How Real Estate Pros Convert More Listings by Targeting the Right 50%

Article Summary:

How Pros Target the Best 50% to Convert More Listings

What does targeting the top 50% mean in real estate prospecting?
High-performing agents focus not on more leads, but on better leads - the half of any market most likely to sell. This smarter approach yields higher conversions with fewer contacts.

Why is this more important today?
Homeowner turnover is slowing. The average American stays in their home nearly 12 years, up from 6.5 years in 2005. With fewer moves happening, precision matters more than volume.

What are the five key filters agents use to narrow in on the best prospects?

1. Age & Income - Older adults (like Baby Boomers) and growing families have a higher likelihood to sell. By filtering for specific age brackets and household income, agents improve their reach and relevance.

2. Home Equity - Sellers with substantial equity (e.g., 30%+) are motivated and capable of moving. Equitable homeowners are prime candidates, especially Boomers who hold a significant portion of U.S. home equity.

3. Length of Residence - Homeowners nearing a 7–10-year tenure are more likely facing life transitions (downsizing, upsizing, retirement), making them better prospects.

4. Neighborhood Turnover Rate - Focus on areas with high annual turnover (5–10%), where moves are more frequent - aka “active ponds.” High turnover zones deliver more listing opportunities.

5. Best Phone Scores - Only dial numbers that are verified and yield results. Top agents save time and boost live conversations by filtering out bad data (wrong numbers, disconnected lines), which can affect up to 27% of call attempts.

How can agents put this into action?

• Define filters: pick 2–3 of the above data points (e.g., 55+ year-old homeowners with 40% equity in active ZIP codes).

• Use a quality data provider to append demographic and property data, plus verified contact info.

• Generate a targeted list consisting of the top 50% of the market by likelihood to sell.

• Take action: Call, mail, or door-knock only the most promising leads.

• Track performance and refine filters over time to optimize conversion rates.

Why this works:
The strategy is about quality over quantity. Narrowed lists lead to more meaningful conversations and more signed listings, not more fumbling dials. The Share Group supports agents by delivering such filtered lead lists, typically with the highest accuracy on contact info.

Fewer Prospects, Higher Conversion:
How Top Agents Target the Best 50% of the Market

Real estate prospecting doesn’t have to be a numbers game. The smartest agents know that more leads aren’t always better - it’s about targeting the right leads. Imagine cutting your call list in half yet getting more listing appointments. By leveraging data-driven filters, top producers zero in on the most likely sellers and achieve higher conversion rates while working fewer prospects. In fact, the typical homeowner now stays in their home for nearly 12 years (up from just 6.5 years in 2005) (1). With fewer people moving in any given year, it’s more important than ever to focus your time on homeowners who are primed to sell.

In this post, we’ll reveal how real estate pros pick the top 50% of any market - the half of prospects most likely to convert to listings - using demographic and property data. You’ll learn the five key filters (age, income, equity, length of residence, turnover, and phone quality) that can dramatically boost your lead conversion. Fewer cold calls, higher ROI - here’s how to work smarter in your prospecting.

Quality Over Quantity: Targeting Likely Sellers Pays Off

Chasing every homeowner in your farm area is exhausting and inefficient. High-performing agents take a different approach: they use data to segment their prospect lists, eliminating “long-shot” leads and doubling down on contacts with the highest probability of selling soon. The result? Better conversations and more listings from a smaller pool of prospects.

Consider the impact on your business if you could spend 100% of your time talking to owners who actually plan to move in the near future. By filtering your leads to the top 50%, you’ll waste less time on uninterested homeowners and increase your conversion rate on listing appointments. It’s a classic 80/20 principle: a focused list of likely sellers can yield the majority of deals, while the rest of the leads produce very little. As one agent put it after switching to more targeted leads, “9 times out of 10 I can actually get ahold of the owner of the property” - a night-and-day difference from endless voicemails to random leads (2).

In the sections below, we break down five data filters that the pros use to find that golden “likely seller” segment. By applying these criteria - often in combination - you can identify the homeowners who are most ready to sell, so you spend time only on prospects that count.

