Home : Blogs : Chuck Heaver : Chuck's Blog

How Many Showings Does It Take....A Chicago Trend

How many showing does it take to get to the center of a deal? A frustrating fact in the Chicago market! A strong marketing campaign can bring a Buyer to the house, but getting them to the table is a much larger challenge. On a recent listing, I have had 4-second showings, ALL ACTIVE buyers. Will anyone pull the trigger on a contract...."yes, no, maybe", says the buying agent.

On deals with unrealistic parties, a home sitting on the market for an extending period is more than likely, but when all parties in the potential transaction WIN, the deal will eventually happen!

Here is the reality for a Seller in this market. If you have to show the house 10 times to a prospect in this market, consider yourself LUCKY! A couple thoughts...

1 Keep Seller educated on current market sales so when offers do come in, they can make educated choices

2 Be transparent with Buyer on pricing strategy, LISTEN to the Buyer's thoughts

3 Build solid rapport with the Agent - People do business with people they like!

4 No crying, anyone actively looking to buy a home with temperatures in the 20's has just got to be motivated to do something!

Chicago's Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Gold Coast....prime with opportunity for repeat visits.

Any thoughts/tips to motivate people to move?

Posted by Chuck Heaver on 12/04/2008 07:22 AM

Comments (6)

Repeat Visits - a Chicago Reality in the ActiveRain Channel

chicago housing

This post has been included in Illinois Information Cook County, IL Information Chicago, IL Information
Post is included in group: Realtors®

6 Comments on How Many Showings Does It Take....A Chicago Trend

DEC

Hi Chuck. I always say 10-15 showings should equal a contract. If not, we are overpriced.

I do not try to motivate people to move. I just market harder.

Ken

I have had property that has been shown a ton and nothing and others that go first crack. It is sometimes mreo an art than a science

Great tips Chuck. Just have to find them. THe transaction does go more smoothly when you have a rapport with the other agent.

Chuck-

We are noticing the same thing in the burbs. Hopefully with falling interest rates & pent-up demand there will be more buyers in the market.

I just had a home listed & received 2 offers in a day and a half & others that are just sitting. Not sure what is going on and exhausted trying to figure it out.

Finally got that contract on a beautiful home that had sooooo many showings. Everyone loved it but no one was buying. I think when you do all you can as a professional, then it takes just the right person. And that number of showings may be a few or many!

Very solid advice for anyone having difficult getting their sellers in the right frame of mind!

I would add:

1) Committ to providing your sellers with the latest comps (at least once every 2 week). This eliminates confusion about the market and keeps them from listening to the overgeneralized RE reports on the vening news.

2) Show the direct feedback from the buyers to your clients. Don't paraphrase or sugar coat things. if the buyer said the paint job is crap and make the house show awful this could be your chance to get your people to paint without being the one who had to be the one to come up and say something negative.

3) Ask your sellers what their bottom line price is out of the gate so you can keep control of the situation. Ask again every few weeks to make sure nothing has happened to change that. It's a tough question to ask and they might feel uncomfortable telling you right away but you're here to help them. You can always say no to an offer and if they will accept $40,000 less than list price you might be better off telling them to drop it $20,000 and just tell lowballers no.

Leave a response…

Name:

Email:
(optional)

Comment:

What does the graphic say?