What Are Your Strategies for Listings Currently?

Question

Hi Fellow BP Fans,

My fellow agents and I have seen a massive slowdown in the market here in Utah.  Inventory is 400% of what it was at the beginning of the year.  I'm sure this slowdown is commonplace around the nation due to current interest rates.

Aside from simple price reductions, what are your favorite strategies you're implementing right now to help move listings?

Brad Jacobson · Answer

I love the Dr. Phil example.  Recently I had a seller want to pull his listing because it hadn't sold in the first 30 days and he felt like a price reduction was unfair.  I couldn't help but feel frustrated as I explained that YOY, his home value was still way up.  If we look back two years, his home had appreciated about 25%.  Lot of Dr. Phil work needed to create that perspective.

Maybe a focused effort on educating sellers is the key.  There aren't too many ways to push a listing but letting the market do its thing and keeping sellers in the right mindset is the key.

John Williams · Answer

We recently implemented virtual staging! It is very affordable and easy to implement! Tactics like these weren't necessary in the crazy market we saw over the last couple of years but they are a must-have now!

Nate Sanow · Answer

Man. It’s getting tricky because it starts with education of sellers on exactly where we are at. I’m my market we are still pretty fast if below certain price points, e g below $300k. Some situations with competitive offer and multiple offers still happening. Others where if you are not in mint condition, you might wait awhile. I’ve sold my clients stuff quick and now I’ve got my own flip sitting quiet, although, location is really my main issue. I’m getting some practice as my own boss lol, to learn, we have to be patient. Having the skill of remaining calm when agents have to be “Dr Phil” is going to be important.

Blake Bratcher · Answer

Hi Brad! It has been a mix bag on buyers taking advantage of the rate buy downs, heavily driven by price point. On one of my client's listings at the $660K price point, I've had a handful of agents ask about a rate buy down during the initial call after they've toured the property. One agent said that their client's lender requires a $15K minimum to do a buy down, which I thought was interesting. With the multiple questions, my client decided to do a combination between a minimal price reduction and a concession to use at the buyer's discretion, however we highlighted a buyer rate down in the public remarks. After doing so, we saw an uptick in traffic after being active for just over 2 weeks.

Seller Financing is also interesting. While I am seeing more listings offering seller financing pop up, one investor I just spoke to said they didn't want to put more than 5-10% down (me and you both). So while they are becoming more prevalent, I don't think we're going to see a huge increase in these type of purchases in the next 2 months - I do think the spring will look differently, though. I feel the same way about Assuambles. Seeing them pop up more on the MLS, yet not sure how practical they are in the buyer's eyes with having to come up with a big chunk of change (and if a Lender will loan the gap).

Great question for the group!

Eliott Elias · Answer

Giving seller concessions towards a rate buy down and offering seller finance at a lower interest rate.

Brad Jacobson · Answer

With the rate buy downs, are you seeing buyers take advantage of those?  I've been surprised to see that most buyers are happy to take the concessions but often don't apply it to the mortgage.  I'm not sure how great the impact is on buyer's willingness to perform.

I also love the seller financing options but I rarely find retail clients who are interested.  Most want the lump sum for relocation purposes.  The seller finance is typically an investor-only option in my experience.  Have you seen otherwise?

Brad Jacobson · Answer

Love it!  Virtual staging is so cool and I was shocked at how affordable it is!  Thanks for the feedback

What Are Your Strategies for Listings Currently?

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