Choose the area that passes four checks: enough homes sell each year (5% to 6% turnover or more is the usual practitioner target), the price supports the commission you need, no single agent already holds a dominant share of the listings, and you know the area and can get there often. Then size it to what you can afford to mail every month for at least a year.
Check 1: turnover
Turnover is the share of homes that sell in a year. Divide the sales in the last 12 months by the number of homes in the area.
Example: a neighborhood has 400 homes and 24 of them sold in the last 12 months. 24 ÷ 400 = 6%.
Count closed sales in your MLS for the exact boundaries you would farm. Get the number of homes from the tax records in your MLS or from the county assessor. Practitioners look for 5% to 6% or more. That is convention, not research. Check more than one year, because a single busy year can mislead.
Try it: Farm area finderEnter ZIP codes and it ranks them by turnover, with sales, median price and commission per home.The farm area finder measures turnover by ZIP code: homes sold in the last 12 months divided by every household, owners and renters, from Census estimates. It also shows the figure against owner-occupied homes only, which is higher. Treat it as a first screen. A ZIP code can hold a fast-moving subdivision next to one where nobody sells, and only the MLS gives you the neighborhood-level answer.
Check 2: price and commission per sale
Multiply the area’s median price by your rate to see what one sale pays. Commissions are negotiable, so use your own number. A higher price does not make a better farm by itself. Costly areas can have fewer sales, and it is the price and the number of sales together that count. The ZIP commission pool estimates the total commission paid in a ZIP code in a year and what a 1%, 2% or 5% share is worth.
Check 3: competition
Find out whether another agent already owns the area. In your MLS, pull every listing in the area over the last 12 to 24 months, sort by listing agent and count.
- Listings spread across many agents: no one has a hold on the area, and there is room for you.
- One agent with a dominant share: a common practitioner rule of thumb is to look elsewhere. It is a rule of thumb, not a study. Unseating a well-known agent takes longer and costs more.
Also look at what owners already receive. Ask someone who lives there whose cards arrive every month.
Check 4: fit
You will be in this area for years, so pick one you can serve well.
- Do you live there or nearby? You already know the streets and some of the owners.
- Do you know the homes? Floor plans, builders, the association and what sells.
- Can you get there? Door knocking, open houses and events all take trips.
Fit is about your knowledge and access. It is never about who lives there. Choosing or avoiding an area because of its residents’ race, religion, national origin or any other protected class is a fair housing problem.
Size it to your budget
Work out the cost per home per year, then divide your budget by it. At 12 mailings a year and $0.60 a piece for print and postage:
- 12 mailings × $0.60 = $7.20 per home per year
- A $2,400 yearly budget ÷ $7.20 = about 333 homes
The usual starting range is 250 to 500 homes (again, convention). If your budget covers fewer homes than that, look for a cheaper piece before you cut mailings. The EDDM guide covers the method with the lowest postage.
ZIP code, neighborhood or carrier route
- ZIP code: the easiest level to get data for, and usually far too many homes to mail every month. Use it to screen. The ZIP market profile shows prices, sales, turnover and the mix of owners and renters.
- Neighborhood: how owners think about where they live, and the natural unit for a “just sold” card. This is the level to farm.
- Carrier route: how the Postal Service delivers Every Door Direct Mail. An EDDM mailing goes to every address on a route, so check how the routes line up with your neighborhood in the USPS online EDDM mapping tool. If they don’t line up, addressed mail lets you draw your own boundary.
A worked comparison
Here are two made-up areas of the same size. The commission rate is an example: 2.42% is the average buyer’s agent commission Redfin reported for the third quarter of 2025. Commissions are negotiable, so put in your own.
| Measure | Area A | Area B |
|---|---|---|
| Homes | 400 | 400 |
| Sales, last 12 months | 24 | 12 |
| Turnover | 24 ÷ 400 = 6% | 12 ÷ 400 = 3% |
| Median price | $350,000 | $600,000 |
| Commission per sale at 2.42% | $8,470 | $14,520 |
| Commission on one side of every sale | 24 × $8,470 = $203,280 | 12 × $14,520 = $174,240 |
| Top agent’s listings | 3 of 24 | 7 of 12 |
| Mail cost a year (12 mailings at $0.60) | $2,880 | $2,880 |
| If you won 1 sale in 10 | 2.4 sales, $20,328 | 1.2 sales, $17,424 |
Area B pays more per sale, but Area A has twice the sales, a larger total and no agent with a hold on it. On these numbers, A is the better farm. The last row is a what-if, not a forecast.
Try it: Compare ZIPs for advertisingPut two to four ZIP codes side by side for farming or advertising.Once you have an area, real estate farming: how it works and what it costs covers the budget and timeline, and farming postcards and letters covers what to send.
Common questions
What is a good turnover rate for a real estate farm?
The usual practitioner target is 5% to 6% or more a year, which is a convention and not a study. For context, Redfin reported that 2.8% of all U.S. homes changed hands from January to September 2025.
How do I calculate turnover rate for a farm area?
Divide the homes sold in the last 12 months by the number of homes in the area. A neighborhood with 400 homes and 24 sales has turnover of 6%.
Should I farm a ZIP code or a neighborhood?
Use ZIP code data as a first screen, then farm a neighborhood or a few carrier routes. A whole ZIP code is usually too many homes to mail every month, and the usual starting size is 250 to 500 homes.
Updated October 2026. General information for real estate professionals, not legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, platform rules and program terms change, so confirm them at the source.