Monday observation:
Since May of ’23, housing inventory for sale on a National basis has grown nearly 10%, giving buyers more options, while nearly 10% of sellers have taken a price reduction. Days on the market – depending on the price range – are hovering from 35 to 56 days.
What’s it mean? HMU.
Need an agent that is a hyper-local expert? I know a few on just about every continent, HMU.
See the trends in your local zip code – click here
What’s Happening In The Real Estate Market?
We are still in a supply-constrained market with more demand than supply, meaning in most US markets, it’s still a seller’s market.
The facts are the facts: there is not enough inventory of homes for sale to meet the demand of buyers. Check out your local market stats on this link – click here.
Why?
Other thoughts?
Outdated models aren’t working in this market. You’ve got to dig 4 layers deeper to be of real service to your clients and prospects.
How do you grow in a volatile market with unit sales down from 23% to 31%?
Attract talent and recruit!
Let’s have NO REGRETS in our recruiting efforts this week.
TCF+ no excuses.
By now, Real Estate Advertising’s Greatest Hits is an album all too familiar to us. The tracks unfold, on auto-repeat, in the background of our lives:
None of these are bad, necessarily. They hook into emotions that we understand to be real. But these archetypal messages may no longer ring as true as they once did and are, in all but exceptional moments of creative execution, woefully undifferentiated.
My friends over at 1000 Watt did some original research on Real Estate Marketing and this is what they found:
The principal conclusion?
The Greatest Hits may still be good to play once in a while but play them too much and people will tune them out. It’s time for some new music.
According to my friends over at 1000 Watt, current market conditions are, in a word, interesting. Great for sellers, hard for buyers, confusing for agents, and difficult for the supervising brokers. Check out the trends in your area on my Altos Research link.
The era of dirt-cheap money ended abruptly, causing many buyers and sellers to call a time-out. Others are proceeding with expectations of a prior market condition, with, as one agent put it, “sellers thinking it’s last year, and buyers thinking it’s next year”.
In recent research, “change of lifestyle” was the #1 reason respondents cited for considering selling. This suggests that while a change in jobs, death, and divorce will always strongly predict transactions, less definite, more aspirational considerations are always present and active. Information about price declines accelerating next year make 53% of respondents more likely to sell now.
84% of respondents who have a mortgage on their home are either “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” that high mortgage rates will impede their ability to sell. However, when presented with context that explained that refinancing to a lower rate in the future may be possible, 50% said this information made them more inclined to sell. 53% said that information about price declines accelerating next year made respondents more inclined to sell now.
91% of respondents report being “very clear” or having “a pretty good idea” of their home’s value
91% of respondents report being “very clear” or having “a pretty good idea” of their home’s value and indicate that an agent’s opinion, Zillow, and recent home sales contribute to that understanding. Notably, respondents who had yet to speak with a real estate agent relied much more on Zillow and recent sales to form their opinion of their home’s value. This suggests that if real estate agents leave an informational vacuum, others will fill it.
The results from 1000 Watts research show clearly that people who are thinking of selling are hesitant and concerned about the recent and dramatic changes in the real estate market. But these results show just as clear that personal engagement can have positive effects, both for the prospective seller, and the agent, broker, or marketer who reaches out to them.
We cannot control a great deal of the market right now. Yet I believe that professionals with a capacity for well-executed marketing are far from powerless in achieving their goals for the year. In times like these the listings are in David Knox’s 7 D’s:
So this just happened… my granddaughter was born yesterday (Maggie Rose), and Willing To Eager was finally published.
Please, but not satisfied: Several months behind schedule; looking at it now so many things I would improve. That means there will be a second expanded edition with many more success stories – from many of you – next year.
Willing to eager – the ultimate secret. In this collection of real-life stories, I’ll share some of the distinctions of those who thrive in adversity, using it as fuel to achieve, meet and exceed their goals.
1000 Watt Marketing recently completed some original research and asked people a range of questions to identify areas of opportunity and vulnerability in today’s real estate market.
There is intense competition for the attention of homeowners. While only 46% report that the agent they bought with has contacted them post-transaction, 28% receive “a lot” of real estate marketing, and only 25% report that they receive “little or none.” Moreover, 47% can recall the name of “one of two” agents from whom they receive marketing (who are not their own former agents), and 22% can remember “several” agent names.
