I’ve been speaking with so many agents about the opportunity in the market right now, granted I’m in the midst of leading a national research study pinpointing opportunities across the real estate industry (which you can also participate in at the end of this article). But first – I wanted to share some tips I’ve picked up in speaking with all of these agents who seem to be facing the same challenge… getting listings is really tough right now.
Moving the Needle
Agents all over are running into the same push back from potential sellers: they don’t want to list quite yet for one reason or another, even though they could likely get more money for their home right now. As a real estate professional this is painful to hear, because you know there’s opportunity at this moment for sellers and it’s uncertain how long the market will be in their favor.
The biggest challenge is that the objections agents are running into aren’t necessarily the typical ones, and sometimes they require much more creative solutions – but that’s why you’re a top notch professional who can provide these options to your clients. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and cover the primary objections we’re hearing from sellers, before getting into the best ways to overcome them… so you get the listing, and your sellers get in and out of the market at the best possible time.
Objection #1: Where Will I Live When I Sell?
This is coming up a lot, and for obvious reasons. Seller’s might have the home court advantage when putting their house up for sale… but if they sell their home, eventually they’ll have to be a buyer themselves.
Creative Solution: Obviously it’s challenging out there, but you have some options to help quell the fear of not finding a home after selling.
Although buyer’s may not be submitting conditions, contingencies or counter offers in their favor, Sellers certainly can in response right now. This could create relatively ideal conditions for them to sell now and close further out, or upon securing the purchase of another home.
In some states, your sellers might even have the option to buy another home before selling theirs, even if they’d otherwise need a sale first. In the Agent Inner Circle Private Facebook Group, one agent mentioned there are services in different states that can help your sellers through the process of buying a new home before they list their existing home, plus lend them funds for refreshing their old home (so it sells for top dollar), and cover the existing mortgage for a period of time until a buyer is found.
Another option is to tackle the assumption that immediately becoming a buyer is the best decision for everyone, because it might not be. Selling now to capitalize on the market, renting for a period of time, and then buying when the market is more favorable can be a fantastic option for anyone that is willing and able to do so. Families with school aged children or anyone with pets can be a bigger challenge to place in temporary housing, however keep in mind that some rentals could save them money on their mortgage (insurance and property taxes) possibly allowing them to save for a bigger down payment when they do find a home.
Beyond all of these creative solutions, you can remind them that you have the right tools to help them find their next home and compete in the market – we even covered 8 great strategies to help you Get Your Buyer’s Offers Accepted in this wild market, just a few weeks ago.
Objection #2: I Will Pay Over Asking Price Too
In most markets right now this may be true, but some prospective sellers assume that they’ll pay the same percentage over asking as what they get for their home, so it will be a wash. However, don’t assume your prospective clients can’t or won’t think outside the box, just like you are.
Creative Solution: Perhaps they’re able to afford homes at higher price points, or on the other side of the coin, people who are willing to move to another area or downsize.
Significantly downsizing or changing areas for example, might be a great way for them to find temporary housing, save money on their mortgage, homeowner’s insurance and property taxes, and then use it later on as a rental to subsidize a mortgage on another property. On the other hand, in some markets higher price points aren’t seeing as much inflation as other sectors of the market, and relative deals are available that could help them build equity much quicker.
Objection #3: The Market is Still Going Up
I’m hearing an interesting number of agents report that Sellers think we still haven’t quite hit the peak of the market.
Statistically, the first two weeks of May are the best time to sell your home, and in some areas of the country this can occur in April or June, but what sellers need to understand is the ebb and flow of the typical real estate market is much less relative when it’s leaning strongly to one side or the other. The direction of mortgage rates is currently uncertain, and if you combine that with decreased affordability, it’s going to end up disqualifying many of today’s eligible buyers from competing in the coming months. With fewer buyers in the market, prices may creep back down.
All the Classics
We’ve been talking about the most frequent objections in the current market, but of course those aren’t the only challenges you can run into. Don’t forget some of the classic things people push back with when considering to list their home, like finishing renovations or landscaping the property. We’re not covering common objections today, but make sure you have a plan to handle them. Is this an article we should do? Let us know in the comments belo
Solve Problems → Get Listings
Now that we understand what objections are holding sellers back, and the creative solutions they need, it’s time to build that messaging into our marketing and follow up. Your best bet is to tackle the challenges sellers are facing head on.
- What’s My Home Worth?
Since the market is so hot right now, there are a lot of people requesting information on what their home may be worth, but not taking action thereafter. First, if you’re not already using “What’s my home worth?” in your advertising and marketing, you need to. If you are, you need to make sure that your follow up includes some options to ease their fear about finding another home.
A great system that utilizes this tactic is Service For Life! where this turn-key template is included when you join for as little as $99/month (and of course that includes access to a new newsletter and HUNDREDS of other agent marketing templates, letters and reports):
- Letters & Emails
Direct letters and emails are tactics that have worked for years, but they work best when they’re sent to your closest sphere and specifically targeted at fixing the recipient’s problems. Drafting a letter or email that talks about the challenges of the current market and some of your creative solutions is a great way to attain business. - Calls to Your Sphere
It never hurts to reach out to your sphere, but you want to make sure that you have some scripts and/or talking points ready so you can easily bring up the option of selling and respond to any objections. This can be as simple as asking a question – “The market is really hot right now, have you thought of selling?” - Listing Appointment
Don’t assume that once you get the listing appointment people will be 100% committed to selling their home. You may still need to handle general selling objections here too. If you haven’t already, you probably want to adjust your listing presentation to discuss the challenges in the current market, and your creative solutions that might fit their situation.
You Got This!
It might take a little more work than normal, but right now there’s enormous potential for opportunities for both you and your sellers if you know where to look. If you position yourself as an agent who can solve some of the most challenging problems for potential sellers, you can end up with clients for life.
Speaking of opportunity, I mentioned that I’m leading a national research study pinpointing opportunities across the real estate industry, and I want your input! The best part, is if you take the 5-10 minutes to give us your input, you’ll get access to the published data so you have all the information you need to prepare yourself to capitalize on the top opportunities in the industry.
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