In a strong real estate market, it’s possible to sell almost anything. Great properties are snapped up quickly in bidding wars. Less than perfect properties can move fairly easily when there’s high demand too.
When the real estate market is strong you’re closing deals nearly every day, and life is great! But when there’s a shift, all of this can change in an instant. Suddenly buyers are hesitant to spend money. Those great properties start to linger, taking longer and longer to sell. And the properties with obvious flaws aren’t going anywhere at all. The days of the easy sale and smooth closing feel like history. It seems like no matter what you do, you can’t push things forward.
When you’ve hit a sales period you have to shake things up, you have to take a different approach. When our team is working through a pause in the marketplace, we use the following tactics to break through that period and get buyers moving:
Tactic One: The in-person meeting
We are living in the age of the smartphone – texts and emails are the norms, a phone call is less common, and actually meeting someone in person seems radical. Do not underestimate the power of a face to face meeting.
If we start to get a sense that a deal is stalling, we’ll schedule an in-person meeting. People can brush off a text, ignore an email – but it’s impossible to ignore someone who is sitting right in front of you. Meeting in person presents the opportunity to get to the bottom of any issues and get a clear update on what a client wants and what their expectations are. And finally, an in-person meeting shows you care and reminds clients just how hard you’re working for them.
Tactic Two: The element of surprise
It can be frustrating working in a buyer’s market – clients feel free to take their time with decisions, it feels like there are countless properties available. There’s no urgency to move forward whatsoever. Sometimes a buyer needs a little extra boost to see how perfect a property actually is for them.
Tactic Three: Don’t tick off boxes
It’s easy to think that selling an apartment is about checking off a series of boxes based on a client’s wants. Three bedrooms, open kitchen, big yard, lots of light – check, check and another check. It’s not always that simple.
After months of looking at apartments, as a realtor we are excited to show a client a place that “checked every box” on their long list of requirements. It’s disappointing when they say, “I just don’t feel it.”
Selling real estate is never as simple as checking off boxes, but in a challenging market, this is especially true. Engage clients in conversation about what they really want. Listen to what they’re saying and find a property that will tug on their emotions making it impossible to pass it up.
See Also: How To Predict Real Estate Market and Housing Bubble?