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Whether you are in a hot or slow market right now, a sale is a sale, and when you get one you naturally want to let people know your listing is under offer/contract.
After all, promoting your success as an agent is good for business, right?
Wrong! You should hold off on putting those under offer and under contract stickers on for sale signs and internet listings; it doesn’t benefit the seller or you. The time to tell the world is when the property is actually sold.
When a seller accepts an offer subject to conditions, it is usually the beginning of a 21- to 30-day process to create an unconditional sale.
However, the property is effectively off the market for other buyers to consider during this time. If they see a property is under offer, they won’t call to let you know they’re interested, they’ll look for something else.
If the sale falls through, the property has to be put back on the market and you’ve essentially lost two, three weeks and a lot of opportunity. All momentum you created has been lost and the poor seller and you are back at square one. This happens far too often.
Holding back on telling people you have (almost) made a sale works in the seller’s and your benefit.
- You keep the buyer honest to their offer and conditions for fear of missing out as the property is still being marketed.
- You keep your options open for other offers if the buyer doesn’t or can’t proceed.
- You meet more buyers that you can sell other properties to.
- You meet more sellers who are disguised as buyers, so you can get more listings.
- You demonstrate to the seller you are not giving up until the job is well and truly done.
- You get more feedback to reinforce that the offer you have received is a great offer.
Sometimes, we forget that although we have a duty of care to both the buyer and seller, we get paid by the seller, so we need to look after their interests first.
And always remember, buyers are sellers, too, and when it comes time for them to choose an agent to sell their most valuable asset, they will choose the agent that demonstrated looking after the sellers, not the buyers.
By Ryan Thomson, director, Real Estate Brilliance
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