How Real Estate Agents Should Handle the Current Housing Market

The national housing market isn’t just hot –– it’s practically on fire at this point. Despite the dire projections of many economists at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the housing market has positively exploded over the past ten or so months. As such, real estate agents are currently scrambling to make the most of this housing boom. To that end, here are several key considerations that realtors should keep in mind when managing their lead list during this challenging period:

Current Housing Market: The Ultimate Seller’s Market

First, the obvious: the current housing market is highly favorable to sellers. As most real estate agents probably already know, there is a genuine housing shortage across the country. This means that the value of homes on the market has soared. According to reports, home prices may be overvalued by 5.5% on a national level.

What this means for real estate agents is that it’s crucial to connect with sellers and, perhaps even more importantly, to convince potential leads that it’s in their best interest to sell now.

Managing Leads in an Overheated Market

Just because the real estate market is very favorable to sellers right now, it does not mean that every homeowner is motivated to sell. Unfortunately for real estate agents, convincing property owners that they should sell their home can be tricky –– even under the best of circumstances.

That’s why it’s crucial to be honest with your leads. If any of your contacts are even vaguely interested in selling their home, then it’s your job to lay out 1) why they should sell ASAP and 2) why they should use a realtor to help them do so.

On count #1, don’t be afraid to show homeowners the data that reflects the current state of the housing market. The frank truth is that there are simply more buyers than sellers, and certain properties may not fetch this high of a price on the open market again.

Secondly, real estate agents need to demonstrate their value as professionals. Some individuals may feel that they can make more money selling their home on their own. Push back against this and highlight what you can do for sellers. This can include, but is not limited to:

• Reducing the time a property is on the market.
• Increasing interest in the property.
• Maximizing sales price.
• Handling logistical challenges and difficulties.

Finding New Leads NOW

Odds are, the biggest problem realtors are facing now, though, is a simple lack of good selling leads. Because of the scarcity of sellers on the market, it’s rarely been more important for real estate agents to expand their lead list and to identify potential sellers in their area. Old-school tactics like taking a drive through the neighborhood to look for “for-sale” signs or perusing real estate listings can only take you so far. The good news is that realtors can use programs like Haines Criss+Cross™ to uncover qualified sellers in their area.

Criss+Cross™ is an online lead generation tool that realtors can use to gain detailed –– and up-to-date –– information on property holders. Through our searchable database, you can access vital information such as length of a homeowner’s residency, their age, and even individuals with multiple properties nearby. With this knowledge, real estate agents can connect with leads who are in a great position to sell.

Contact Us

At Haines, we realize the housing market is creating numerous challenges for real estate agents across the country. Our programs are designed to help realtors just like you find and connect with leads in your area –– regardless of the state of the market. Contact us here to learn more about our process or to get in touch with one of our team members!

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