Real estate direct mail in National City:
a farming plan for realtors

Old Town and the historic core (91950)

The oldest part of the city, between National City Boulevard, McKinley Avenue, 8th Street and 24th Street, and the streets around Heritage Square and Kimball Park, has Victorian homes from the late 1800s, Brick Row from 1887, and bungalows from the 1920s through the 40s, mixed with apartments and small commercial buildings.

• Who sells: long-time owners and heirs, and owners of older houses who no longer want the upkeep. Many of these homes have been in the same family for decades.
• What to mail: cards about how you price and market an older or historic home: original details, permits for past additions, older wiring and plumbing, and what buyers of character homes look for. A card that respects the house earns the owner's trust.
• How to mail: a homeowner mailing list, not whole routes. The blocks here mix houses with apartments, and a list keeps your cards with the owners.

West National City, near the Navy base (91950)

On the west side, toward I-5, the bay and the Navy base, the homes are mixed in with apartments, duplexes, small multi-unit buildings and businesses, and many are rented.

• Who sells: landlords and small investors selling a duplex or rental house, often one they have owned for many years, and owners of homes next to industrial and commercial uses.
• What to mail: investor cards: rents, what similar rentals and small multi-unit buildings sold for, and how a sale with tenants in place works. Owners of older rentals often want a quiet sale.
• How to mail: a list of owners, not EDDM®. Most residents here rent, and many owners don't live in National City at all. Ask us about a list of owners whose mailing address is somewhere else.

Central National City, Las Palmas and El Toyon (91950)

In the middle of the city, in neighborhoods such as Las Palmas and El Toyon, most homes are single-family houses from the 1920s through the 1950s, with duplexes, small apartment buildings and newer infill along the busier streets. Both neighborhoods have their own neighborhood councils, and residents are involved in what happens on their streets.

• Who sells: long-time owners downsizing or moving closer to family, families who bought their first home here and are moving up, and landlords.
• What to mail: "what is your home worth?" cards with recent sales on nearby blocks, and cards about ADUs. Many lots here can fit an accessory unit, and some owners will sell to a buyer who wants to build one rather than build it themselves.
• How to mail: EDDM® on the routes with the most houses, and a homeowner list elsewhere. Compare routes in the EDDM® route planner for 91950.

East National City, toward Paradise Valley (91950)

On the east side, toward Paradise Valley Hospital, Plaza Bonita and the Paradise Hills edge of San Diego, most homes are single-family houses from the 1940s through the 60s, on quieter streets with more owners. This is the part of National City where a classic neighborhood farm works best.

• Who sells: long-time owners with a lot of equity, heirs selling a parent's home, and move-up families.
• What to mail: a steady monthly farm card with recent sales and a free home value estimate, plus a Proposition 19 card for owners 55 and older (see below). Many owners here have lived in their homes for decades and have never been mailed by the same agent for a full year.
• How to mail: EDDM®. The routes on the east side have more owner-occupied homes than the rest of the city, so they reach the people you want at the lowest postage.

Lincoln Acres (91950)

Lincoln Acres is a small unincorporated pocket of county land surrounded by National City, with single-family homes on residential streets. It shares the 91950 ZIP Code and mail routes with the city.

• Who sells: long-time owners and heirs, much like the east side.
• What to know: because it is county land, permits, ADU rules and some services come from the County of San Diego rather than the city. A card that explains this, and what it means for a sale or for adding a unit, shows owners you know the area better than most.
• How to mail: Lincoln Acres is small enough to mail every home with a list, or to include in a wider east side EDDM® farm.

How to read the table before you pick a farm

The best farm is one where homes sell often enough, owners stay long enough to build equity, and the routes reach owners rather than renters. National City has one ZIP Code, so the table gives you the city as a whole, and the routes inside it differ a lot:

• Owner-occupied tells you whether EDDM® fits. In National City it is low for the city as a whole, which is why we suggest a homeowner list for most of the west and central areas and EDDM® only on the owner-heavy routes on the east side. Below about 60 percent, a list usually wastes less money than whole routes.
• Owners there since before 2010 are your long-time owners. They have the most equity and the most freedom to sell. In a city where many owners have held their homes for a generation, they are your best farm.
• Owners 65 or older points to downsizing, moves closer to family and estate sales over the next few years. Where it is high, a patient farm built around Proposition 19 pays off.
• Median home value shapes the budget. National City prices are lower than in much of the county, so you need a few more sales a year from your farm to pay it back, and a smaller, well-chosen farm often does better than a big one.

One number the table can't give you is turnover: how many homes sold last year compared with how many homes there are. Check it in your MLS for the exact streets you are considering. Many agents look for 5 percent or more, and in a farm of 1,000 homes that means about 50 sales a year to compete for.

National City sellers worth their own mailing

Beyond your neighborhood farm, a few groups of owners in National City are likely to sell for a specific reason. Each deserves its own card, with a message about that reason.

