A Comprehensive Guide To Generating Listings Today
Here, Inman has created an extensive resource for ways to find inventory — from old-school methods to more creative approaches — when it seems like there's nothing left on the shelves. Check out my site at: www.ByrdHouse.Team IG#CoachRandyByrd eXp sneak peak>>> RealtyeXplained Real estate agents and their clients have struggled to deal with inventory issues for what feels like forever. Homeowners locked into low-interest-rate mortgages are reluctant to take on new debt at a higher rate for higher-priced homes. And some potential buyers feel like they can't afford — or would rather not pay — the higher-interest-rate mortgages that have settled in the market today. The result? New listings remain at record-low levels in many markets across the country. Agents and brokers continue searching for innovative ways to find or create inventory in their market to deal with the crisis experts say could potentially plague buyers until 2025. Here, Inman has developed a comprehensive resource for ways to find inventory when it seems like there's nothing left on the shelves. Table of Contents Tried and true methods Leveraging technology Thinking outside the box Tried and true methods Some agents might overlook these traditional methods for finding or creating new inventory, which sometimes can be seen as outdated, but they shouldn't be dismissed. Tom Toole | Tom Toole Sales Group Look at your CRM Review your CRM for long-term leads, other qualified leads you've been in touch with, and past clients to reconnect and see if they've considered selling their home recently, Inman contributor Tom Toole advises. Both the market and individuals' life circumstances can change quickly, and sometimes, all it takes is the right real estate agent asking the question at the right time. Go through your phone contacts. With this strategy, Toole recommends starting at the bottom of the alphabet and working backward since people tend to neglect individuals at the bottom of the list. Send a simple text that's not real estate-related to see how they're doing and what's new in their lives — and wait to see if they bring up the market. Work your referral network. Some of the most successful real estate agents have repeatedly told Inman that their business is purely referral-based. The 2023 National Association of Realtors (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers also showed that 65 percent of sellers either rehired their previous agent or obtained a referral from a friend, neighbor, or relative. Referrals work, so continue to invest heavily in them. Circle dialing When you're already working with a client in a particular neighborhood, take the opportunity to inform other residents about current housing statistics in the area through postcards or other methods. Remember to keep things personalized by using individuals' names on any communication, Toole advises, so that residents don't feel like they're just another random person being blasted by a Realtor's marketing. Farming Similar to circle dialing, Inman contributor Jimmy Burgess says that choosing a neighborhood where residents might recognize your name to send out calls, direct mail, and emails can be an effective way to generate new listings. Remember, making these communications more personalized and specific will yield greater chances of success. Jimmy Burgess | Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Door-knocking Each agent will have different opinions about this method, but at this point in the pandemic, it's probably safe to go ahead and door-knock for seller leads, especially if you're masked up. It's an old-school method, but it can still produce results. Open houses Open houses are known for drawing curious neighbors in, which is one good reason they can benefit agents today who need more inventory. Chatting with neighbors about the current market conditions ripe for sellers is another way to generate new listings. Be sure to take the proper safety precautions when hosting an open house. Expired listings Contacting expired listings is a no-brainer. These sellers or rental owners have already decided to sell (or at least rent) once, and as a real estate professional, it makes perfect sense to offer your services should they need a hand. Property owners who had trouble renting may very well be attracted by the prospects of selling if you provide them with the correct market data to entice them. Speak with the agents representing these listings and offer a fair referral fee to take them off their hands — and don't forget to ask them about the seller's motivations. FSBOs and abandoned properties Sellers who decide to go it alone might not realize how good they could have it with an agent representing them until the right one comes along and provides a compelling case. Be prepared with your data and other resources to create a persuasive argument for why you could get them a better deal than they'd get by going without agent representation. Likewise, identifying seemingly abandoned properties and tracking down their owners (check county records or order an owner and encumbrances for a specific property from your title company) to educate them on what they're missing out on by selling can be another helpful tactic. FSBO listings can be found on fizber.com, houzeo.com, Zillow.com, iGoFSBO.com, and Craigslist.com. Be on the lookout for life changes. This should be ingrained in the brains of most agents. Still, anytime someone goes through milestone life changes like marriage, divorce, getting a new job, having children, or experiencing a death in the family, it usually means a move isn't far off in their future. As an agent, be ready to approach your contacts when they go through these changes to let them know you can help support them personally and help sell their home. Scan newspaper announcements and social media for these life updates and be ready to approach your contacts with a simple 'How are you doing?' following