Tis the Season to be Jolly; Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas everybody and May you have a happy, safe, and most prosperous New Year. This is old Santa bringing you an early gift. For many real estate agents, December is the slowest month of the year. The reason is due to mental inabilities to process the power of reasoning. Other words, common sense. They have listened to so many negative people, they have begun to believe themselves that people don’t buy nor sell real estate around the Holiday’s. I assure you they have been totally misled.
Beginning around the middle of December, many people become very narrow minded. They’re like a mule with blinder; only being able to see what’s directly in front of them. Their main focus turns to buying Christmas presents for people who don’t need them, with money they don’t have, for people who doesn’t want what you gave them. I guess that’s good because it props up the economy during the dormant time of the year. The agent that is serious about building their business will delegate the gift buying to their spouse or someone else so they can earn additional money to replace what they spent on Christmas gifts.
For the most part, the agents who try to list and sell from December 15 through January 15 are probably so busy they don’t have time to over-stuff while watching bowl games on TV. These agents understand something that most agents don’t realize. Let me open a door of opportunity for you by sharing information that will provoke you to thinking about what you may have missed.
Many listings are set to expire on December 31 of each year. The listing agent is so busy playing, eating and watching bowl games; they may not contact the owner until after the first of the year. They might not call for 2-3 weeks after the fact. Even if the agent calls, the owner may not relist with them. This doesn’t mean the owner no longer wants to sell. It just means they don’t want to list with the same agent because they had it listed for six months, or longer, and couldn’t sell it. They are prime prospects to list with someone because they still want to sell their property. The problem is if you want to list properties that expires the last of December, you should have started making contact with these people back in November. Owners don’t list with someone just because an agent calls them that happen to have a real estate license. They list with someone they have established a relationship with them, and that doesn’t happen overnight. Relationships are formed through quality conversations that earn a certain amount of trust and respect.
There is a reason why their property didn’t sell. The majority of the time the reason is over-pricing. I am a firm believer that if a property is priced near the current market value it will sell in 60-90 days. In order to provide the owner sufficient information for them to realize the true value of their property, several e-mails may need to be sent. Factual documentation on comparable properties that have recently sold will confirm the current market value of the property; not your opinion. Through conversations, you will demonstrate your sincerity about representing their best financial interests. Constantly communicating with them shows that you want to represent them. FYI, most owners are sick and tire of being represented by an agent who never calls to keep them informed about the activity on their property.
It’s not all together too late to capitalize on listings expiring in December. Go ahead and search MLS for listings that are going to expire soon. It is neither illegal nor unethical to contact an owner that has his property listed with another agent/agency. You just can’t talk to them about the value of that property. It is perfectly alright for you to have conversations with them so you get to know them. It’s alright to let them know that you would appreciate the opportunity to discuss representing them should their listing expire before it sells. Be careful to remember what I told you earlier; people do business with people they have a relationship with. Relationships are built slowly and cautiously. You have contacting them to establish a relationship. If you follow my blogs, you will understand how to have conversations about future business opportunities without crossing ethical lines. Working expired listings is very productive and it’s not limited to the Holiday Season, however, year ending expired are more numerous by far. My next blog will share numerous advantages for buying during the Holiday Season.
Don’t misinterpret what I have told you. I love the Holiday Season. People seem to be friendlier and more receptive to communicating. I love eating any time of the year, especially around Christmas. I also love watching bowl games and pulling for my favorite teams. Since I am a proponent of time blocking my schedule, I always work around the bowl games, making sure I get the important things done to grow my business. I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Holiday.
Should you have specific questions concerning various issues, please let me know and I’ll research the answer for you. I also want to encourage you to subscribe to our “News & Updates” weekly report so you can stay abreast of issues that might affect you when buying or selling real estate. If you haven’t visited my website, please go to www.AlabamaRealEstateInstitute.com and view previous articles.