Navy owners with orders

Naval Base San Diego is on National City's waterfront, and many sailors and civilian workers have bought homes nearby, often with a VA loan. When orders come, they have a few months to sell or turn the house into a rental, and some have already moved and are managing a rental from far away. A card that compares selling with renting, with what the home would sell for and what it would rent for, is useful to both. Summer is the busiest season for military moves, so mail it in late winter and spring, and mail the owners who have left at their new address.

Landlords and out-of-area owners

More homes are rented than owned in National City, so landlords are a large share of your possible sellers. Many own one rental house or a duplex, bought years ago, and are tired of repairs and tenant turnover. They respond to cards about rents, repairs, tenant-occupied sales and what their property would sell for. Mail them where they live, with a list that uses the owner's mailing address.

Owners 55 and older, and Proposition 19

Many long-time owners stay put because a new home would mean a much higher property tax bill. Since 2021, Proposition 19 lets homeowners 55 and older move their property tax base to a replacement home anywhere in California, up to three times, if they buy within two years of selling. A higher-priced home adds only the difference to the tax base. A simple card that explains it, and invites them to a free consultation with you and their tax adviser, suits the east side and the older central streets.

Heirs and family sales

In an old city with many long-held homes, a good share of sales come from families settling an estate or a trust. These owners need patience and a plan more than a price. A card that offers a free guide to selling an inherited home, with trusted local cleanout, repair and estate sale help, is a gentle way to be the agent they call when the time comes.

Renters ready to buy

National City has many renters, and some can buy with the right help. A first-time buyer card, with what it takes to buy and the down payment programs available, can reach them by EDDM® on apartment-heavy routes. It is a different business from farming owners, but it fills your buyer pipeline.

Just Listed and Just Sold cards in National City

How far to mail around a listing depends on the neighborhood:

• Single-family streets on the east side: a radius of a few blocks, usually 200 to 400 homes. Owners compare with homes on their own and nearby streets.
• Mixed blocks in the central and older areas: a list of owners within the radius, so the card reaches owners and landlords, not the tenants in the apartments next door.
• Duplexes and small rental buildings: a wider list of owners of similar properties across the city. Investors compare with other rentals more than with the house next door.

Send the Just Listed card in the first days of the listing, timed to arrive before the first open house, and the Just Sold card soon after closing. Draw a radius around the address in our mailing list planner, or pick the routes around it in the EDDM® route planner.

A 12-month National City farming plan

One card a month to your farm, plus Just Listed and Just Sold cards whenever you have them. Here is a year built around how National City owners actually decide:

What a National City farm costs

A farm of about 1,000 homes is a common start here: the owner-occupied routes on the east side, or a list of owners across the central neighborhoods and Lincoln Acres. Here is what mailing it every month for a year costs, depending on how you print:

8.5 × 11 EDDM® postcards, printed and mailed, including USPS postage. Printing ahead costs less because the price per card drops at larger quantities; we store the extra cards and mail them on your schedule. See all EDDM® prices.

Most agents settle on the middle row: a few designs that rotate through the year, printed in batches, plus Just Listed and Just Sold cards as they come. A separate landlord list, mailed four to six times a year, adds little to the cost and reaches sellers no one else is mailing.

EDDM® or a mailing list in National City?

National City has more renters than most cities in the county, so a homeowner list is usually the better start. On the single-family routes on the east side, where more homes are owner-occupied, EDDM® reaches nearly the same people for less. For landlords and Navy owners who have moved away, only a list with the owner's mailing address reaches them at all. Many households here also speak Spanish at home, and a card with English on one side and Spanish on the other, or a Spanish version of the same card, reaches every owner in one mailing. Tell us the areas you want and we'll recommend the right mix.

What every National City real estate postcard must include

A farm postcard is usually the first time a homeowner hears from you, and California treats it that way. Under the Department of Real Estate's rule for "first point of contact" material (California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2773), the card must show:

• Your name and 8-digit DRE license number, and the number of every other licensee named on the card, such as a team partner.
• Your responsible broker's name, as it is currently licensed with the DRE.
• The license number in type at least as large as the smallest type on the card. It can't hide in fine print.

Mailing as a team adds one more rule (Business and Professions Code section 10159.6): the responsible broker's name and license number have to be shown as prominently as the team name. A few more points keep the card out of trouble:

• The Equal Housing Opportunity logo, and words that describe the home, the street or the market, never the kind of buyer or neighbor it suits.
• Only your own sales on Just Sold cards, with the side you represented. A sale you only helped buy can't be shown as one you sold.
• Estimates labeled as estimates. "Find out what your National City home is worth" is fine; a promised price is not.
• REALTOR® in capitals with the ® mark, if you are a member of the National Association of REALTORS®.

We add your license number, broker and logo to every design and send a proof, but ask your broker to approve the final card. Your brokerage may have its own rules on top of these.

For more card ideas, the Just Listed and Just Sold basics and how to pick a farm, see our real estate direct mail guide.

Get a quote for your National City mailing

Tell us which neighborhoods and services you want to focus on. We'll reply with a price for printing and mailing, and the routes or list we recommend.