We’ve talked a lot lately about the biggest challenges to home sales today – rising prices, a lack of availability, and affordability. One of the easiest ways for our nation to alleviate the pressure is for more homeowners to decide now is a good time to sell.
But a new Bankrate.com survey unveiled that 62 percent of homeowners say they don’t intend on moving. Ever.
And another 17 percent say they don’t intend on moving for at least another five years.
The survey also indicates that homeowners are almost twice as likely to remodel than move homes. Fully 35 percent said they’d rather remodel in the next five years than move, while only 19 percent said they’ll move during that time frame.
Yes, investors could let go of some of their inventory, and builders could increase theirs, but this indicates an post-recession societal change as our economy strengthens and Americans sit on their largest investment as it appreciates.
So what can the real estate industry do to convert some homeowners into selling, rather than sitting?
It’s tricky, because one in five homeowners own their homes outright. But of the four out of five that don’t, Realtors are already farming for business through timeless marketing efforts such as direct mailers, ads, flyers, and of course, through social media marketing.
To little avail.
Why? Because the market primarily consists of “hire me” flyers with an agent’s face on it. That will never convert someone that says they’ll never move.
But data will.
We spoke to an agent in Dallas who is converting better than nearly anyone in her market, and she does so by emailing stats specifically to current homeowners that focus on the reasons to sell. She includes national statistics about how much cash Americans are sitting on via their homes, and offers hyperlocal sales data.
But how is that different from what everyone else is doing?
Three things that differ – (1) she translates that data instead of sending charts and hoping they’ll come to their own conclusion, and (2) she sends info on the specific property that person lives in, noting the value they’ve gained since moving in, and offers comparable properties for sale that they could consider if hoping to downsize or upgrade, and (3) she tells stories of clients that have put their gains into different investment vehicles and will retire comfortably.
Data is powerful, and successful practitioners know how to use it (especially given how readily available it is via tools at their disposal like Realtors Property Resource), but so few make it personal and translate it for consumers, putting it into layman’s term.
Convert by taking that extra step in translating and presenting data meaningfully to consumers – offering a chart isn’t enough today, especially if someone has already dug in their heels and plans on never moving. And if you find yourself saying little more than “now is a good time to buy/sell,” fire yourself.