them. In particular, Baby Boomers are transitioning right now — some may be ready to move closer to adult children as they get older or downsize into a one-story home. Now's the time to keep in touch with your contacts in this generation and be ready to help them through the transition. Orphaned neighborhoods Burgess notes that "orphaned neighborhoods," or neighborhoods of homes that are roughly three to five years old and track-built by national builders, are a significant target area for agents. These builders typically work with dedicated sales agents who move on to the next community with them, so in a few years, when those homeowners are considering moving up, they will need an agent to help them sell. Chances are, if one resident chooses to deal with you, others might also have their interest piqued. Schedule face-to-face time Real estate coach and Inman contributor Bernice Ross reminds Inman readers that, according to NAR statistics from 2023, 81 percent of recent home sellers only interviewed one real estate agent before listing their property. That means the first agent who gets some face time with a seller typically wins the listing. Bernice Ross Therefore, agents should prioritize having face-to-face meetings once a month with the 150 contacts in their sphere who are most likely to refer their business or do business with them. Leveraging technology Agents cannot hesitate to try new technology if it can help their clients in this challenging market. Here are a few tech-focused tools that can help with the absence of inventory. Become familiar with apps like DropOffer and Vulcan7. Inman contributor Greg Burns advises that tools like DropOffer and Vulcan7 allow agents to tap into off-market listings. With DropOffer, agents can access a vast network of off-market properties sub, submit offers electronically to them, and access property-specific data. Vulcan7 provides agents with expired, rental owner, and FSBO leads and offers CRM, dialer, and video email tools for agents. Consider alternative lending services. Alternative lending companies like Knock provide homeowners with solutions that can be extremely helpful in a tight inventory market, where homeowners can buy their new home before selling their old one and avoid double mortgage payments. Knock covers the old home's mortgage before it sells, enabling buyers with all-cash buying power. This kind of security can give homeowners the confidence they need to put their homes on the market. Buy seller leads There's no shame in buying seller leads online. Getting leads via services like BoldLeads or Facebook ads can be helpful for some agents and just might become part of their regular marketing budget. Burgess warns that online leads typically don't see sizable conversion rates, but it can still be helpful to some agents — you never know where they might lead. Send out unsolicited video CMAs "Adding value to owners without them asking is always a good idea," Burgess said. That's why recording a video of yourself creating a comprehensive market analysis on your computer (via Zoom or BombBomb) and sending it to a homeowner is a great idea. They get a little free information from a professional tuned into the market's pulse, which opens up an opportunity for further discussion. Past buyers, visitors to an open house, or individuals in your farm market are all viable candidates for an unsolicited video CMA. Lean into social media. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, you name it — work your social media accounts to educate would-be sellers on the opportunities that await them this season. Once you make initial contact on social, follow up with more personalized touches, like a phone call or coffee date, Corcoran Group-affiliated brokers recommended at a 2022 Inman Connect Now event. Thinking outside the box In this market, agents must get creative and potentially do more legwork to find the proper inventory for their buyers. Consider the following strategies to find those elusive listings. Connect with home builders, investors, real estate attorneys, and asset managers. Forging relationships with homebuilders can help you gain first-hand knowledge about when the projects they're working on will become available to homeowners, Inman's Libertina Brandt reported. Likewise, searching for old, rundown homes on the MLS that sold within the last year or two can be an excellent way to connect with investors (who typically buy these properties) and determine if they're ready to flip that property or others they might have. Real estate attorneys and bank asset managers are also helpful professionals to create relationships with because they're often some of the first people to know about homeowners under threat of foreclosure. Agents who can get in front of those individuals have an opportunity to both find new inventory and help homeowners avoid foreclosure by selling. Make a hard pitch for leasebacks. One of the most significant mental barriers for sellers right now is the thought that they might not have a place ready to move into after they sell their homes. Educate them on leaseback options so that they feel comfortable listing their home. An agent, Inman, spoke about recent market conditions in Cleveland and said that homes with sellers who needed to lease back the properties have not only sold but also received multiple offers because of the demand. Depending on your market conditions, encourage sellers not to worry that a leaseback might put off potential buyers. 