Early in the pandemic, many people realized it was the perfect moment to buy a home. Mortgage rates had hit record lows, and many felt newly freed to move about because of the liberties afforded by remote work. Eighteen months into these world-shaking events, however, and that situation has changed dramatically. While interest rates are still relatively low, on the balance, it may no longer make sense for people to apply for a mortgage because of current conditions.
The current real estate market is so “hot” that not only has housing demand far outstripped supply, but it has resulted in many buyers negotiating away key rights, like the right to a property inspection and/or overpaying for homes, as bidding wars erupt.
This is certainly bad news for buyers, but what about the agents? With so much going on right now, real estate agents need to stay alert and be strategic in order to support their clients and keep their business moving forward.
Embrace Technology
The real estate tech sector has expanded rapidly in recent years, introducing a variety of new tools for agents at all levels. Factor into that the growth of other large, tech-driven real estate businesses and even small agencies need to embrace real estate tech if they want to stay competitive. Such tools will help you track leads, run analytics, and stay up to date with the latest listings because, right now, there’s no time to delay on hot properties.
Master Marketing
Marketing may actually be more important for real estate professionals when things slow down, since there’s less business to go around, but ultimately, your agency always needs to be promoting itself. With that in mind, be sure that you’re embracing multiple types of marketing, embracing a mix of digital marketing and direct mail, maintaining your social media presence, and refining your SEO efforts to ensure you rank highly in local search results.
Upgrade Your Resource References
Even if you’re keeping your agency in the spotlight through your marketing efforts, the current market is competitive, and it’s so hard for buyers to get an offer accepted that this is the perfect time to update your extended resources.
What do you present to buyers to convince them to go with your agency, how do you support them as they manage the financing process, and how do you share potential properties and trends with clients? Polish up your presentations and referrals so that you can demonstrate to clients everything they’ll get by working with you – because a home may be the final goal, but the journey likely won’t be simple or straightforward.
There are a lot of steps you can take as a real estate agent to feel better prepared to work under the current challenging conditions, but it’s also important to remember that these are unprecedented times in more ways than one. From the bidding wars to the creative ways interested buyers are campaigning to secure desired properties, you may never see another housing market like this for the rest of your career.
It’s a seller’s market, yes, but mostly it’s just an unusually stressful moment, and you just have to offer up your best and try to keep your head no matter what the market throws your way.
