How to Sell Your Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic for Beginners (VIDEO)
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the entire world. From deaths to health problems and financial hardship, everyone knows at least one person who has suffered a loss. The real estate market has also seen a dent in sales. Fortunately, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, the market is seeing a slight increase in sales in 2021 compared to mid-2020. The truth is that selling a home right now is difficult but it’s not impossible. Families want to get away from the hustle and bustle and into less populated areas. This makes sense since the fewer people the less chance of attracting a virus.
It’s a Pandemic Keep Prices Reasonable if You Want to Sell Faster
The COVID-19 pandemic economic hardship today is hitting lots of people hard in the wallet. People in the business of selling and or buying real estate are really feeling the pinch. Real estate brokers and agents are discovering growing amounts of foreclosures and economic downturns make a lot of homeowners walk away from homes rather than trying to get rid of it. Without the selling and buying, process brokers and agents feel a deep pinch. The strange thing is that in big cities sales are down but in suburban areas real estate is booming. Getting real estate sold in today’s market is difficult with a number of factors responsible.
The market is not even with the number of people looking to buy versus individuals selling their houses. Financial institutions are decreasing the number of mortgages approved along with the amount of money for each of these. Combine these issues with fewer jobs and even less money to pay a mortgage in the pockets of individuals makes things difficult, but not impossible. There are ways to buy and sell real estate that works around obstacles in the way.
Construction is Booming but Sales Are Not
No more than a dozen years ago this particular industry had millions of employees. New construction was booming and purchasing and selling houses was easy. As businesses and companies started laying off workers a domino effect happened. The number of evictions increased, new construction and mortgages decreased and real estate brokers and agents found they were among a shrinking number of employees like every other industry. Little to no effort was needed to make a nice living in the field for many years.
Things have changed in recent years. The money made before the change in atmosphere is no longer there. They discovered different ways to make a living, but there are still those in this field who wish to continue to earn a living in this manner. Commissions are definitely the bread and butter of realtor income. No homes selling means you don’t have dollars coming in. There are some things to do to help turn this around during this difficult time. Increase marketing efforts and steer them toward different fronts. If you have slightly touched on the internet as a viable resource to earning, this is a terrific time to invest more time in it. This is possible in several ways.
Make The Internet Your Best Friend to Sell
Websites such as Craigslist and eBay have really taken off for real estate ventures. Create your own posts for these sites or hire a freelancer to write them up at a nominal cost. The investment on these sites is worth the little effort exerted to grow your marketing base.
It is possible many need reworking. A great way to reinvent them is using sources like polls and other ways to get feedback from buyers. This recession period possibly means changes are very beneficial to how old ads were laid out. These are only small tweaks to increase the number of lookers to buyers, which in turn will increase the money coming in.
Interest Rates
Point out the lower interest rates that are available during a recession period. Although some financial institutions have taken the hard-line when it comes to lending, there are still others, which have not. They have lowered interest rates and want to build mortgages. Turn the focus to customers with the means to purchase homes at this time. These are generally people who work in industries not affected as hard, if at all, by the economic downturn. Don’t leave the other clients out in the cold just yet. You never know when an engineer will get rehired and ready to put his family back in the home of their dreams.
Educate Yourself
Continual education is vital for all professions. There are always changes being made and new things to discover. Obtain more knowledge through classes at universities, seminars offered and the web is always a great source.
Educate yourself on the difference between a buyers’ market and a sellers’ market if you haven’t had the experience working in this type of climate for selling homes.
Try and stay further ahead of the game than clients. If you educate yourself on the difference in the buyer’s and sellers’ market, relay that information to them and work from a better position to help with locating a home and closing sales.
Go Out and Find New Clients to Increase Your Chances to Sell
Clients happy with their realtor and how they were treated during the process are one of the best sources of new ones. When selling a home or obtaining a new client think of each one as potentially three or more new ones coming to you. Advise them if they have friends or family looking for a real estate agent and their services that you are available. Be sure and have plenty of cards ready to hand out. Give as many cards away as possible to current or potential leads. Satisfied customers are a terrific way to sell real estate in this current climate. Keep prospective clients not far from you. Make certain they have the means to contact you and check back with them as often as you and the client feel comfortable.