1. Age & Income:
Focus on Key Demographics

Not every homeowner is equally likely to move. Two demographic factors that strongly indicate selling potential are age and household income. Top agents analyze these to hone in on prospects with life situations that often lead to a sale:

• Owner Age: Homeowners at certain life stages are far more inclined to sell. For example, older adults (think Baby Boomers and seniors) are often looking to downsize or relocate closer to family. In fact, Americans are buying homes later in life than ever - the median age of homebuyers hit a record 56 in 2024 (3) - and Baby Boomers now account for 53% of home sellers (4). That means over half of all people selling homes are in the Boomer generation! These older sellers frequently want smaller, easier-to-maintain homes, making them prime listing opportunities. On the other end, young families in starter homes (e.g. people in their 30s with growing kids) may be itching to “move up” to a bigger house. By filtering your lead list for owners within specific age brackets (for instance, 30s for upsizers or 55+ for downsizers), you can align your outreach with the groups statistically most likely to make a move.
  
  
• Household Income: Income is another useful filter to find motivated sellers. Generally, homeowners with stable or higher incomes have more flexibility to move - they can qualify for a new mortgage more easily or handle the costs of buying and selling. Higher-income households are also more likely to relocate for job opportunities or upgrade to a larger home when the time is right. On the flip side, owners with very low income might be locked in place or unable to trade up, while ultra-high-net-worth individuals may own multiple properties (and thus sell more frequently as they rebalance portfolios). The sweet spot is identifying financially capable homeowners who would benefit from selling - for example, middle-to-upper income families whose earnings have grown since they bought their starter home. These folks often have the means and the incentive to make their next move. By using income data (which The Share Group can append to your leads), you ensure you’re contacting people financially ready to transact, not just anyone with a deed.
  
  

Why it matters: Demographic segmentation lets you craft a tailored message and value prop. A retired couple in their 70s needs a different approach (and likely has different motivations) than a dual-income couple in their 40s. Focusing on specific age/income groups with relevant pain points will dramatically improve your response rates. Plus, you’ll be fishing in the pond where the fish are: if Boomers comprise the majority of sellers today, you want to be front and center with that demographic. Older owners also tend to have more equity (as we’ll discuss next) and are often more receptive to phone calls (4), making them especially high-converting prospects.

2. Home Equity:
Target Owners with “Skin in the Game”

When it comes to likelihood of selling, equity is king. Homeowners with a large amount of equity in their property are far more likely to list - and to profit when they do - compared to those who have little or none. Think about it: if someone bought 15 years ago, their home value has likely risen and their mortgage balance fallen, giving them a sizable equity cushion (and cash waiting to be unlocked by selling). Meanwhile, someone who bought just last year might barely have any equity and could even lose money selling so soon. Top agents zero in on prospects who are equity-rich for good reason.

Today’s market is brimming with equity-rich homeowners. Thanks to years of rising prices, U.S. homeowners have record-high equity stakes - the average homeowner with a mortgage now has over $300,000 in equity (6). Baby Boomers in particular are sitting on a mountain of home wealth: they collectively hold about half of the nation’s home equity - over $17 trillion (4). This is crucial, because high equity = high motivation. Owners who stand to net a big profit from selling are naturally inclined to consider it, whether to downsize and cash out, move up to a dream home, or simply harvest their gains. They also have the financial freedom to sell - if you have substantial equity, you can cover agent commissions, pay off the loan, and still walk away with a check (or use the proceeds as a down payment on your next house).

On the other hand, owners with low or no equity are much less likely to sell by choice. Many will wait to build more equity before moving, and those “underwater” (owing more than the home is worth) almost never list unless forced by circumstances. By filtering your prospects for a minimum equity percentage or dollar amount, you can remove these low-probability leads. For example, you might focus on homeowners with at least 30% equity (or a loan-to-value of 70% or less). This will capture people who bought long enough ago to have paid down and appreciated significantly. Many lead providers - including The Share Group - can supply equity data or home value estimates to help you identify this segment.

