buyers market

New Agent University: Keeping Your First-Time Buyer Motivated

May 8, 2024

Think of the home purchase process as a journey. I know, sometimes it feels like a never-ending one, but stick with me for a minute.

On any journey, we all look for signs: city names, arrows, freeway exits, and mile markers. These signs guide us as we travel. You, as the buyer’s agent, need to be your client’s sign during the purchase process.

Like all effective signs, you should convey clear, simple information and give it enough time for your client to provide a proper response.

In other words, don’t put the yield sign in the middle of the merge lane. Especially at the last minute. Give your client enough time to safely pull into an adjacent lane before the big semi-truck is on top of him.

Granted, the home purchase road is one full of potential potholes, but it’s up to you to keep your client from falling into one of them. Here are some considerations when guiding a client through a purchase.

The First Time Buyer Series is shown above. To learn more, Click Here.

Does the buyer have what it takes to keep going?

While many of today’s buyers are savvy about the market (thanks to all the media attention), and assume they have the stomach for the process, it may be a whole different story when your client is knee-deep in it.

Be honest with her about the things that may go wrong and how you will handle these issues if they come up. Don’t sugarcoat anything about the process. The last thing you want is for her to feel disillusioned after you’ve put time and effort into the deal. If she’s going to bail, then get her to bail upfront.

Communication is critical

Our goal as business owners is, overall, to build our businesses through repeat and referral clients. The client that refers you to her friends is one that was satisfied with your work.

The key to client satisfaction is communication. This is never more important than when working with a nervous first-time homebuyer. Not only do you want a client for life, but you want this particular deal to come to a successful conclusion.

Remember, you’re a signpost. Guide the client with clear communication every step of the way and she’ll get to her destination.

This is So Exciting!

While it’s tempting to think of yourself as keeping this buyer “on a hook,” it’s important to remember that she’s not a fish. She’s a person with hopes and dreams and the biggest of these right now is this house.

Excitement and enthusiasm are, thankfully, contagious. Get excited. Yes, this may not be your only client, but she may be your most frightened and frustrated. If you’re excited about her new house, she will be too. And excitement is a powerful motivator.

Keep her future-oriented. Where will she put the sofa? What color has she chosen for the living room?

Yes, you’re a new agent and learning the ropes as you go. Focus on your client, however, and before you know it, you’ll have more of them!

When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazin

Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct, response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here

2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Planner

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

3. The Free Online Real Estate Business Plan

The Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your financial goals. – Click Here

4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here

How to Ease Buyer Frustration Over the Current High Mortgage Rates

Nov 16, 2022

“America’s housing dream is broken,” claims a CNN.com headline. The New York Times wants us to know that “The Housing Market Is Worse Than You Think.” Finally, CNBC.com resorts to the scary stuff with an article about “… how much equity U.S. homeowners have lost since May.”

Is it any wonder that homebuyers, already fatigued by competing with multiple buyers, watching home prices skyrocket (seemingly overnight) and, now, escalating mortgage rates, are beyond frustrated?

Is it impossible, as many think, to buy a home? While it may be challenging, you and I both know it’s not impossible. At least not for many Americans. They just need a lot of educating, counseling, and, maybe, a whole lot of hand-holding.

Are they aware of the ins and outs of mortgages?

Direct Response Reports. **See more Here.**

Naturally, you’re hesitant to get too deep into the mortgage weeds when advising clients. After all, you’re most likely not a financial expert and, therefore, shouldn’t be counseling clients about financial subjects.

