digitize. 

The mortgage and real estate spheres have been moving away from their manual, paper-laden processes in recent years, and 2020 will only see that trend expand further—especially as more tech-savvy Millennials enter the market.

As Hundtofte explains, “In 2020, we’ll continue to see Millennials growing their share of the mortgage market, which in turn, will serve as a catalyst to lenders to continue to rapidly innovate their technology offerings to meet the expectations of an audience more accustomed to an Amazon, Venmo-like experience.”

Though plenty of tech offerings already exist—from e-signing and e-notary software to fully-digital mortgage applications, automated income verification and more—Hundtofte says we’ll probably see these solutions start teaming up in the new year.

“Rather than compete with each other, we’ll see companies combining technologies across the board, from startups partnering with startups to startups partnering with legacy institutions,” he says.

Aaron Block, the co-founder of MetaProp—a venture capital fund focusing solely on real estate technology—says to keep an eye on the Airbnb and WeWork brands specifically in this regard.

On WeWork’s recent IPO blunder, Block says, “One major positive outcome of this year’s ‘DiePO’ is the plethora of ‘proptech’ innovation talent hitting the street. Some exciting new companies are being formed as we speak.”

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

I’m a freelance writer and journalist from Houston, covering real estate, mortgage and finance topics. See my current work in Forbes, The Motley Fool, The Balance, Bankrate and The Simple Dollar. Past gigs: The Dallas Morning News, NBC, Radio Disney and PBS.

Source: 2020 Real Estate Outlook: Expert Predictions For Mortgage Rates, Home Prices, Tech And More

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