How can you approach expired listings? These have a ton of potential for you to secure high-quality leads, but you need to approach them correctly. Say the wrong thing, and the seller could get offended or believe you are being predatory. To help with this, I’m sharing a fantastic script you can use to speak to owners of expired listings, that way you can secure good and low-cost leads.

To listen to my full explanation of the script, check out the video above, or you can skip to each topic using the timestamps provided:

0:00 — Introduction

0:34 — A few benefits of reaching out to expired listings

1:35 — Having a script is always a good place to start

2:29 — Why smiling is so important

3:49 — Try to mimic your client’s energy

4:58 — An example of how using the script might go

6:11 — A critical question in the script

7:34 — One of my favorite questions to ask

8:59 — Ask them what their last agent failed to do

11:22 — Demonstrate what you can do to sell their home

12:20 — Wrapping things up

If you would like to view the script, here is a basic template. Also, know that you can always call or email me to go over any specific questions that you might have. I look forward to hearing from you!

Today I’m here to talk about why you should be working with your past clients and sphere of influence (SOI). The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just released its buyer and seller profile. It looks for buyer and seller behavior patterns and demographics and will give us some insight into how we should do our marketing.

86% of sellers use a real estate agent for their transactions, and 63% used an agent that was referred to them or that they used in the past. Plus, 80% of sellers only contacted one agent. Then for buyers, 88% used a real estate agent for their transaction. 96% used online sources, and 50% used an agent that was referred to them.

Agents continue to be very relevant in our industry. As you can tell from these numbers, a lot of business comes from referrals and past clients, and many people only talk to one agent, so it’s very important to be working your database and past clients while also looking for referrals and being professional.

If you have any questions, call, text, or email me. I can also share the full NAR report with you. Let me know how I can help.

This is part three of how to get buyers off the fence. Again, I always reiterate that I’m not looking to show you how to trick buyers. The aim is to consult buyers so they can take action either way and make the right decision for their situation.

Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to browse specific topics at your leisure:

0:00 — Introducing today’s topic

0:32 — Recap of the previous topics

1:25 — An issue of motivation or condition?

1:55 — Understand the rents and interest rates in your market and the basics of loans

2:51 — Interest rates can still rise

3:15 — Two examples taking rising rates into account

4:26 — The math doesn’t lie, and rates may not be this low again for a long time

5:45 — Wrapping up

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me by phone or email. I’d love to help you.

We’re at the second part of our How To Get Buyers off the Fence series. In part one, we emphasized why it’s never a good market to rent. In continuation of that, I’ll talk about the importance of educating your buyer clients about appreciation.

Keep in mind that we’re not trying to trick somebody into doing something they don’t want to do. However, if your buyer is struggling to make a decision, learning about appreciation could help them make the best choice possible.

“Owning a home is inflation-proof in a lot of ways.”

Let them know that owning a home is inflation-proof in many ways. In fact, during inflation, the value of a house goes up, making it a great way to hedge against a recession. If we go back historically, especially in California, property values have always increased except for the last recession. However, that last recession was caused by the real estate market, making it a different case.

The bottom line is that homeownership is a great way to appreciate and build wealth. If they buy a $500,000 house and home values appreciate at 5% in the next year or two, they’ll have a $25,000 increase in appreciation. Generally, properties that are in better neighborhoods and have a higher price point appreciate more as the market goes up. 

If you have any questions about this topic or anything real estate related, call or email me. I’d love to connect with you!

How do you get people who are considering purchasing a home to enter the market? Getting potential buyers off the fence has become more difficult recently due to rising interest rates and high prices. If buyers are the lifeblood of your business, what can you do? If you’re concerned about the future of your business, don’t worry. Today I’m sharing the first part of a new series on how you can get buyers off the fence and secure more clients. This part is all about talking to renters.

When you talk to a renter, your main goal should be to communicate the truth: It is never a good market to rent. When I talk to someone I know has the ability to buy but is choosing to rent, I try to get them prequalified with a lender. Often, people are surprised at what their monthly payment would be, even in a tougher market like ours.

“The math doesn’t lie—it pays to buy instead of rent.”

Getting a renter pre-approved may be enough in some instances, but for others, you’ll have to do a little math—fortunately, the numbers are on your side. In our area, the average renter could easily spend $2,000 per month. That means they’re giving $24,000 per year to their landlord to help them pay down their mortgage. In five years, they’ll have paid $120,000, and in 10, it will be $240,000. When you put those numbers next to the cost of a down payment, they seem ridiculous. 

On the other hand, what if your buyer purchases a $550,000 home? Their monthly payment will be locked in, they’ll pay off their own mortgage instead of their landlord’s, and their property will almost certainly appreciate. Every year they own a home, the financial benefits increase. If your renter clients understand the numbers, they’ll be much more likely to let you help them find a home. 

If you have questions about this topic, please call or email me. I am always willing to help!

How do you make a market update for your clients? I just finished recording one, so I thought I’ll share my steps on the process. 

When people ask me what’s happening to real estate, I respond by telling them I just received the latest data, and I’ll send them a video on my next market update. When it comes to the statistics, I like to focus on the number of listings and how it fits historically. For example, how does the latest number of listings compare to six months, a year, or five years ago? I follow it up by talking about closed sales; then I show a quick math to get the absorption rate. I make sure to define what absorption rate means and put it in a historical perspective. Lastly, I share the median price and compare it with the past month’s numbers.

