Where Is Your Listing Inventory?
This week I want to talk about lack of inventory. We have moved into this beautiful season where people are spending more time outside, the weather is gorgeous, and they are starting to do their yardwork. Many of them are starting to think, "Hmm, maybe this could be the time when I sell my house."
We are going to see a late spring, a strong summer, and a very robust fall. That said, I know already that many agents are thinking, "Where are we going to get all this inventory from?"
Well, we are not going to build it because we have built everything we could by this point. Last year, many of the builders from last year were so busy that they even sold their upcoming lots by pre-sale. So that inventory is not available.
However, there are sellers out there and you have to find them. One of the most successful ways to cultivate a seller is to be giving your potential sellers information. So, what I am highly recommending that agents do is to go into their MLS and find some areas that have had some good sales. Look for areas where the market is strong and the product is high in demand. Next, find out what those properties have closed for. What is their list-to-sale price ratio? Obviously, if it's in an area where those homes are selling in a low days-on-market number, above list price, and they are getting top-dollar, then that these listings are likely to be receiving multiple offers.
In a multiple-offer area, that means that many of those buyers who love that area, love that neighborhood, and loved that house, but missed out! You are looking for that missed out opportunity because if one house sold in that area and there was a line-up of buyers, then many of them were not able to find something else.
As a trainer, one of the things I used to do all the time with new agents was to say to them, "Follow the sales. Follow the low days-on-market. Follow the list-to-sale price ratio." So, once you have gone into the MLS and found those areas that have those good sales, then you are going to put together a letter to update potential sellers with information about what is happening in their neighborhood.
If you need a full market outreach letter for potential sellers, consider using our Other Buyers Need a Home Letter, our Multiple Offer Letter Series, or our High Demand Neighborhood Sale letter - all of which are available to our Club Zebra subscribers along with plenty of advice for how to use them effectively.
When you are researching your neighborhoods, you only need to look back four to five weeks. Don't go back a year, just look at what is most recent so that you can say that, "In the last 28 days there have been three really record/historical/prominent sales and I want to tell you about them. This means that during the time these kinds of homes were on the market in your neighborhood that there were not enough to satisfy demand. If you have been even a little curious about selling, this means that there is a fantastic opportunity out there for you to sell."
I want you to focus on what their opportunity is. Trust me. The phone will ring. You will find that sellers will get in touch with you even if for no other reason than to get a little more information. Spend your time doing that and go find the areas that have already been successful, you will find other motivated sellers in that same area.
When I did my research and looked at neighborhoods, it was always interesting how when one house came on the market and sold, the next week or two you would see more come on the market. We see that happen all the time where two, three, or more homes will pop-up for sale in the same neighborhood in a short period of time. A lot of that has to do with how potential sellers are walking around in their neighborhood, or driving home, and they see a for sale signs. And then they see a sold sign. And then they think, "Well, maybe I can sell." Well, if you are the agent who gets them that information at the right time, you have just opened the door for them to be able to call you!
There are listings out there. There is inventory out there, but you have to go mining for it. There are listings out there. There is inventory out there, but you have to go mining for it. Listings are not going to find you, so you need to go find them!
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