With buyers and vendors becoming increasingly cautious, strategies that usually worked in a booming market are no longer enough. Here’s how agents can handle hesitant clients and keep deals moving.
With market conditions easing, agents are being forced to adjust their approach, while those in regional markets are proving to be well equipped after years of working in slower, more competitive conditions.
McGrath Launceston principal Josh Hart said that dealing with hesitant buyers and vendors was just part of the job, particularly outside of the capital cities.
“We have this all the time when we have a vendor who is weighing up their options and isn’t quite go go go,” Hart told REB.
“Regional markets have to get a bit more creative in how we put deals together.”
He said agents did not need to wait until a buyer was unconditionally ready to purchase.
Instead, Hart said agents should focus on convincing the vendor that a strong result was possible if they were willing to put in the work.
“For some of the best deals, we as agents have to be articulating to our vendors that a lot of the time, the deals that are conditional are still strong. You’ve just got to work them a little bit more,” he said.
What causes the hesitation
According to Hart, one of the major reasons vendors have been hesitant to enter the market was economic uncertainty.
He said that while many sellers would view the softening market as a reason not to transact, it could actually create an opportunity to upgrade.
“We’re really encouraging and working with vendors to sit down and go, if you sold your house for X, and you went and bought something, and during that time the market softened more in the upper area, you’re actually going to be making money,” Hart said.
“It’s really worth shopping that idea with them.”
With some would-be vendors hesitant about the uncertainty they could face after selling, Hart said agents could help ease those concerns by encouraging a longer settlement period.
Doing so would give sellers more time to secure their next move while still allowing them to take advantage of current market conditions.
He said that instead of a 30- to 42-day turnaround, many vendors became more comfortable with the idea when he suggested a 90- or 120-day settlement.
“Naturally, because of low stock numbers, clients are very mindful that if they sell their home and they can’t find something, they’re going to be homeless.”
“Knowing that if we can get them into a position where they’ve got the money ready to be settled on and they can go actively looking for three or four months can be a great comfort.”
According to Hart, one of the biggest mistakes agents made was failing to understand why clients were hesitating.
A stripped back approach
Hart said the strong market of recent years meant many agents no longer had to invest time in nurturing buyer relationships until they eventually became vendors.
As the market slows and listing opportunities become harder to secure, he said agents need to return to the traditional approach of building long-term relationships.
“We lost touch as an industry for quite some time, where it was ‘get the deal done and all the best for the future.”
“As agents now in this changing economy, we’ve actually got to go back to the traditional ways of transacting, and that has been more human.”
While technology was a benefit to agents in reaching their client base, Hart said that the human element would always hold more sway when it came to clients.
“There is nothing like picking up the phone or meeting clients and showing that you actually want to help and serve.”
Additionally, Hart said that agents should showcase their previous experiences in similar circumstances to boost the trust developed between the vendor and themselves.
“Vendors are very fixated sometimes on the terms they expect if they are going to market, but it’s sometimes about educating them on the other ways they can achieve that endpoint.”
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?Make Real Estate Business a preferred news source on Google.
