How to Get More Listings

How to Get More Listings

Have you heard the news?  There’s more buyers than ever looking for their first or next home but there is a huge inventory shortage.  In many cases there are more than 2 buyers competing for the best listings. 

How do you find more home sellers?  This can be especially challenging for agents who may not have a lot of connections with homeowners who are ready to sell.  The truth is it may take some hard work, but with persistence it can be done and you could be happy to be on the receiving end of home bidding wars!! 

1.  Look for Expired and Withdrawn Listings.   A good agent will scour the MLS for homes that were listed in the past but never sold.  Many homes failed to sell because they were seen as overpriced at the time.  I’m not talking about homes that have just expired, go back a year or two and look for homes that expired and are still owned by the same homeowner.  I start out by sending a copy of my marketing book along with a cover letter.  Then I follow up with a phone call and then send a thank you letter for the home owner’s time.  My goal is to get as much information as possible, if they are still interested in selling, if they’ve made improvements and if they are staying put I ask permission to keep in touch and perhaps put them on a drip campaign so when they do consider selling again they will remember me.

2. Open Houses – quite often I’ll get nosey neighbors at my open houses.  I will try to capture their information, find out if they are serious about selling and when and put them into a drip campaign as well.

3. Have you checked out websites like Zillow, Trulia and Homes?  Quite often sellers will pose questions in the question and answer columns or advice columns.  Answering their questions can lead to a listing or even a sale.

4. Watch for rental listings in the newspaper and on craigslist.  Homeowners offering to rent their homes may be interested in selling at some point.  Some agents go to the court house and ask for “The Pinks” these are court actions by landlords seeking evictions.  Sometimes these landlords are just fed up and will want to sell.

5. Look for Garage Sales, Yard Sales and Moving Sales.  These may be an indication of someone getting ready to sell their home.

6. Do you use a continuity program with your past sales?  Every time I have a sale I enroll my buyers in a continuity program where they receive regular mailings from me including anniversary cards on the anniversary of their purchase.  Statistics show that people move on average every 5, 7 or 10 years. 

7. Check through the multiple list for large homes over 2500 square feet with 4 or more bedrooms that were purchased 20 or more years ago.  These empty nesters may be ready to downsize and move into something that is more convenient and suitable for their changing lifestyle. 

8. Prospect past clients of ex-real estate co-workers.  Do you work in a broker office?  There are real estate agents who have retired or left the business.  Ask your Office Manager for a list of their past buyer clients’ files.  Contact these buyers and indicate that you are taking over for the retired agent and ask them what their real estate needs are.  Some of them may be ready to make a move.

9. Check in with For Sale by Owners.  I drop by with a copy of my marketing book or will put a copy in the mail with a cover letter and offer my assistance.  I also forward their information to my lender partners so they can offer to pre approve any buyers that may be interested and I also offer to provide buyer agent services for any unrepresented buyers. 

10. Network with agents that are out of your area.  Join referral groups on Linked In, Facebook, Twitter and ActiveRain and network with agents from other areas.  These could be a great source of referral business for you.  I’ve received many referrals from agents out of the area.

11. Bader Marketing, the company that puts together my marketing book also does EDDM (Every Door Direct) postcard marketing.  Every time you have a sale mail at least 250 postcards telling people you’ve had another sale.  It’s important to remind people you are still in the business and that you are active.  I mail my postcards into specific target farm areas rather than just into the area I’ve just sold.