Don’t let the deal die: How top agents revive dead negotiations

According to Place Ascot director and lead agent Drew Davies, real estate agents need to know how to draw buyers back to ensure there are no delays to the sale and guarantee a solid price, especially in the current market.

Recent data showed that stale listings, six months or older, make up more than a quarter of properties on the market, while combined capital clearance rates have hung under 50 per cent for the second consecutive week.

Davies said that by uncovering what’s holding buyers back, using market evidence, and looking beyond price, agents can bring buyers back into negotiations.

“There’s a myriad of reasons why that buyer will stall after you’ve had initial momentum. Most negotiations don’t die because the buyer suddenly stops wanting the property,” he said.

Here’s how to do it:

Know common reasons why buyers stall

According to Davies, buyers typically stall when they have doubts about some aspect of the purchase.

He said buyers have many reasons for stalling, such as worrying about overpaying, waiting for another property, reassessing their finances, or struggling to agree on terms with their partner.

“Sometimes the agent has pushed for a decision before properly understanding the buyer’s position, and then momentum will disappear when buyers feel like they’ve been pressured rather than helped with the decision,” he said.

However, Davies said most negotiations didn’t die because the buyer suddenly stopped wanting the property, but because their uncertainty had gone unanswered.

“The best agents don’t simply chase the buyers. They identify what that hesitation is, they resolve it and create a clear pathway back to the negotiating table,” he said.

Identify the reason behind the hesitation

To identify the reason for the hesitation, Davies said agents needed to ask the right questions before proceeding with assisting the buyer in the best way possible.

Davis said agents too often didn’t get to the point quickly enough, potentially delaying negotiations further.

“The most effective approach I could suggest is asking the buyer, ‘You appear genuinely interested in the property; what has changed between then and now?’”

“Another valuable question you can ever ask a buyer in one of these situations is, ‘Is your hesitation about the property the price or the timing?’”

However, Davies warned that when following up with buyers, agents should always mention a different reason for calling, or they would risk sounding desperate and potentially lose the sale.

“It helps if you lead those conversations when you’re reaching back out to a buyer; it could be about an off-market property, or a recent sale that’s happened that will help them make their decision.”

Assess buyer behaviour

To gauge buyers’ motives, Davis also said agents should assess their behaviour, such as whether they checked comparable sales online or expressed interest in different settlement terms.

“Are they returning to the property online with what we can see at the back end of our systems?

“Those are all signs that they are still emotionally engaged, and that allows you to ask the right questions to see if the negotiation is dead or if there’s still life left in it.

Davis said a negotiation generally wasn’t dead until a buyer stopped seeking information, while silence simply meant doubt.

“It’s our job as the agent to identify what remains unresolved. And that can always be overcome with just asking the right identifying questions,” he said.

Educate them on the market

In many cases, Davis said the most efficient way to resolve buyers’ fears was the “old -school” method of taking them out in their car and educating them on recent sales in the area.

“The market has changed from the buyer behaviour a year ago was a fear of missing out, and that has since changed to more of a fear of overpaying,” he said.

“So you’ve got to be able to provide the relevant data to these buyers to get them comfortable.”

Suggest different pricing or settlement terms

Additionally, Davies said agents may occasionally propose adjusted settlement terms to bring buyers back to the bargaining table.

“I think this is a mistake that some agents can make – they think the deal is purely about the price, but in equally as many circumstances, it can be the terms or the settlement date that are equally as important to the buyer or the seller," he said.

“So you must explore every single part of the deal to make sure that it is completely dead if it’s heading in that direction because more often than not, you can revive that conversation.”

Beyond settlement terms, Davis said agents needed to adjust the property’s price to lure prospective buyers back in.

After a period of silence from an interested buyer, he said calling them to ask what they had offered on other properties since last speaking could help the agent with realistic pricing.

“It also keeps your clients well informed of what other buyers are offering on other properties so they can adjust they expectation to make sure that alignment is there in the current market.”