Whose time are you wasting???
I stumbled across a blog written by Taiane Gregorio titled How many homes should I look before I buy? And it got me thinking.
Just how many homes does the average buyer look at before they buy?
So I looked it up and found out. Typically in the Northeast they looked at 8 homes, in the Midwest they looked 11 homes, down south and out west they looked at 9 homes.
I also found out courtesy of NAR based on the ‘05 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers (06 will be out any day) just how long the average buyer looked before they bought.
In my neck of the woods ...of course they spent more time looking here than anywhere else ...NAR states that buyers in the Northeast typically searched for 10 weeks before they bought a home and typically searched for 2 weeks of that time before contacting an agent to help them.
Midwest typically searched a total of 8 weeks with 3 weeks of that time prior to contacting an agent.
South typically 6 weeks with 2 weeks of that spent prior to contacting an agent.
West typically 7 weeks with 2 weeks of that spent prior to contacting an agent.
So this tells me that on average most buyers have been involved in the research stage for a few weeks before they even contact an agent.
By the time they get to the agent they have an idea of what they want and what they can afford.
Now it's up to the agent/REALTOR® to make a difference. One way to do that is to conduct a Buyer Counseling Session. Effective buyer counseling will in most cases shorten the search time and help both the consumer and the agent understand each other much better.
Spend an hour or so meeting and counseling the buyer before you go and show...build trust and rapport and ask effective questions but most importantly listen to the answers they give you...these answers will help you determine motivation, expectations...both realistic an unrealistic, spend time exploring their wants and needs. You must listen with your mind as well as your ears and really hear what they are telling you.
Remember when showing homes the buyers have selected to focus on benefits...not just the features of the home. Convert those features to benefits the buyer can feel because people buy a lifestyle not just a house.
Isn't this a wonderful business!
Jay and Monika McGillicuddy
Serving Southern New Hampshire and Rockingham County
Monika McGillicuddy Real Estate Training Website
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Hampstead NH Real Estate
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6, 7, 8, 10 weeks to find a home?? Wow! !
That's more time than many folks spend finding a spouse.
Depending on the inventory, I would estimate our buyers average no more that 1-4 weeks depending on whether they are local or relocating buyers.
If a buyer sees the homes in their price range / location of choice and still wants to see more, they are just going to see more of the same and are probably not ready to buy. Time for a time out. Start up again in 3 months if they are still interested.
We try to separate the buyers who are interested in buying a home from the folks who are serious about buying a home.