Most agents are not prepared for the upcoming market cycle, that’s because more than half of all active real estate agents have never worked in a market when prices were decreasing. In fact, NAR says the median years of experience in real estate is eight years after nearly a dozen years of an up market.
How do you handle carrying an inventory of listings? How can you earn the right to ask for a price reduction? And, how can agents negotiate with a goal of 100% in alignment with their clients’ objectives?
The truth is, today’s market is an opportune time for real estate professionals and brokers to grow and thrive — if they grab opportunity and take action.
Sources of business are changing
Sources of business are also changing, and it’s time to look carefully about the plan for 2023. We’ll see fewer transactions in the coming year with owners holding onto the properties they have. Anyone and everyone moved the last few years, and that is slowing.
Traditional buyers buy on how much down and how much a month, not price. Investors buy on returns and may keep prices from plummeting. Rents are going to remain steady or grow as first-time buyers have to find innovative loan products to get into a home.
We are going to see a lot more owner-held financing, loans being assumed, and other ways that buyers can afford payments. Most agents do not understand buy-down loans and have no clue how to handle other creative financing those of us who were around in the 1980s have firsthand experience with.
Tips for for thriving in 2023
1. Find a niche market that allows you to earn enough living on the sales. Too many real estate professionals set up business plans that, by their very design, have no chance of financial success.
2. Learn the niche fast. If it’s a geographic, be there all the time doing open houses, visiting every listing, meeting people in local coffee shops, visiting the mayor, joining the local chamber and networking groups, attend faith services there, etc. Of course, this is easier if it’s where the agent lives but it could instead be where they want to live next, too.
3. Establish a VIP group of 150 who fit the niche you choose and start a marketing program. Touch all 150 people every single month in some way. Give massive information and value. Ask for introductions to those who need your service. Make introductions to vendors who these people may need.
4. Do whatever it takes to get your message to Garcia. A Message to Garcia is a widely distributed essay written by Elbert Hubbard in 1899, expressing the value of individual initiative and conscientiousness in work. So, do whatever it takes. No excuses. Get it done. And do it fast.
5. Keep positivity at work every day. Be your own “spin doctor.” Have a listing not selling? Great! If it’s in your niche you get to sit at the open house and meet more buyers and sellers. Have a buyer who can’t find a house to buy? Great! You get to call owners of properties that will work and ask them to sell.
6. Consistency is the name of the game in the coming years. Don’t start any marketing you don’t expect to continue consistently for the next two years. Resist one-and-done. It won’t work in the coming market.
7. People will want to work with someone they see all the time, everywhere. Think “big fish, small pond” but don’t make your pond so small there aren’t enough sales for you to get a percentage that fits your goals.
8. Get support. More than ever, you need a mentor, manager, broker or coach to support you in setting the right goals for you. You need their help setting up a plan to get there, and holding you accountable to the actions you promise to take.
Donna Stott is a coach and founder of Your Coaching Matters.