You can, however, suggest that they get to know and understand the following concepts and strategies and talk them over with a lender:

Discount points – Discount points, also known as points, lower a borrower’s “… interest rate in exchange for paying an upfront fee,” according to the experts at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Pass the link on to your clients for an excellent description of buying points and the pros and cons of doing so.
Adjustable-rate mortgage – The loan of choice for the past few months, adjustable-rate loan applications have “… more than quadrupled since the start of the year,” according to Melissa Dittmann Tracey at nar.realtor. This may be the ideal solution for a buyer who plans on staying in the home for a reasonable length of time. Get the house with an ARM and then refinance into a fixed mortgage when rates drop. This strategy is not without risks, however.
Help them strategize coming up with a heftier down payment – Yes, this is a tough one for an agent to suggest. It may mean putting a hot buyer on hold for a time. April, however, is right around the corner, and if your client is expecting an income tax return, depending on the amount, it could go a long way toward helping to lessen the impact of a higher-than-expected mortgage rate.

Keep an eye on the news

If ever there was a time for Congress to act quickly, it would be now. Several bills remain in the works from last year that can greatly ease the pressure on hard-hit, moderate-income homebuyers.

Direct Response Report, **See more Here.**

Keep an eye on Congress because if any of these passes, it could be a boon for your clients.

The First-Time Homebuyer Act of 2021. Introduced in late April 2021, this act revises the IRS code to provide first-time buyers up to $15,000 in tax credits. At the time of this writing, the act sits with the House Ways and Means Committee.
Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2021. This program will be administered by HUD to “… states and other entities to provide qualifying assistance to certain first-time, first-generation home buyers in purchasing their first homes,” according to the bill’s text.
LIFT Homebuyers Act of 2021. Introduced in September 2021, The LIFT Act will provide 20-year fixed-rate mortgages for “… first-time, first-generation homebuyers whose incomes do not exceed a certain amount,” according to the bill’s text. These loans will be offered by Rural Housing Services or the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts combined with engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you.

Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here

2. The Free 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system

The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks all of these boxes but is also a business-building machine. In two easy steps, you can begin to build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. – Click Here

4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

Hey Listing Agents: How Will You Handle the Real Estate Market Transition?

Sep 21, 2022

Have you ever had something bad happen to you only to find out later on that the event was actually a blessing in disguise?

Jackie, for instance, was fired from her job. Sure, she panicked during the first few days of unemployment, but a month or so later, she was doing something else for a living. Something she dreamt about but never had the courage to pursue.

Had she not been fired from her previous job, she may have never gone after her dream.

The transitional real estate market is a lot like that. What appears to be a time of challenge or, at the least, discomfort may turn out to be an amazing time for real estate agents.

Coming back down to earth may mean “crashing” for some clients

Home price gains are shrinking, and sellers are starting to come back down to earth. However, coming back down to earth doesn’t happen overnight, as you seasoned listing agents know.

After years of media reports of rapidly escalating home prices, multiple offer situations, and uber-quick sales, those sellers who choose to wait until the tail end of the sellers’ market to jump in are hard to convert.

They’re not going to get that their home is no longer the belle of the local real estate market, that their hoped-for price is now a fantasy, and that it may take longer than 24 hours to get it under contract.

And, those sellers who put big bucks into the house to ready it for the market are going to be more than a bit upset

Especially when buyers start nit-picking them over price, terms, and more.

The Call To Action Series is shown above. To see more, click HERE.

Then, there are the buyers

If you’ve been a listing agent for more than a minute, you can recall the last buyers’ market. Newbies, on the other hand, are in for a rude awakening.

No longer can you chuckle over seemingly stupid requests in an offer because you have three others that are cleaner-than-clean. You will actually be expected to negotiate on your client’s behalf.

“Good grief, how do I do that?” you may ask yourself as a new listing agent.

Very carefully.

While price is the typical hot button in a contract, “the devil is in the details”.

Details are important

“Details” when it comes to a real estate purchase agreement are the terms. If this turns into a full-blown buyers’ market, contract terms are where listing agents can work their magic during negotiations.

And, if you have examples of how you’ve done this in the past, use them for all they are worth. From your clients’ testimonials to full-blown case studies, let potential listing clients know how you’ve met with success in the buyers’ market.

Now is the time for all good listing agents to figure out how they are going to deal with the oncoming buyers’ market. Don’t put off your planning. Face it and go for it.

We’ll be with you all the way, so keep checking back.