Nearly 100% of consumers begin their home buying or selling journey online. With technology shaping consumer behavior more than ever, buyers and sellers have a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips. They’re researching market predictions, mortgage rate fluctuations, potential recessions, and the implications of a buyer’s or seller’s market. Amidst all this information, it’s no surprise that people may feel fearful and risk-averse about buying or selling their homes. They need guidance to navigate changes confidently and make informed decisions. Here’s how you can help ease their hesitation and get these buyers and sellers off the fence.
Put Yourself in Their Shoes
You, like your clients, are navigating a sea of information in this shifting market. Besides being an expert in your local area, you also need to understand national trends and how they affect every aspect of real estate. This comprehensive knowledge allows you to address buyers’ and sellers’ questions and concerns head-on, easing their fears and ensuring they feel comfortable and confident.
Meeting buyers and sellers where they are means understanding their perspective. There’s a lot of information — and misinformation — out there. What’s happening on a national scale may not directly translate to local market conditions. By putting yourself in your clients’ shoes, you can better prepare to explain the local market and assuage their fears. The goal is to drive confidence in consumers with real-life education and examples, empowering their buying or selling journey.
Arm Yourself with Data
Once you’ve brought your clients up to speed on the current market and potential future trends, shift their focus to what’s happening locally. Provide real, current data focused on your state, region, and specific market. Explain how macro market factors have influenced the local market and highlight the possibilities that still exist. Steer them away from the doom and gloom of news headlines and towards local-level data to ease their hesitations and give them a clearer, more realistic picture of what they’re facing.
Ensure you have a solid grasp of market statistics so you can confidently explain them to your clients. Run specific market reports using data from your local MLS. Make it clear that you understand national market trends and their impact on the local market, and how local conditions may differ from national trends.
Show You Care
Clients are inundated with endless information from countless sources. They need you to connect the dots for them. Untangle the jumble of information and break down what it means for the consumer. Stay on top of changing data and updates, as consumers are counting on you to guide them through it.
Equip yourself with relatable examples and simple ways to distill complex concepts, data, and facts into simpler terms. Above all else, listen to your clients. Really listen to their needs, goals, concerns, and motivations. Taking the time to understand your clients on a deeper level establishes trust and builds their confidence. Show them you’re here to help, and that you care and understand their situation.
Calm Their Fears
For real estate agents, buying and selling houses is routine. But for first-time homebuyers or retired couples downsizing, these are major life decisions and big changes. Especially in today’s market, hesitation, concern, and fear are rampant. To help calm these fears and connect with your clients to boost their confidence, take time to ask key questions like:
– How can I make this process easier for you?
– What’s a burning question about the market that you have?
– Tell me your top three concerns about putting your house on the market.
Always be honest. Consumers appreciate upfront transparency. While you don’t need to sugarcoat the truth, deliver your answers with gentleness. Avoid using manipulative or salesy language. Focus on providing a personalized, hands-on, expertise-driven experience to build trust and ease fears.
By adopting these strategies, you can help buyers and sellers navigate the current market confidently, making informed decisions that empower them on their home buying or selling journey.