Today's Real Estate Market - Career-Ending Crisis or Golden Opportunity for Agents?
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) November 12, 2007 -- It's no secret that real estate agents across the country are struggling for their professional survival. Due in part to the subprime mortgage meltdown of August 2007, many agents find themselves with unsellable listings or suddenly-uncredit-worthy buyers (who qualified easily just a few months ago).
The doom and gloom brigade has wasted no time predicting the downfall of the residential real estate industry, some even gleefully so. Even within the industry itself, the more cynical agents are warning of a mass forced exodus of all but the most aggressive and knowledgeable real estate licensees.
It all sounds pretty grim for the average real estate agent, doesn't it?
Not according to one industry insider. Jennifer Allan, real estate broker, author and consultant, claims that the current 'crisis' may in fact be an incredible opportunity for the real estate sales community.
For years, Allan says, "We real estate agents have bemoaned the fact that we are not respected as professionals, that the general public doesn't value our services much above those provided by used car salespeople."
However, Allan continues, "We have a golden opportunity to show the home-buying and-selling public what we're made of. And no, not with expensive ad campaigns, but rather by doing what we were licensed to do - that is - Sell Houses. If we, as an industry, commit to putting our prospecting efforts on the backburner and focus on performing for our seller clients, it's possible we could turn this mess around. And in the process, perhaps change the perception of the professional real estate agent forever."
Which of course, raises the question: How does a 'professional real estate agent' sell houses in a lousy market?
Allan explains, "In today's market, an MLS listing and a For Sale sign in a yard aren't enough to sell a home. It's not even enough to create color home brochures, hold open houses and demand price reductions at six-week intervals. We need to work a lot harder than that, and to have the guts to tell our sellers what's what."
According to Allan, here are the three main factors that can mean the difference between a listing that sits, and a listing that sells:
1. Price is King. Properties must be priced more aggressively than their competition to even be shown, much less result in an offer. It's not enough to simply be "fairly priced."
2. Condition is Queen. A home that evokes a negative or even a neutral first impression has little chance of selling. It's the agent's job to make this clear to the seller and do whatever he or she can to help the seller get the home in showing-ready condition.
3. Accessibility rounds out the top three. If a listing is hard to show, regardless of the reason, it will be passed over. The seller needs to understand that once he's on the market, his life is no longer his own. He must be willing to accept showings on short notice and to vacate the home during showings. The key to the front door must work easily in the lock and there can't be barking dogs locked up in the laundry room.
As a gesture of her commitment to the real estate industry, Allan will distribute her most recent e-book '70 Ways to Sell Your Listings in Today's Sucky Market' to the first 7,500 visitors to her booth at this week's National Association of Realtors Expo in Las Vegas for a nominal cost of $1. To learn more about Allan and her Sell with Soul Philosophy, visit www.sellwithsoul.com.
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