Everyone who is not a realtor wants to know what is going on with the real estate market. While there are many answers to that question, and depending on where you live those answers may be positive or negative. The answers in St. Tammany Parish vary from lack of insurnace, to the hurricane season,to Road Home hasn't paid yet. No matter what the answer, they all equal one thing: Buyers have no sense of urgency. They do not mind looking at 12-14 homes before they make a decision, and then they may take a few days to decide to write the offer after that. If a home that they like is bought by someone else, they have 2 or 3 backups to choose from. This situation is so different from 4-5 months ago. The trick is to instill that sense of urgency.
Our business is a tricky one, because if we apply too much pressure we can turn our customers off and lose valuable clients. I am trying to focus my clients efforts into showing them 4-5 or more homes per session and I try for no more than 2-3 sessions. Within that group of 15 or so homes there will be 2-3 that stand out from the rest in terms of quality. I will then review those homes with my client and make the non-chalant comment that these homes are the nicest in the bunch, and I do not think that they will be around for long given the competition. This usually yields some sort of positive agreement however slight. I will attempt to focus their attention on the homes they have liked, and go for second showings before looking at any other homes on the market.
Of course this tactic does not always work, and clients' needs vary. If you have any strategies please feel free to share them.