Pro tip: Public records and modeling can estimate equity (using mortgage liens and current value models). The Share Group’s Likely-to-Sell leads, for instance, use factors like home value history and mortgage data to flag owners with strong equity positions (4). By targeting these owners, you’re focusing on folks who can afford to sell and often have a compelling reason to (e.g. unlock cash for retirement or move-up). High-equity prospects convert at a higher rate because the sale is a clear financial win for them.

3. Length of Residence:
Time Your Outreach with Life Cycles

How long someone has lived in their home is a classic predictor of move likelihood. People don’t move every year; typically, it’s a cycle spanning several years or more. An owner who just moved in 6 months ago is very unlikely to sell again soon (unless something drastic changed), whereas someone who’s been in the same house for 10+ years might be getting restless or facing life changes that prompt a move. The average U.S. homeowner tenure is about 12 years today (5), but that’s just a median - many people move around the 7-10 year mark, while others stay 20+. The key for agents is identifying those who are at or beyond the typical ownership duration in your market.

Top producers use “length of residence” filters in their prospecting lists. For example, you might pull all owners who have owned their home for 5 years or more. At the 5-year point, a few things often align: homeowners may have built up equity, grown their families, or simply outgrown the home. If you stretch that to 7-10+ years in residence, you’re looking at people who bought in the 2010s or earlier - many of whom are now entering a phase of life (kids off to college, nearing retirement, etc.) where a move is on the table.

Why does this filter work so well? Because life changes over time. The house that was perfect a decade ago may not fit today’s needs. Perhaps the owner’s kids are older and they need more space (or the opposite - the kids moved out and it’s time to downsize). Or consider homeowners who bought during the low-rate era 10 years back; they might now cash in on appreciation or relocate for a job promotion. By targeting homeowners with longer tenure, you tap into those natural life-cycle moves.

On the flip side, excluding new owners (say <2 years in the home) spares you from chasing people who likely won’t budge yet. Most folks simply aren’t ready to sell after just a year or two of ownership. They haven’t built equity and moving again so soon is a hassle. Focusing on longer-term residents means your calls and mailers reach people who’ve had time for circumstances to change.

Data example: Let’s say you set your list criteria to homeowners in ZIP code 12345 who purchased before 2015. Instantly, you’ve carved away the newer buyers and zeroed in on those ~10+ year owners who align with the typical moving cycle. Many of those will also be in mid-life or older (connecting with the age factor) and have substantial equity. That overlap of multiple factors is gold. In fact, one creative lead filter is to find families who bought starter homes ~5+ years ago and now have a second child - they’re very likely looking for a bigger place (one Share Group analysis found 800,000+ “families outgrowing their small homes” nationwide by filtering ownership length, home size, and kids in household (7). The bottom line: timing matters, and “length of residence” is a simple yet powerful way to time your outreach for when a move is due.

4. Neighborhood Turnover Rate:
Fish in the Most Active Ponds

Where your prospects live can be just as important as who they are. Geographic turnover rate - the percentage of homes in an area that sell each year - is a critical metric pro agents consider when selecting which neighborhoods or markets to target. The idea is straightforward: an area with a high turnover rate has more transactions happening (more people moving in and out) compared to one with a low rate. If you focus your prospecting on a high-turnover zone, your odds of finding a listing lead are simply better.

Most real estate coaches suggest aiming for neighborhoods with at least a 5% annual turnover (9). That means out of 100 homes, about 5 are selling each year. Some hot areas may see 7-10%+ turnover, while sleepy communities might be under 3%. As an example, if a subdivision has 500 homes and 25 sales last year, that’s a 5% turnover - generally considered a healthy, active market (9). If another similarly sized neighborhood had only 5 sales (1% turnover), you’d likely avoid farming there, since few residents are inclined to move.

