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Listings will be critical to growing your business this year. Take advantage of these tried-and-true tactics to enjoy your best year ever.
The agent with the most listings wins the market. That is, you will need more listings if you want to enjoy the best year of your career in 2022.
These 17 techniques can help you stay top-of-mind, interact with the appropriate individuals, and get more listings this year.
1. Expired listings in the last 6-24 months
When an MLS listing expires, the seller receives dozens of inquiries from agents wanting to relist the home. The barrage of calls can be stressful for sellers, who may grow numb to the process.
The seller usually relists within a few weeks. Calls drop to zero if the home is not relisted within six months.
Even if the home was expensive six months ago, the value has likely improved considerably since it was placed for sale.
Then check the tax records and the MLS to see whether the home has been relisted or sold after it expired. Then create a simple call like this:
Hello, Mr. or Mrs. Seller (company name). I saw your house for sale last year and called to see if you still planned to sell it.
2. Unsolicited CMA
A customized home valuation is one of the best methods to provide value to homeowners. If you want to go the extra mile, record your screen and walk them through their new assessment, showing them comparable houses and their possible net after closing costs.
This tactic has proven very successful for many agents across the country.
3. Home-needed social media posts
Most realtors have buyers for whom they can not discover the perfect home. In addition to helping your buyer clients, social networking can help you find new listing opportunities. A post like this one can help you find your next listing:
Please assist me! My clients need a four-bedroom property in (area of your city or neighborhood). They are ready to buy, but I can not find the right spot for them. If you or someone you know owns a home that meets this criteria, please private message me for a confidential valuation. Thank you in advance!
4. Inheritances
Probate is the process of resolving a deceased person's estate. The estate sells or transfers real estate to heirs. The court appoints an executor of the estate who has the power to sell the property.
Many of these probate cases will want to sell to pay off debts or give money to heirs. This is a terrific way to help estates and get listings.
5. Local real estate farming
Almost every top-producing agent farms. Do not miss out on the chance to farm your own street.
Many of your neighbors already know, like, and trust you, so do not overlook the opportunities right around the corner.
6. Owner-occupied rentals
Many long-term rentals are managed by the owners of the properties they rent. Contacting these owners is a wonderful approach to find regular investors that buy and sell properties.
Calling these owners can help them sell one or more of their properties or find their next investment property.
7. Circling
Circle prospecting is a tried-and-true approach. The phrase circle prospecting derives from the old-fashioned approach used to prospect: circling the 20-30 houses closest to the subject property on a map.
Call with information about a home for sale, under contract, or recently sold nearby. Here is an example of a script when a house is for sale:
Mr./Ms. Homeowner, I am Agent (name) with (agent's company) We just placed the home at (address) for sale and are calling the neighbors to alert them in case they have friends or family looking to buy in the area.
We intended to offer everyone in the neighborhood a chance to choose their future neighbors. Do you know anyone I should tell about this house?
This is an excellent technique to find buyer leads, but end the call with:
By the way, I would be a bad real estate agent if I did not inquire if there were a price at which you would consider selling.
A recent sale in the neighborhood that increased the value of their home works well with circle prospecting.
8. 3-7 year-old tract homes
Make sure you add value in places where there is little competition to generate listings. Listing possibilities might be found in neighborhoods where the builder's onsite sales crew relocates after the present neighborhood sells out.
Because the onsite agent has left, many of these homeowners are “orphaned” because they do not have a trusted agent servicing their area.
These areas have a lot of equity if created in the last three to seven years, and many owners will be wanting to move in the next three to seven years. Finding your next farming neighborhood by targeting these areas is a terrific idea.
9. Open Houses
Open houses do help sell residences, but they also help to find neighbor listing opportunities. Neighbors considering selling will attend open houses to compare their homes. The trick is to separate the neighbors from the buyers.
You can do this by inviting neighbors 30 minutes before the public open house. Notify them via mailer, door knocking, or phone call that they can arrive 30 minutes early to avoid the crowds during the main open house.
This is a simple method to find out who else in the neighborhood is thinking about selling.
10. Divorce
Every year, 1.2 million American couples divorce, and 61% of them sell their property. Sadly, this means that around 732,000 divorcing couples will put their homes for sale in the coming year.
Engage divorce attorneys and provide free valuation assessments for their clients to create listings. Selling the property might help the divorcing couple move on from the partnership and onto the next chapter of their lives.
11. Out-of-towners
These homes mean less to out-of-towners than primary residences. This presents an opportunity in the current real estate cycle where prices have risen fast.
In the approaching year, providing updated valuation research to these homeowners may pay off big time.
12. For Sale By Owner (FSBO)
FSBOs are raising their hands to sell their homes. Many lack marketing, negotiation, and legal understanding, so they end up listing with an agent.
Making a plan to demonstrate your value and consistency will lead to many listing from FSBOs.
13. Out-of-town Lot Owners
Out-of-town lot owners are even less emotional than out-of-town home owners. This is an excellent source to produce listings.
14. Get to know a builder
Building relationships with builders who build spec houses is similar to the out-of-town property owners.
Finding lots is a major issue for builders. Asking builders about their lot preferences might help you create rapport and eventually advertise their spec houses for them.
15. Expiring listings
The opportunity expiring listings present on the day they expire is something we mentioned earlier in this post. Your ability to communicate value to these homeowners will lead to listings.
16. Doorbelling
Door-knocking means bringing something useful to the homeowner. Reports on market conditions, open houses, sales and neighborhood sales.
Although many are wary of it, face-to-face engagement with potential sellers is superior, and door-knocking provides opportunity.
17. Top 25 VIP list
If you are top-of-mind for 25 people in your area of influence or prior clients, they will refer others to you.
Every day, call, text, or message one of these members to stay in touch. This involves contacting each of them every five weeks. This technique assures consistency in your communication and interaction with this important group.
Have you tried any of these tactics? Let us know how they worked for you in the comments below or share with the class in one of our upcoming classes!