'In search of … 'posts on social media Create wanted ads on social media for your buyers that say something like, "In search of a four-bedroom house with a large backyard," circulate it among your network, and encourage your buyers to share it, too, Burgess advises. Likewise, if you see posts like this on social media, don't hesitate to share — it just takes the right potential seller to see it for them to create more inventory. Find non-owner-occupied homes This strategy has been a long-term one for Ross, who notes that title companies can typically pull lists of non-owner-occupied properties. If agents can get in with an investor who owns several of these properties, it could yield up to 20 times as many transactions as a typical client, Ross says, depending on their flipping volume, which could yield more inventory for an agent's buyer clients. Poorly marketed properties Marketing certainly comes with the territory, but not every real estate agent is necessarily a savvy marketer. Therefore, agents must see beyond sloppy listing photos, feeble listing descriptions, and mislabeled properties to a house's bones. Likewise, encourage buyers to see beyond cosmetic details, look for underlying potential, and contact listing agents for more information. Search properties with estate and big garage sales. Someone looking to unload a lot of belongings via an estate or garage sale is also likely to be preparing for a life change, which may mean a move is in their future. Cross-list these properties hosting sales with the MLS to see if any are currently listed, REH Real Estate recommends. Reach out to those not presently listed and offer a CMA or other market data to start the conversation. Pocket listings and The NLS Any agent who delves into pocket listings must ensure they're up-to-date on NAR's Clear Cooperation policy, which dictates that brokers cannot market properties publicly outside their own staff or client sphere. If they do, they must submit the listing to the MLS within one business day of selling the property. That said, brokers have found success building up a pocket listing network over their careers with potential sellers at various stages of being ready to sell. This takes time and effort but may be worth it in the long run. Likewise, The National Listing Service (NLS), which recently rebranded from the Property Listing Service and the Pocket Listing Service (PLS), has similar opportunities for agents to get ahead of sellers. The now-public-facing site has reworked its design to align with the Clear Cooperation policy while providing new options to agents looking for inventory. The NLS Private feature allows listing agents to share information about a property they hope to become the listing agent for by wooing buyer agents and their buyers, hoping that if they present viable buyers to the would-be sellers, they might get the listing. The site feature NLS Wants also allows buyer agents to post quasi-wanted ads for their buyers and will enable sellers who have either not chosen an agent yet or haven't decided to sell to be paired up with these agents who have a buyer match. BY LILLIAN DICKERSON March 30, 2022 Randy Byrd, Team Leader & Coach The Byrd House Team - Brokered by eXp Realty, License# 01878277 Licensed in California and Oregon. CA#01388021 & OR#201235026
10 Powerfully Effective ChatGPT Prompts For 2024
Jimmy Burgess shares 10 specific prompts designed for real estate agents to help you generate leads, grow your business, and serve your clients at the highest level possible. Check out my site at: www.ByrdHouse.Team IG#CoachRandyByrd eXp sneak peak>>> RealtyeXplained ChatGPT continues to get better and better. This article shares 10 specific prompts designed for real estate agents to help you generate leads, grow your business, and serve your clients at the highest level possible. The following prompts are easily copied and pasted, but understanding how to write an effective prompt yourself provides the knowledge needed to take your business to a new level. Rajeev Sajja, my co-host of The Real Estate AI Flash on Apple Podcasts, has developed an easy-to-follow formula for writing effective prompts utilizing the acronym R.I. S.E. Although you may not use this complete formula in every prompt, the framework helps provide ChatGPT with the information it needs to give you the best response possible. This is a breakdown of the formula you can utilize: R – Role What role do you want ChatGPT to play? In the first prompt below, the first sentence, “Act as an expert real estate agent business coach,” is the role. I – Input The input you provide helps ChatGPT get a better idea of the goal for the prompt. In the first prompt below, the second sentence, which says, “I am a real estate agent that would like to generate two listings per month in 2024,” is an example of the input. S – Specifics The specifics help ChatGPT understand additional details about what you are trying to accomplish through the prompt. In the first prompt below, the third sentence, which says, “I currently generate listings from geographical farming and sphere of influence referrals,” is an example of specifics. E – Expectation The expectation you provide helps ChatGPT understand what it is you want it to do or what you expect to be able to achieve from the response to the prompt. In the first prompt below, the last sentence, “Provide me with 20 strategies that can help me generate the seller leads needed to take the two listings per month that I’ve set as my goal,” is an example of an expectation. Hopefully, this formula will help you write better prompts and, in turn, receive better responses. Now, let’s get to the prompts we are getting results with. 1. Listing lead generation idea prompt If you’re looking for ideas on generating listings this year, this is an example of a prompt that will help. Act as an expert real estate agent business coach. I am a real estate agent who wants to generate two monthly listings in 2024. I currently generate listings from geographical farming and sphere of influence referrals. Provide me with 20 strategies to help me generate the seller leads needed to take the two listings per month I’ve set as my goal. As with all these example prompts, adjust them to reflect truths about your business, and don’t be afraid to test several different versions. 2. Buyer lead generation idea prompt If you’re looking for buyer lead generation ideas, this prompt will provide 20 options. Act as an expert real estate marketer and provide me with 20 creative ways to generate buyer leads in the current market environment. 