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Buyers Want Quick Response from You

By
Real Estate Agent with Jones & Co. Realty 239-333-5556

Buyers Want Quick Response from You


A recent survey by the group shows that over 50 percent of prospective home buyers want a response to their telephone inquiries within 30 minutes.

This makes it crucial for real estate professionals to carry a BlackBerry, iPhone, or other personal digital assistant at all times.

The poll also indicates that 80 percent of buyers search online for two months before contacting a sales associate, and 40 percent search for practitioners through Google and then view their Web sites or social networking sites.

After finding a professional to work with, they view about a dozen homes before making a purchase.

Ralph Post , Realtor
Suntree, FL
Melbourne Florida - Post Real Estate Group

Andrea,   Good post. Its wild how many times agents don't answer their phones and its the link to Buyers and showings.

Mar 15, 2009 12:06 AM
Richard Iarossi
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Crofton, MD
Crofton MD Real Estate, Annapolis MD Real Estate

Andrea, Useful stats. Frankly, I don't know how anyone can survive in this business today without a smart phone of some type. Rich

Mar 15, 2009 12:08 AM
Cindy Edwards
RE/MAX Checkmate - Johnson City, TN
CRS, GRI, PMN - Northeast Tennessee 423-677-6677

I just read another post very similar to this.  I don't mind responding quickly, but I will not drop everything to go show a house. 

Mar 15, 2009 12:09 AM
Christine McInerney
Great Life RE - Knoxville, TN
The McInerney Team, Knoxville TN Homes For Sale

Hi Andrea,

Your posts hits the nail on the head.  I have my phone synched with my website to avoid missing a beat.  I always answer unless I am directly working with another client (then that particular client gets my full attention).  I have had several instances where I was able to get in contact with prospective buyers and sellers while they were still on my website- can't beat that kind of response time.

 

Mar 15, 2009 12:10 AM
Khash Saghafi NMLS
Liberty Home Mortgage Corporation - Cleveland, OH
Mortgage Loan Officer, Cleveland OH NMLS 1114762

Hey Andrea,

  This is a great post!  Short, sweet and to the point.  I spend hours trying to convince people that stepping into the digital age is a must.  Since dogs now have longer attention spans than humans, if you are not "on it" immediately, you will lose.  I will never forget having 2 agents at a seminar telling me that they do not respond 'too quickly' because it looks desperate.  They told me that they only return calls from 12-2 and 7-9, even if they are doing nothing (lol).  People who do not understand simple human tendencies today are learning the hard way more than ever.  Thank you for the great message!

Mar 15, 2009 12:18 AM
Andrea Swiedler
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties - New Milford, CT
Realtor, Southern Litchfield County CT

Hello Andrea, Nice name by the way. Thank you for bringing those stats to my attention. You just pushed me all the way over the fence on the blackberry thing. Now I am off to find the $$ to pay for it!

Mar 15, 2009 12:24 AM
R. Greg Osmond
Sutton Group-Capital Realty Ltd. - St Johns, NL
MBA, Red Maple Realty

Andrea,

You know yourself when you have to wait 5 minutes on the phone to get in touch with a department it's feels like a long time.  I can't stand message managers these days that give you 3 options just to leave a message. 

When buyers need information on a property, there is urgency in their request.  Good to see your post indentifying that.  We need to remember it every day.

Cheers.

Greg

Mar 15, 2009 12:28 AM
Scott Guay
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services PenFed Realty - Ocean Pines, MD
Associate Broker. Ocean City and Ocean Pines MD

Quick response is a must for both phone or email inquiries. My Blackberry works great for both.

Mar 15, 2009 12:33 AM
SarahGray Lamm
Allen Tate Realtors Chapel Hill, NC 919-819-8199 - Chapel Hill, NC
Realtor - 100K Hours of NC Real Estate Experience

So true! I know agents of my "seniority" who won't send a text message much less use a Blackberry. My world would stop without both. I have ALL contacts forwarded to my BB. But sometimes you just CAN'T take the call. My voice message says "Thanks for calling. I am  unable to take your call right now because I am with clients and giving them my undivided attention. Please leave a message and I will return your call shortly. Thank you for your understanding." If they don't understand that I probably wouldn't want to work with them anyway!

Mar 15, 2009 12:39 AM
Dorie Dillard Austin TX
Coldwell Banker Realty ~ 512.750.6899 - Austin, TX
NW Austin ~ Canyon Creek and Spicewood/Balcones

The facts are the facts! In today's market the buyer wants to hear from you. It doesn't mean they have to see the house that second. They want to hear from you to coordinate a showing, answer a question or just be there for them. A simple phone call back tells them you care and they are important to you.

Mar 15, 2009 12:43 AM
Pat O'Reilly
RE/MAX..214-289-6176 Irving and all of Dallas Fort Worth - Irving, TX

True..the trick is how do you do this when you are showing homes or on a listing presentation and you make it a point not to answer texts or the phone and give these clients your full engagement??

I respond as fast as possible...good post.

Mar 15, 2009 01:00 AM
Darwin Barker
Edina Realty - Saint Paul, MN
Edina Realty

Thanks for bringing this to light. As trainer of new agents I express upon them that it is a must that become comfortable with technology allowing them to get back to requests fro information and take advantage of the oppertunity to secure a new client.

Mar 15, 2009 01:13 AM
Susan Haughton
Long and Foster REALTORS (703) 470-4545 - Alexandria, VA
Susan & Mindy Team...Honesty. Integrity. Results.

Great post about the importance of response time.  I recently had a call from an agent who was asking the same question I had already answered 3 times, so I decided it was time to put it in writing, for her sake and mine as she has a reputation for not listening.  Three days later, she was still calling, when I asked why she hadn't responded to my email, she said she hadn't checked it in a while.  No wonder she's not busy! 

Mar 15, 2009 01:18 AM
Angela Carosi
Keller Williams Realty Homes and Estates, Smithtown/Hauppauge - Hauppauge, NY
Realtor (631) 827-0815, Long Island Suffolk County

Andrea,

So true my BB is my lifeline!  TX.

Mar 15, 2009 01:18 AM
Michael Setunsky
Woodbridge, VA
Your Commercial Real Estate Link to Northern VA

Andrea, this is so true. Responding in a timely manner is important. If you don't respond quickly, they will go somewhere else.

Mar 15, 2009 01:37 AM
Gabe Sanders
Real Estate of Florida specializing in Martin County Residential Homes, Condos and Land Sales - Stuart, FL
Stuart Florida Real Estate

Andrea, if they don't receive a response almost immediately, they've already called the next 2, 3, or 4 agents as they surf the different sites.

Mar 15, 2009 01:52 AM
Julie Chapman
Julie Chapman Broker - Ormond Beach, FL
Daytona Beach Shores, Florida

Amen.  And many who send emails only provide their email address and that is how they want to make contact until they are comfortable.  I have many buyers I have sold homes to that I never spoke to them on the phone prior to meeting them for the first time because that is how they wanted it. 

Mar 15, 2009 03:24 AM