I see it out there in agent’s eyes, the anxiety over the market. I get it, most agents have not been through this type of market, and the unknown is scary. If you have been in the real estate industry for 10 years or less, you have had a very good market, at least for most of the nation. You’re not accustomed to your phone not ringing.
We have sellers who are sitting on 3% interest rates, so why would they want to move to another home and finance at 7%? Many buyers are priced out due to the rates, and prices haven’t fallen much, at least not enough to make the home affordable at current rates. So, it seems that we are at a standstill.
My message today is that things will change, we will get through this. Eventually, the rates will stabilize, and the higher rate environment will normalize in people’s minds. In the meantime, prices will continue to fall, but at a much slower pace than in past market corrections.
So, what do you do until that happens? Pivot. Back in 2006, I saw the market start to slow so I stepped back and made a plan to survive the worst real estate market in the history of our country. The key was to diversify my business. There are many ways to produce income with a real estate license. If the way that you are accustomed to is slow, or non-existent, it’s up to you to pivot into other areas of the real estate world that produces income.
I have just completed my online course titled, Plan Your Pivot, to help agents formulate a plan to pivot their business into areas that sell in all markets. There is always a need to buy and sell homes, in any market. How can you find that business? Here are just two of many ways:
Study your MLS, homes are still being sold, they may not be in your specific sphere, or the neighborhoods you are accustomed to working in, but homes are selling. Look for trends, pockets where homes are selling, and niche markets. It could be a particular neighborhood, or price level, do the research and find where and why homes are selling. Then formulate your plan on how to get that business. Target that buyer or seller in your marketing, learn the neighborhood, study the trend, become the expert.
Another area to look at is new homes, yep, they are slow too, but they are still selling. Are they offering high commissions? Some in my area are up to 5% already. If that’s the case offer 2% for a rate buy-down. On a $500k property that’s $10k to buy down the rate, will that make that home affordable to any of your current buyers? If not, market it, put it on your social media, email blasts, etc.
These are just two brief examples of ways to diversify your business. I outline many more in the course, but the key is to take action! Make a plan and then execute that plan to success. Burying your head in the sand and doing nothing will lead to failure. You are the boss, you are the decision maker, you are the person that will decide if you succeed or fail. Decide to succeed! Make a plan and execute it to success!
For more information on my Plan Your Pivot course, click here or shoot me an email at Brad@BradStaplinCoaching.com.