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| The answers to 6 tough questions that face real estate agents in today's challenging market |
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| By Dave Beson and John Mayfield |
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| If you're reading this article, then you are likely one of many real estate agents that have opted to ride out the market and continue to hang your real estate shingle. Great decision. However, it's no secret that real estate professionals are facing challenging market conditions and even tougher client questions. Get a competitive advantage with the list of today's toughest questions and useful, creative tactics to help you address them. |
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Question 1: What is my home worth? |
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| Tactic: Perform a CMA or "computerized right price analysis" using MLS comparables. Include what the most recent homes have sold for, what homes are asking (but not receiving), and expireds which show the "too high" price. Use the "target pricing" illustration to show that you can list the home at any price, but that the market will determine the price at which it will sell. Watch a video on "target pricing". |
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Question 2: How long will it take to sell my home? |
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| Tactic: Use your MLS statistics and your Powerpoint, Excel, or other programs to prepare a visual that shows the inventory levels of unsold homes, vs. the number that are selling. In many cases, this looks like a mountain top of unsold homes, compared to a few inches of snow at the base-representing the sold properties. Often the visual power of the true statistics is overwhelming and causes serious sellers to be serious sooner. Of course this saves your precious early marketing time, and your advertising budget and energy by having the home priced properly at the outset of the marketing period, instead of much later. Need help learning Powerpoint or Excel to improve your listing presentations? Check out these free online classes: |
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Question 3: How will you market my home? |
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| Tactic: Assess your marketing options and prioritize. Then make a colorful, yet simple marketing plan with key steps highlighted. Add a personal guarantee that you will deliver on this plan, sign your name, and attach it to your presentation. For example you might promise to provide professional photos, virtual tour, open house(s), and 100 just listed postcards in the first 14 days. You might go on to suggest the ways that you promote the listing to other real estate agents, other offices, and in other advertising vehicles. Be sure to include your website promotions such as "featured home of the week" or other attention grabbing tools. Pictures, graphs, testimonials, color, and personalization make these plans and promises come to life. |
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Question 4: What can we do to help speed the sale of our home? |
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| Tactic: In a market with too much inventory, the "pretty ones" sell first. So use your digital camera to prepare a positive and negative slide show. The positives are shown so that the seller can see that you geniunely understand the assets of their property. This illustrates that you can represent their property in the best possible way. Get the marketing agreement signed at this point. Now ask if the sellers would like to be made aware of those things that could cause the property to take a little longer to sell, or could cause a lower offer price. Go on to show the negative slide show. As the weaknesses of the property are revealed, ask questions such as "how shall I explain this to buyers?" "What shall I say to the appraiser when he asks about this?" Or, the most powerful question of all: "Which of these defects do you wish to remove before the buyer takes their discount?" |
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Question 5: What homes will be available to us when our home sells? |
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| Tactic: Fortunately, in most markets, there is an abundance of homes in most price ranges. So when a seller sells and need s to buy, there will be ample selection. Selling first will enable them to negotiate better on their purchase and get the home of their choice. Explain this and show a few representative homes to assure them that their future home is available. |
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Question 6: How can we sell our home for a loss and buy another home, and possibly come out ahead? |
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| Tactic: Anyone who wants to live in a larger, more expensive home can actually benefit from a lower market. Because their $300,000 home may sell for $250,000, but the $495,000 home they want may be available for $395,000. So they lose $50,000 on the sale, but save $100,000 on the purchase. They are actually better off than if they had sold their home for $50,000 more and paid $100,000 more on the purchase. Stop and think about it. A recession or negative price adjustment works for those moving UP in a down market. Keep in mind that real estate is going to be used for many years, and enjoyed, with the accompanying tax benefits. All of this combines to making a very favorable package. Add the fact that selection has never been better, and that interest rates are near all time lows, and you can actually do business in this environment. It takes creativity, doesn't it? |
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| So last of all, what can you be doing to prepare for a better market, when it comes? Without a doubt there are people who are not buying and not selling right now. They are waiting for a sign such as lower home prices, the absence of recession-talk, or economic improvement. While they are waiting, you must keep working, keep improving your skills and abilities, and keep connecting with buyers, sellers, your sphere of influence, and anyone who might be a prospect for real estate, now or in the future. When the market improves, and it will, those who are organized, and maximizing their technology, will be prosperous. Be sure to make the small changes now that help you survive, thrive and prosper, until the market turns. You're customers and clients will thank you! |
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| Any views or comments expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of John Mayfield and Dave Beson and not necessarily those of any other organization. No person quoted or cited has any known connection to or interest in Hewlett Packard, and their appearance here should not be construed as an endorsement. |
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