How to use this: Do a little research (you can use MLS data or tools like RPR) to calculate turnover in the ZIP codes or subdivisions you target. Then prioritize the top 50% - the areas with above-average turnover. You can incorporate this into your lead list by focusing on leads from those zip codes, or by simply spending more door-knocking and marketing effort there. High turnover areas might include neighborhoods with lots of first-time buyer homes (where owners “graduate” after a few years), communities near growing job centers (people relocating in/out), or regions with many retirees (if it’s common to downsize or move away after retirement).

By picking the “active ponds”, you ensure that your prospecting energy is spent where moves are happening. It’s the difference between fishing in a stocked lake versus an empty one. The Share Group can assist with this by allowing you to filter leads by location - you could, for instance, request all homeowners meeting your criteria within a specific high-turnover ZIP code or radius. Combining a location filter with the personal criteria (age, equity, etc.) we discussed means you’re canvassing only the most promising ground.

Bonus: Turnover data can also guide your marketing strategy. If you know a certain town has a 8% turnover (very active), you might double up mailers or calls there. If another favorite farm area is only 2%, perhaps shift focus or dig deeper to find only the niche sellers in that low-turnover area (e.g. maybe only absentee owners in a low-turnover suburb). The goal is to spend your time where it statistically pays off. Pros do this intuitively - now you can too, by stacking a turnover filter onto your lead selection.

5. “Best” Phone Scores:
Only Call Numbers You Can Reach

Even the most qualified lead is worthless if you can’t actually talk to them. That’s why top agents are obsessive about data quality - especially phone numbers. The Share Group often talks about “best phone scores”, which refers to the quality rating of a contact number. In practical terms, it means using only verified, high-accuracy phone numbers for your prospects, and ditching the bad numbers that lead to dead ends. Focusing on leads with reachable contact info is a simple but game-changing way to boost conversion.

Consider how much time gets wasted calling wrong or disconnected numbers. Studies show bad contact data gobbles up about 27% of a sales rep’s time on average (8). For a busy agent, that’s hours every week you could have spent talking to real sellers, but instead you’re hitting voicemails or “this number is no longer in service.” By filtering for only leads with top-quality phone data, you instantly reclaim that lost time. In fact, using phone-verified leads can result in 10-20% more live conversations from the same call effort (8) - which directly translates to more listing appointments. More conversations = more chances to convert a lead into a client.

So how do you ensure you’ve got the “best phone scores”? This is where partnering with a data provider like The Share Group makes a huge difference. We rigorously verify and score phone numbers in our lead lists. Every number is run through multiple checks - real-time pinging to confirm it’s active, activity scoring to see if it’s a frequently used line, and scrubbing against DNC (Do Not Call) and litigation risk lists (8). The result: Share Group leads come with 99%+ accurate phone numbers (8). You can literally filter by phone score to use only the top-rated numbers for your calls (our system marks the most accurate numbers, typically with a lower score value indicating highest quality). If a lead has, say, five possible phone numbers, we’ll give you the best one (or two) that are most likely to connect. Some services even let you exclude leads with only bad numbers.

Bottom line: Don’t spin your wheels dialing ghosts. By working with high phone-score leads, you’ll spend your prospecting time talking to sellers, not chasing ghosts. This boosts your conversion percentage simply because you’re actually reaching people. And as a bonus, you’ll stay compliant - no more worrying that the number you dialed is on a DNC list or a spam trap, because those have been filtered out. Top agents know that contact rate is the first step to conversion rate. They invest in data quality, and it pays back in more listings won. As one high-growth study noted, 66% of thriving companies actively improve their contact data quality (8) - it’s not a cost, it’s an investment in efficiency.

How to Get Started: Put Data-Driven Prospecting to Work

By now, you’ve seen how narrowing your list with the right filters can massively improve your prospecting results. So how can you implement this strategy quickly? Here’s a simple roadmap to get started with demographic segmentation and high-quality leads:

1. Define Your Target Criteria: Think about your market and goals. Are you after downsizing seniors? Growing families? Pick 2-3 key filters from above that align with your ideal sellers. (For example: Owners age Fifty-five-plus, 10+ years in home, with 40%+ equity, in ZIP codes 12345/12346.)
   
