It’s rather scary to be a homebuyer right now. The competition is high, offers have to be submitted quickly, and it’s a tough market for buyers. If there was ever a time for real estate agents to nurture their homebuyers, now is the time.
The media has described the real estate market with buzz words, such as “booming” and “skyrocketing”. This makes it a rather scary world to enter into as a buyer, especially if you’re a first-time homebuyer.
A good real estate agent can make a world of difference. As buyers face bidding wars, lower inventory, and all kinds of frustrations, agents have to become more nurturing than ever before.
It should be fun and exciting to buy a new home. However, it has become a bit of a battle. A good agent can still make it fun and help keep the battle to a minimum.
Understand Your Buyers to Better Nurture Them Through the Process
When you know the pain points of your buyers, you can better nurture them. Finding out what keeps them from getting to sleep at night can certainly help. Many buyers are rather scared of plenty of things right now.
As an agent, you must first realize, this is the biggest investment most people will ever make. For most people, buying a home will represent the largest financial transaction of their life.
When working with a new buyer, you must establish a relationship with them. They don’t have trust for you yet. Start with a buyer’s consultation and keep the real estate jargon to a minimum. Help your new buyers feel comfortable and understand what to expect.
A survey done by the NAR showed that about 60% of homebuyers value an agent that can give them knowledge of the process more than anything else. If you can help your buyers understand what to expect, it can help relieve some of the stress they are feeling.
Helping Buyers Conquer Their Fears
Whether you’re working with a first-time buyer or someone that has been through it before, they have fears. Buying a home is a scary thing, especially right now. They might be afraid of missing out on the perfect home, getting outbid, or buying a home with issues they didn’t know about.
There are a few great ways you can help them conquer their fears. Let’s look at a few helpful things you can do to aid anxious buyers.
Perform a Proper Buyer’s Consulation
Leave the real estate jargon at the door and put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. If they are not in the real estate business, they probably have no idea what many real estate terms mean.
Performing a good buyer’s consultation requires you to get to know them. Along with getting to know your buyer, you should get to know what they want in a new home. Ask about the following things:
- Pets
- Kids
- Hobbies
- Skills
- Interests
- Career
Asking about these things can help you fit a property to their needs. For example, if a buyer tells you they have two dogs, love to golf, and work from home, you can match them with a home that has the following features:
- A fenced-in backyard for the dogs
- Close to a nice golf course
- Offers a space that can be turned into a home office
Understanding your buyer helps you better choose the right listings for their needs.
Share the Process Every Step of the Way
Buyers should have their hands held, to an extent, right now. Share the entire process one step at a time without rushing it. The purchase process is a big fear for buyers. Showing them how it goes one step at a time can be very helpful at quelling their fear.
Keep the Language Simple
The real estate jargon is fine when speaking with others in the business. With buyers, however, you want to keep things simple. Ask plenty of questions and listen to how they answer. During the buyers’ consultation, you can gather a ton of information, if you keep the language simple and you listen.
Top Tips to Better Help Your Homebuyers
- Help them understand the mortgage process
- Give them a list of what documents the lender will likely require
- Talk about the importance of becoming pre-approved before shopping for a home
- Help them create a wish list with needs and wants for their new home
- Explain how the MLS works
- Provide a sheet with some of the common real estate and contract jargon so they can better understand the terms you cannot avoid during the process
Communicating with your buyers is the key to helping them right now. They need to understand what to expect as the buying process is overwhelming during normal times. Right now, it’s even more stressful than normal.
Make sure you respond to your buyers as quickly as possible and make sure they understand what’s next. This can help you not only find a home for them but also build a long-term relationship with your buyers.
