For several years real estate was selling so fast that the only expired listings appeared to be those with a major problem. For instance, uncooperative sellers, a price too far beyond the market, or an agent who wasn’t doing their job.
But now, at least according to Redfin reports, things are changing.
Expired listings may become more common.
Last month new listings of U.S. homes rose 7.9% year-over-year, and the typical home is now selling for 2% under list. I realize that 2% is not a lot, but it does mean that your listings are going to have a bit more competition. Redfin reports that overall, there is now a 5 month supply of homes for sale.
Pending sales are down 8.1% year-over-year, and that should be no shock. After all, you’re bound to have fewer buyers now that interest rates have pushed the median monthly payment to $2,784. That’s an unreachable number for many, especially with inflation taking such a huge bite at the grocery store.
Home sellers may not be ready to accept that things have changed.
Until home sellers realize that prices are not likely to keep climbing, and that they can no longer expect buyers to get in bidding wars, it could mean that more homes will expire off the market unsold.
Of course, every market is its own universe, so you may still be seeing buyers fighting over the most desirable homes and paying cash to get them. If so – good for you!!
But if not – you may soon see expired listings popping up in your MLS listings.
If you have the patience for dealing with disappointed sellers, expired listings can give you an opportunity to gain more listings at a time when they may be scarce.
It’s an old adage in real estate that it’s beneficial to be the second or even third listing agent.
Sellers have experienced disappointment and are looking for a solution.
Because they want solutions, they just might be more open to taking your advice when it comes to:
- Price
- Presentation
- Showing availability
- Getting out of the house during showings
- Responding to low offers
- Re-negotiating after an inspection
Sellers who failed to cooperate with their original listing agents might be very willing to cooperate after finding out that their demands led to a “no sale.”
Have you been prospecting for expired listings?
Have you been successful?
If not, there are two likely reasons:
- The message was off
- The timing was off
If it’s the message, you may be making one of two mistakes: Putting down the previous agent, or failing to show how you’re going to be any better.
If it’s the timing, it could be that those sellers received so many letters immediately after the listing expired that they ignored all of them.
Also – They’re disappointed and they’re probably tired of trying to keep their house in showing condition. They may just want to take a break from the whole situation.
The solution could be to come back in a couple of months and try it again.
Criticizing the previous agent is always a poor idea, even if he or she deserves harsh criticism. For one thing, it makes you look petty, but that’s not the worst of it. When you criticize the agent, you criticize the seller for his or her poor choice – it’s like saying “Boy were YOU dumb.”
So instead of saying “He should have…” say “I will…” And even if you know for a fact that the agent only put one foggy photo in MLS and didn’t respond to agents who wanted to show the home, say “Your agent might not have…” instead of “Your agent didn’t…”
The solutions: You can sit down and write a set of letters, or you can take advantage of the Expired listing prospecting letters I’ve already written.
They’re available in a few different packages…
The original set of ten Expired listing letters begins with an overview of the things that might have gone wrong. Subsequent letters go into more detail, discussing everything from pricing to presentation to marketing and negotiation, and even the importance of an agent’s reputation.
The set includes a seller’s checklist for getting a home ready to sell and a special report entitled “Why didn’t it sell?” Use this one a lead generation piece in a “capture form” on your website or in social media posts.
The short 4-letter expired listing prospecting set includes the checklist and special report, plus four letters that condense the information offered in the larger set.
The postcard-sized letters include the report and checklist, plus a dozen short messages that invite sellers to get in touch with you and learn more about the possible reasons why their house didn’t sell the first time around.
The high-end expired listing prospecting letters do lay a little more blame at the feet of the agent, because some high-end sellers won’t be open to thinking the failure has anything to do with them.
These letters point out some of the differences between selling a mid-range home and a luxury home, and they offer assurance that you DO know how to do it correctly.
The Multifamily Expired Listing letters are similar to the high-end letters in that they point out the differences between these listings and single family home listings.
The “Old Expireds” set solves the problem of being lost in a sea of letters. By the time a month or two or three have gone by, most agents will have crossed those expired listings off their lists and gone on to new ones.
If you keep good records and keep an eye on the MLS you’ll spot the ones who decided not to relist immediately – and who may be ready to start over now.
If you wrote when the listing first expired and got no response, try it again in 2 or 3 months. Those sellers might be rested up and ready to get moving!
All of these sets offer your time and expertise to sit down with the homeowner, go over the facts, and help them figure out what went wrong.
After reading the letters in any one of these sets, your prospects should be able to see if their own actions were the cause of their troubles, and they should be able to see if the agent they chose failed them in some way. They’ll compare what their agent did to what you tell them should be done.
Graphics courtesy of Stuart Miles |freedigitalphotos.net