3. Google Business Profile review generation prompt Reviews on your Google Business Profile page add credibility and an opportunity for organic lead generation. This prompt will help you craft an email to get you the desired reviews. Act as an expert copywriter specializing in working with real estate agents. I aim to increase the number of reviews on my Google Business Profile Page. Send me an email to past clients thanking them for their business and asking them to click on the link provided to leave a Google Business Review. The tone for the email should be conversational and gratitude-driven based on them doing business with me in the past. Also, provide me with three email subject line options for this email. 4. LinkedIn article for seller lead generation prompt LinkedIn continues to prove itself as an underutilized lead-generation platform. This prompt will help you craft a blog post that the LinkedIn algorithm will love. Act as an expert real estate copywriter and provide me with an SEO-optimized LinkedIn article with seven things a seller should do before listing their home for sale in [your city] in the spring. No. 7 in the article should be to call me for a free, no-obligation valuation analysis and a list of things that can be done to the home before listing it to maximize the sales price. 5. Social media content creation idea prompt Are you struggling with content creation ideas? This prompt will help you grow your audience and influence in your local market. Although this example mentions Instagram, substitute your platform of choice for comparable results. Act as an Instagram expert specializing in creating content for real estate agents. Give me 20 Instagram post ideas to showcase me as the local real estate expert in [insert your city]. The goal of these posts is to increase engagement with the actual posts and followers of my page. 6. Business growth plan prompt Do you have a goal to grow your business in 2024? This prompt will help build a plan of action to make it happen. Act as an expert real estate business coach. I aim to increase my real estate sales business by 20 percent in twelve months. Ask me as many questions as you need to understand my current business so you can provide me with strategies and a plan of action that will help me achieve my goal of growing my business by 20 percent in 2024. 7. Social media bio optimization prompt The key to expanding your reach on social media is to gain followers. This prompt helps you optimize your bio to encourage people to find your page and follow you. Act as an Instagram expert helping real estate agents grow their Instagram following. Ask me any questions you need that will help you write a compelling bio for my Instagram page that will increase my follower count. 8. Client appreciation ideas prompt One of the best ways to generate referrals is to show your clients how much you appreciate them. This prompt will keep you on the top of your mind when they can send someone your way. Act as an expert real estate marketer who shows past clients appreciation. Give me 20 creative ways to say thank you and show my appreciation for those past clients and their businesses. 9. MLS description prompt Pictures capture potential buyers’ attention, but in many cases, the MLS description decides whether they decide to schedule an appointment to see the home or move on to the next listing. This prompt ensures your MLS description helps your listing put its best foot forward. Act as an expert real estate copywriter specializing in writing MLS home descriptions. Provide me with three MLS descriptions: one written in a conversational tone, one in a professional tone, and one in a luxury tone. Use the previous MLS description below for home details, but make sure your descriptions are unique. Here is the previous MLS description: [insert previous description] Once it provides the three options, show them to the homeowner and ask which they prefer and if there is anything additional they think you should highlight in the description. 10. Price reduction marketing plan prompt As the market normalizes and days on the market increase, the need for price reductions will return to the market. This prompt provides ideas you can mold into a price reduction marketing plan for the homeowner that you can provide with the price reduction request. This action plan provides the seller with confidence that the price reduction and your proactive marketing plan will help them sell the home. Act as an expert marketer specializing in real estate marketing for homes with a recent price reduction. Give me 20 creative ways to market the home that will get it the exposure needed to sell it. ChatGPT is available, but not everyone will take advantage of its opportunities. Invest the time to learn this innovative technology, and not only will you not be left behind, but you will also separate yourself from your competition. Jimmy Burgess is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida in Northwest Florida. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn. BY JIMMY BURGESS January 28, 2024 Randy Byrd, Team Leader & Coach The Byrd House Team - Brokered by eXp Realty, License# 01878277 Licensed in California and Oregon. CA#01388021 & OR#201235026
Rates Will Continue To Fall In 2024, Consumers Say In Record Numbers