   
2. Leverage a Quality Lead Source: Rather than piecing together data yourself, use a provider that offers demographic and property filtering. The Share Group’s platform, for instance, lets you search for seller leads by location and apply filters like age range, income level, home equity, ownership length, property type, and more. All leads come with verified phone numbers and emails, so you can also filter by phone score or just know the data is ready-to-call.
   
   
3. Pull a “Top 50%” List: Using your criteria, generate a list of prospects and note how many results you get. You’ll likely see that you can whittle a broad farm (thousands of homes) down to a few hundred prime targets. These are your top-50% likely sellers. For example, out of 20,000 homeowners in a county, maybe 8,000 meet your chosen filters - those 8,000 will be far more responsive than the rest. (If the number still feels high, refine further or break it into chunks by neighborhood or factor priority).
   
   
4. Download and Contact: Once satisfied, download your targeted lead list complete with names, property info, and verified contact details. Load them into your CRM or dialer. Now your calling, door-knocking or direct mail will be aimed at a high-converting audience. With our data, you can be confident that each number is highly likely to connect and each contact meets your criteria (no more guessing or manually researching every lead).
   
   
5. Track and Refine: As you work this targeted list, keep an eye on response and conversion rates. You’ll likely find it’s much higher than generic lists. Use that feedback to adjust your filters if needed - maybe you discover that owners over 70 are your sweet spot, or that one neighborhood is gold while another is lukewarm. Continuously refine your criteria and regenerate new top-prospect lists over time. This iterative improvement is something pros do naturally, and it’s now powered by real data insights.
   
   

Stop Wasting Time - Win More Listings with Targeted Leads

In today’s market, precision beats volume in lead generation. You’ve seen that casting a wide net (calling on every homeowner) is not only old-school, it’s inefficient. By contrast, focusing on a data-refined list of likely movers lets you channel your energy where it counts. You’ll spend less time prospecting, but yield more conversations and appointments - ultimately, more signed listings. It’s a win-win: fewer prospects, higher conversion.

The good news is you don’t have to do all the research or filtering on your own. The Share Group is here to help you implement demographic segmentation with ease. We specialize in providing real estate agents with ready-to-use lead lists that are pre-filtered and phone-verified for maximum quality. Want to only call owners over age 60 with $200K+ equity who live in high-turnover neighborhoods? We can build that list for you in minutes. Our leads are 99%+ accurate on phone data and 100% scrubbed for compliance, so you can prospect with confidence. It’s all about giving you that “top 50%” of the market - the homeowners most likely to say “yes, I’m thinking of selling.”

Ready to work smarter and fill your pipeline with real opportunities? Don’t waste another dial on a dead lead. Reach out to The Share Group today to get targeted seller lists that leverage age, income, equity, and more to pinpoint your next listings. Fewer dials, better conversations, and more deals - that’s the power of data-driven prospecting. Your next listing (and many more) await. Let’s make sure you’re calling the right prospects and converting at the highest level.

Q&A:

Ready to boost your lead conversion? Visit The Share Group to request a customized seller lead list and start connecting with quality prospects who are primed to move!

1. redfin.com
2. https://www.theshare.group/blog/importance-of-accurate-phones-in-real-estate-prospecting
3. https://www.theshare.group/blog/the-new-normal-why-todays-homebuyer-is-older-and-how-to-win-their-listings
4. https://www.theshare.group/blog/the-new-normal-why-todays-homebuyer-is-older-and-how-to-win-their-listings
5. https://www.cotality.com/fr-ca/press-releases/borrowers-gained-billions-home-equity-2024
6. https://www.redfin.com/news/homeowner-tenure-2023
7. https://www.theshare.group/blog/3-real-estate-lead-types-you-have-never-heard-of-in-2025
8. https://www.theshare.group/blog/importance-of-accurate-phones-in-real-estate-prospecting
9. https://blog.narrpr.com/tips/find-your-next-listing-with-these-actionable-farming-tactics