Only 46% of home buyers report that the agent they bought with has contacted them post-transaction.
There appears to be little negative sentiment around how much agents are paid when context is provided. 63% of respondents said agents are “probably” or “definitely” paid too much. However, when provided with a hypothetical scenario involving the sale of their own home that involves specific dollar figures, 73% thought the agent was not paid too much. This suggests to us that stepping toward, rather than away from, specific conversations about compensation is a good idea. We also found that the appeal for discount real estate services was broad but weak.
Stepping toward, rather than away from, specific conversations about compensation is a good idea.
The biggest challenge with homeownership this group of recent homeowners expressed was “ongoing maintenance costs” (42%). This beat out “stress about my home’s value” (20%) and “affording my monthly payment” (34%). While engaging recent buyer clients on this issue could be a somewhat fraught proposition, it nonetheless underscores an opportunity we have identified in earlier research: people need help being homeowners, and real estate brokers and agents are uniquely prepared to deliver value in this area.
My friends over at 1000 Watt recently completed some original research on home ownership with Millennials and older Gen Z individuals. 600 participated and were made up of 24% living with family and 76% renting independently.
Despite the daunting reality of high rates and high prices and the corresponding cultural awareness of an affordability crisis, 95% of respondents express a desire to own a home. This is up from 91% from the August 2021 survey.
Most respondents are motivated by emotional sentiments in their desire. “Pride of ownership” and “a place for me and my family to call home” outweigh “good investment or builds wealth” significantly. Moreover, only 26% view where they currently live as “home,” and 68% think ownership is required for a “place to truly feel like home.”
It is clear that marketing to this cohort should be directed largely toward the heart.
The challenges young people face – people who very much want to own a home – are nonetheless daunting. Good marketing can’t lower interest rates or build more houses. But it can help you connect with those among this cohort who become capable of surmounting those challenges.
Millions of Gen Z and Millennial Americans will buy homes in the coming years.
Those brokers and agents who take the time to understand them, help them solve their problems, and give them candid advice, will be their real estate professionals for life.
Some of you know I recently relocated to be closer to family, and we’ve been checking out various gyms in the area. One location we visited has a basketball court with a saying written on the wall, “It’s Not Over Until You Win!” That reminded me of a blog I did a while back (re-posted here) and the books of the same title by Les Brown and Marilyn Hickey.
In this re-post, you do it until ____. (fill in the blank).
The ultimate secret is: Do it until ____.
Do it until ____ is the most common denominator for success in anything.
Some of us learn fast, others slowly, and many of us in between. When you are committed to the cause, the effort, and the result, “you do it until ___.”
Fill in the blank; you do it until
The common denominator is “I did it until I got it!
It doesn’t matter how long it takes.
This is a great growth mindset.
You don’t know how long or short it will take to become an expert, yet if you keep doing what needs to be done – one day at a time – one hour at a time – one minute at a time, one second at a time – eventually all those seconds add up to minutes and minutes add up to hours and so on.
It’s not about how long it takes – if we keep doing what needs to be done, we eventually get there and win.
Do it until ____!
You’re probably already working with various clients if you’re a real estate agent. Newer agents I work with say, “I’ll go anywhere with anyone,” yet the seasoned agents are “Crystal clear on who and where they invest their time and energy.”
Have you ever thought about how many different types of buyers or sellers you might be working with?
Working with first-time home buyers or sellers is vastly different than working with retirees who are downsizing into an active adult community. Both groups are different from second-chance home buyers entering the market again after recovering from a job loss or financial distress.
Not only do each of these subsets require different considerations and industry knowledge, but they also have different audiences, which means they do not share the exact needs, concerns, or goals.
To resonate with prospects, you must understand their pains, problems, desires, and triumphs. The first step toward doing that is to create a buyer and seller persona.
This exercise can lead to information and perspective that will inform your marketing efforts, messaging, and how you present your brand.
PS: For broker-owners and managers, this same exercise applies to you as it relates to your ideal agent and team.
“Each and every day is a given choice. To start over, move forward, change directions. All you have to do is decide.” ~ Tere Arigo