A record number of consumers surveyed by Fannie Mae expect mortgage rates to keep falling, a 'significant shift' in expectations that could free homeowners from the so-called 'lock-in effect' Check out my site at: www.ByrdHouse.Team IG#CoachRandyByrd eXp sneak peak>>> RealtyeXplained The verdict is in — the old way of doing business is over. Join us at Inman Connect New York Jan. 23-25, when together we’ll conquer today’s market challenges and prepare for tomorrow’s opportunities. Defy the market and bet big on your future. A record number of consumers surveyed by Fannie Mae say they expect mortgage rates to keep falling over the next 12 months — a “significant shift” in consumer expectations that could free many homeowners from the mortgage “lock-in effect” and boost the supply of for-sale listings in 2024. More than eight in 10 Americans (83 percent) still think it’s a bad time to buy a home, Fannie Mae’s latest National Housing Survey found. The survey of 1,002 homeowners and renters, conducted between Dec. 1 and Dec. 18, also found that the percentage of Americans who think it’s a good time to sell decreased 3 percentage points from November to 57 percent. But for the first time since Fannie Mae began conducting the monthly surveys in 2010, more homeowners, on net, said they believed mortgage rates would go down rather than up over the next 12 months. Mark Palim “Homeowners have told us repeatedly of late that high mortgage rates are the top reason why it’s both a bad time to buy and sell a home and so a more positive mortgage rate outlook may incent some to list their homes for sale, helping increase the supply of existing homes in the new year,” Fannie Mae Deputy Chief Economist Mark Palim said in a statement Monday. “Of course, that’s likely dependent on the extent to which mortgage rate expectations are met with actual mortgage rate declines.” At 6.56 percent on Dec. 29, rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages ended the year down 1.27 percentage points from a 2023 high of 7.83 percent registered on Oct. 25, according to daily loan lock data tracked by Optimal Blue. But Palim cautioned that even if mortgage rates keep falling, economists at Fannie Mae continue to believe home sales will post only modest gains in 2024, with elevated home prices continuing to pose affordability challenges for first-time homebuyers and others. Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2023. The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), which distills six questions from the National Housing Survey into a single number, increased 2.9 points in December to 67.2, in large part because of rising consumer expectations that mortgage rates will continue to fall. While only two of the index’s six components improved from November to December (mortgage rate expectations and buying conditions), the HPSI is now up 6.2 points from a year ago, and 10.5 points above an all-time low of 56.7 registered in October 2022. The survey also showed that consumers are less certain home prices will continue to go up. While that would be good for buyers, reduced consumer confidence in home price appreciation is treated as a negative in calculating the HPSI. Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2023. Although economists at Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association think mortgage rates will continue to fall, less than one in three consumers (31 percent) surveyed in December expect the same. While that might not sound like optimism, it’s a new survey high in records dating to 2010 — and a major shift from November, when only 22 percent of Americans were expecting rates to come down. Palim said it’s also worth noting that homeowners and higher-income groups reported greater optimism about rates than renters. On net, “more homeowners believe mortgage rates will go down than go up,” over the next 12 months Palim said. “This significant shift in consumer expectations comes on the heels of the recent bond market rally and an already-significant downtick in 30-year mortgage rates, from their high of nearly 8 percent in early November to 6.62 percent as of this past week,” Palim said. Although not factored into the HPSI, 43 percent of consumers surveyed in December said they thought it would be easy for them to get a mortgage, up from a 2023 low of 40 percent in September. Among all survey respondents, the percentage who expect mortgage rates to go up decreased to 31 percent, down from 44 percent in November. With 36 percent expecting mortgage rates to remain unchanged, the net share of consumers who think mortgage rates will go down climbed to 0 percent, up from -40 percent in February. Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2023. With the share of consumers who think home prices will go up in the next 12 months falling from 41 percent in November to 39 percent in December, and 36 percent expecting them to remain unchanged, the net share of consumers expecting home prices to go up fell 2 percentage points, to 15 percent. Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2023. The percentage of consumers who said it’s a good time to buy a home increased to 17 percent in December, up from an all-time survey low of 14 percent in November. With those who said it was a bad time to buy decreasing from 85 percent to 83 percent, the net share of those who said it was a good time to buy increased 5 percentage points, to -66 percent. Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2023. Better conditions for buyers usually mean worsening conditions for sellers. While 57 percent of those surveyed in December said it was a good time to sell, that was down from 60 percent in November. With the percentage who said it was a bad time to sell increasing from 40 percent to 42 percent, the net share of those who said December was a good time to sell decreased 5 percentage points from November. Source: Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, December 2023. Although not factored into the HPSI, 30 percent of consumers said they thought the economy was on the right track in December, up from 24 percent in November. Get Inman’s Mortgage Brief Newsletter delivered right to your inbox. A weekly roundup of all the biggest news in the world of mortgages and closings is delivered every Wednesday. Click here to subscribe. Email Matt Carter BY MATT CARTER January 09, 2024 Randy Byrd, Team Leader & Coach The Byrd House Team - Brokered by eXp Realty, License# 01878277 Licensed in California and Oregon. CA#01388021 & OR#201235026
Recent Posts
