Episode Overview

Podcast: Your Daily Real Estate Podcast with Tristan Ahumada
Episode: 730 – The 4 Rules That Make Real Estate Farming Work
Date: November 29, 2025
Host: Tristan Ahumada

In this episode, Tristan Ahumada shares essential rules for successful real estate farming based on his years of hands-on experience. Laying the groundwork for the next two episodes focusing on farming strategies, Tristan distills his approach into four practical, experience-backed rules vital for real estate agents aiming to build long-term relationships and dominate local neighborhoods.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Choosing the Right Area

Timestamp: 01:10 – 03:15

• Start small and local:

  • Tristan emphasizes choosing a neighborhood you can dominate, recommending 500–2,000 homes, ideally closer to 500 for beginners.
  • Personal experience: His early success came from focusing on his own neighborhood, making consistent contact easy and helping him quickly become part of the community.

• Lessons from overreaching:

  • A mistake was spreading himself too thin, taking on distant areas (like Malibu) where it was unrealistic to maintain a presence, leading to inconsistency and missed opportunities.

  "Pick a neighborhood you can dominate…where you can actually afford consistent touch points." — Tristan (01:42)

  "I went out to who knows where...and I never go there...it became a challenge because I'm never there." — Tristan (02:27)

2. Commit to Consistent Contact

Timestamp: 03:15 – 05:10

• Consistency over creativity:

  • Tristan urges agents to show up every month, utilizing postcards, door knocking, newsletters, local events, or social media retargeting.
  • He warns that many agents try creative marketing just once or twice, then give up, resulting in wasted effort.

• Minimum touchpoints:

  • Recommends a minimum of 12 touches per year.
  • Farming is a long-term strategy—often takes over a year or longer to see significant results.
  • Evaluate the turnover rate in your chosen area (ideally, 10–15 homes sold per 100 per year).

  "Consistency beats creativity...they only do them once or twice and then they don't show up and they just wasted that time, that effort, that money." — Tristan (03:41)

  "You need 12 touches a year minimum. And this is a very long term game...easily over a year, in some cases longer." — Tristan (04:11)

3. Become the Local Expert

Timestamp: 05:10 – 06:30

• Know everything about the area:

  • Stay on top of recent sales, market trends, neighborhood news, and local events.
  • Make this information part of your content (newsletters, social media, conversations).

• Differentiation through expertise:

  • Tristan found massive differences in success between areas where he became a fixture and those where he wasn’t visible.
  • Use tools like MLS and technology to track, write down, and automate knowledge about your farm area.

  "You should be the go-to person when anyone thinks about real estate in this area...or maybe not even just real estate, everything." — Tristan (06:10)

4. Track Your Results

Timestamp: 06:30 – 08:00

• Data-driven farming:

  • Track every detail: who’s home at which times, how many doors knocked, responses, home types, etc.
  • Personal anecdotes illustrate tracking average home sizes, best times for door knocking across different price points, and the value in capturing nuanced local trends.

• Leverage available data:

  • Use public data to understand demographics and housing trends for better targeting.

• ROI focus:

  • Understand which actions give the best returns, adjusting strategy accordingly.

  "If you don't track, you can't go back and check, 'Oh, that worked.'" — Tristan (07:38)

  "Because as you track and you test out, you can then niche down and just have much better results." — Tristan (07:55)

Memorable Quotes

• "Consistency beats creativity." — Tristan (03:41)
• "Pick a neighborhood you can dominate...where you can actually afford consistent touch points." — Tristan (01:42)
• "You should be the go to person when anyone thinks about real estate in this area...or maybe not even just real estate, everything." — Tristan (06:10)
• "If you don't track, you can't go back and check, 'Oh, that worked.'" — Tristan (07:38)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00 – 01:10 — Introduction to farming and Tristan's background
• 01:10 – 03:15 — Rule 1: Choosing the right area; pitfalls and personal stories
• 03:15 – 05:10 — Rule 2: Commit to consistent contact; importance of touchpoints
• 05:10 – 06:30 — Rule 3: Become a hyper-local expert; knowledge is the key
• 06:30 – 08:00 — Rule 4: Tracking your results and ROI; adapting from evidence
• 08:00 – End — Teaser for next episodes focusing on farming letters

Episode Flow & Tone

• Tone: Conversational, firsthand, and motivating. Tristan shares both his missteps and successes to ground each rule in real experience, encouraging agents to persist with discipline and measured growth.

Takeaway

This episode offers a succinct, powerful framework for real estate agents embarking on—or seeking to improve—their farming strategy. By focusing on the right area, showing up with consistent, repeated contact, establishing themselves as indispensable local experts, and rigorously tracking data and ROI, agents can build a strong, resilient business within their community.