If you haven’t been a real estate agent for over 10 years, you may not have experienced what many veterans in the industry experienced. The Great Recession. If you were an agent then, you know what I mean when I say that I have a little Post-Traumatic Recession Disorder…(funny, not funny).
I want to make one crucial distinction for those that may not know. Just because a home does not sell the first weekend it comes on the market, all hope is not lost! In fact, historically, a balanced market is about 6 months on the market. WOW! Can you imagine?? 6 months…quiet weekends, no showings, crickets…then one showing…no offers.
Why is that so painful? Well, there are MANY reasons.
First, in my opinion, is that there is pressure to perform when we work with a seller. It is our JOB to get the home sold! Well, sort of… They hire us to help find a buyer and do so many other things. But first and foremost -bring a buyer! So we do that effectively with networking, marketing on MLS, and many other creative measures. But what if the buyers are few and far between?
It’s painful when a home does not sell, and the seller is blaming us.
So what can we do?
There are many tricks to the trade, but I’ll share 3 that I hope will help!
- Communicate A LOT! Be in touch with your seller regularly. To me, that’s a minimum of once a week, twice or more if you can pull it off. And always let your client know: “selling your home is a priority to me” – because it should be! Every 3 weeks, do a new analysis and adjust pricing at least every 30 days (as a guideline).
- Stay positive for your seller. Sellers often go through the stages of grief… Denial, Anger, Frustration, Disappointment, and Acceptance. Our job is to help them get there gracefully.
- Know the market, know your numbers. Study the statistics, the competition – Active, Pending, Sold, Expired. Be clear on your recommendations and provide data to back them up.
And ultimately know that when homes don’t sell quickly – understand that a PROFESSIONAL Real Estate Agent has the emotional intelligence to stay the course, do the hard work, and stay positive, regardless of the outcome. You got this!
Yours in success,
Wendy
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