Every real estate agent over the past two years would agree that the real estate market has been a roller coaster ride.
When the pandemic hit, realtors were uncertain about what their future would hold, but many ended up having their highest producing years as there was a massive influx of eager buyers.
But now times have changed and so has our economy. With everyone keeping a close eye on mortgage rates, real estate agents need to learn to “shift” with the market according to Kendall Bonner of The Kendall Bonner Team at RE/MAX Capital Realty at Inman Connect Las Vegas.
“Now it’s ‘shift,’ and I think we’re all feeling it a little bit,” she noted.
For real estate agents wanting to prioritize their lead gen strategy in this new market, we were lucky enough to catch top agents Lauren Rosin of The Rosin Team at eXp Realty and Jonathan Spears of the Spears Group at Compass, at Inman Connect earlier this month and snag their most effective tips to get ahead.
Many sellers still think that they still hold the power after the heightened sellers market of the past couple of years, but even in a few short months we have seen the market the take a drastic turn with house prices coming down.
“I think it’s still a sellers’ market because we’re so low on inventory, but sellers just won’t have as much power,” Rosin said. That’s making her have conversations with sellers about not overpricing their properties right now.
Spears agreed and added that real estate transactions are different now than just two years ago, and real estate agents need to start to set seller expectations more realistically.
“Trying to set the expectation is everything, and that’s really the key in this market,” Spears said.
“It’s all about controlling the sellers at this point,” Rosin later added, “and if you have to walk away from a listing because of a huge price difference do it, but keep following up with them because in a few months they might come back to you.”
The perfect way to readjust sellers' expectations? Provide them with accurate market data via your branded real estate app. When you provide sellers with a real estate app, they can see for themselves what other homes in their neighborhood are being listed giving them a realistic market snapshot.
A branded real estate app is also the perfect way to nurture your seller relationships. Without being too pushy you can be there when they adjust their mindset and have easy access to reach out at any time.
Both realtors agreed that during this market shift, focusing on social media and tech is key in order to get the attention of younger generations — and multigenerational families — focusing more on buying and selling real estate.
“For us, social media is really a great marketing avenue,” Spears said. “I always say we’re a marketing company that just happens to be transacting real estate.”
Rosin agreed and said she’s also turned to tech to help with her listing generation strategies.
“We’re definitely running a lot more marketing than we used to,” she said. “Basically, we’re using custom push notifications through an app we use, [a mobile app powered by HomeStack].”
Rosin said it is great for agents to focus on using tech, but it’s building personal connections that will help them win listings over time.
“The problem with really strong markets like the one we’ve been having for the past decade [is it] creates really weak agents,” she said. “You can make all the TikTok videos you want, all the Instagram videos you want, but if you’re not making calls, you’re not going to make it.”
Spears added “At the end of the day, people work with folks that they like.”
Rosin recommends focusing on nurturing relationships in a market shift. She consistently works with sellers who aren’t ready — sometimes for years — because she knows when the time is right for them, they’ll think of her first. Recently, she got a listing after five years of discussion with the seller, because she leveraged her role as their advisor over an extended period of time.
Reset expectations, refocus on marketing and nurture relationships.
The market has shifted, and is completely different than what it was in the spring. It is the realtor's job to reset seller expectations, create a great marketing plan and provide them with an accurate data tool so that they come to you when the time is right.
Building a custom real estate app with HomeStack is the key to reinforcing your real estate brand. When you’re ready to stand out as a real estate leader, book a demo HERE to learn more. We can’t wait to help.
