If you are a “farmer”, do you get annoyed when an outsider lists a home in a subdivision or area you would like to consider your turf? You’ve been sending out CMA’s and area sales data for months and then, they go and list their home with someone you know is considered the village idiot by peers and, who hasn’t sold a listing for two years. As we have all experienced, sometimes you just can’t get them all. So what do you do?
I think you should use the competitor’s new listing as a prospecting tool and take away any advantage gained by having the listing. Unless you are up against someone like Bryant Tutas, who's Lovely Wife may assist you in an early exit from real estate, there are options to use this listing to your long-term advantage. Once the listing has been placed in the MLS, as a licensed member of this system, you are invited to sell the listing and be compensated for selling it.
Dedicated farmers are going to use this invitation as a reason to knock on every door in their farm and provide each homeowner with a flyer on the new listing. As long as you don’t imply you are the listing agent, most MLS systems consider this a fully acceptable practice. Why do it? Because this may encourage other homeowners to consider putting their property up for sale – with you!
In addition, you would probably want to call each homeowner in the farm to let them know the new listing has become available. Some good news here is that at least 8 out of 10 listing agents will never make those just listed calls. This then creates a true opportunity for you!
Remember that by combining a mailing with a phone call, you increase your response rate by a factor of four!
Finally, some agents also provide a monthly market highlight report to each of their farm members. This report includes all of the newly listed homes, just sold homes, and recently pending homes. Of course, release of this information is subject to your local MLS rules. Home owners absolutely love these reports, and it provides you with an opportunity to show yourself off as an expert in the market area.
So the next time you lose a listing in your farm, turn that lemon into gatorade!
If you farm, have you tried this? Results? Recommendations? What other ways do you establish yourself as the subdivision expert?
Dave Rosenmarkle
Broker Owner
Highland Realty
(703) 538-2566
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