“Do your market update consistently so you can become a valuable resource for your clients.”

After giving the cold facts, it’s crucial that you interpret what it means for your clients. I’m a math nerd, but not everyone is, so I translate the information that I’ve shared into terms that buyers and sellers can understand. Explaining how it affects their real estate plans should be the key part of your market update. 

If you do updates consistently, you can become a valuable real estate resource for your clients. The next time someone asks you what’s happening to the local market, you can get their contact information and tell them you’ll send them your market update videos. 

For any questions on how you can be more productive in real estate or anything else related to this topic, call or email me. I’d love to help!

Leads don’t just convert on their own—you have to put in the effort. How do you convert more leads? Here are my top three tips to turn those leads into clients:

1. Time is of the essence. When someone raises their hand and starts seriously thinking about buying or selling, it’s like a beacon activates above their head. You may have gotten a referral, but you’re probably not the only agent they’ve met. This is even worse for online leads; nobody looks at just one website. Getting to these leads quickly is essential.

2. Follow up, follow up, follow up. I’ve never lost business from following up too much, but I have lost clients from not following up enough. The old rule of thumb is eight touches in eight weeks, but you might have to tailor that to your leads.

“Getting in touch with leads quickly is essential.”

3. Know how to communicate with your client. If you’re working with someone who’s analytical, they might want to see the charts and graphs. On the other hand, if your potential client is more expressive, they probably don’t want to get bogged down in the details. You may need to try a few different approaches to find out what works. You’ll also need to know the best way to get in touch with them. Do they prefer a phone call, text, email, social media message, or something else entirely?

If you have any questions about these three tips, feel free to call or text me. I’d love to hear from you.

Our market is shifting, and if you aren’t prepared, you might not make it. However, do you really want to just survive a changing market? What if there was a way you could thrive in this market and come out the other end better than you were before? Today I’m sharing a few tips to help you succeed in this shifting environment:

1. Know your market and your numbers. Every day, go into your MLS and look at active homes, pendings, solds, and any other important metric you can remember. Mark them and look for trends in your area. If you look over a period of 90 days and compare it to the numbers from that same time a year ago, it will tell you what direction our market is heading.

“There isn’t much room for error in a shifting market. ”

2. Know how to communicate the numbers. Now that you know your stats, it’s time to educate your clients. Have a pitch ready for buyers and sellers. Your pitch should be easy enough to understand so that someone without any prior knowledge will get it. Your job is to be your clients’ light in this confusing time. 

3. Evaluate your apps, technology, and systems. If you audit your systems, you will find two types: those that don’t give a large enough return on your investment and those that need doubling down. In a shifting market, there isn’t a lot of room for chaff, so make sure you aren’t wasting your money on unimportant technology. 

If you have questions about today’s topic or anything else, please call or email me. I am always willing to help!

Do you have the dedication to go the extra mile? When you’re going through leads, it can be easy to dismiss someone and quickly move on to the next one. However, I’m going to share one question you can ask leads that could potentially triple your income—who doesn’t want that? 

All Realtors know that you start with your contacts, filter through those for leads, hopefully turn some of those leads into contracts, and end up with happy clients and commission dollars! However, one place people commonly get stuck is when they’re talking to potential buyers or sellers and those people tell you they already have an agent. At this point, most Realtors would just move on, but not me. If you have the guts, go one step further and ask the question that could triple your income: Are you 100% committed to working with that agent? You could even throw a little doubt into your tone.

“If you have the guts, go one step further.”

Those leads may do you a favor and tell you that they are committed. Maybe their agent is a family member or a close friend, and they will stick. That’s fine, then check them off your list and move on. However, if they give you an opening, you need to step forward. 

If you have a little more courage, you could go one step further and ask a question in this format: If I ____, could you ____? For example, “If I could help you find the right home, would you be willing to work with me for this transaction?”  The most important part to remember is that key question: “Are you 100% committed to working with that agent?” This will take you far. 

If you have any questions on this, lead conversion, scripts, dialogues, or anything else, text, call, or send me an email! I look forward to hearing from you.

How should you price a listing in this market? The market is changing, so you can’t operate based on yesterday’s logic. Today I want to run through some simple tips to help you price a home so that your listing will sell quickly and for the right amount. 

The first thing I look at when determining price is location. The density of the area will determine how far away you look for comparables. I might only look at a quarter-mile radius for a tightly-packed urban area, but I’ll go as wide as a three-mile radius for a scarce rural property. In general, start small and go farther away if you need more data.

“You should only look at homes within 10 years of your listing for comparables.”

Next, look at the age of the homes you’re using as comparables. You should only look at homes that are, at most, 10 years older or newer than your listing. Anything outside of that range will be too dissimilar to compare. 

The next thing I look at is square footage. Check for properties within 10% of the area of your listing. Then, consider discounts for repairs and poor condition. The state of the market will be the last thing you consider. Things are slowing down, so account for that in your price. 

If you have questions about today’s topic or anything else, please call or email me. I am always willing to help!