Become an Off-Market Match-Maker
In practically every market the inventory is dreadfully low—and because of that—buyer loyalty appears to be diminishing. What I mean is, I’ve been hearing an unusually high number of reports like, “All my new leads already have an agent!” Granted, this isn’t anything new — it’s just that it seems to be happening more frequently. And I think it’s indicative of buyers’ questioning whether or not their agent is truly showing them EVERYTHING that’s on the market. So, desperate to find more homes to view, buyers seek out and scan every home search site they can spot, looking for hidden listings. Enter your opportunity: become the 𝙤𝙛𝙛-𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿. How?
❶ Mail letters to homeowners in neighborhoods or along key streets where your buyers want to purchase. In past similar markets, agents literally door-knocked with a purchase offer in hand. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend door-knocking these days, but you get the gist.
❷ Utilize tools like Remine to source homeowners whose equity position and tenure in the home match up with “likely-to-sell.” Send them letters. I would say email them, but that goes against permission-marketing in my book. That said, consider creating custom audiences to target ads in the Facebook and Google advertising platforms.
❸ Use the tax records and contact absentee owners. Given the rise in home values, they may be thinking the time is ripe to sell. Ask, “How many months (or years) would you have to rent this home out to total the amount of cash you can walk with (and re-invest elsewhere) if you sold today?”
❹ Email your entire database asking if anyone knows of (or owns) a home that meets the search criterion of your buyers. Now is the time to hustle!
I’ll bet you there are a bunch of homeowners who, if they could find their 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆, would be willing to sell. It’s a circular problem—meaning, sellers would sell except they aren’t because they can’t find homes to purchase... and on it goes. So offer to do for them the very thing that led you to contact them in the first place: to be their 𝙤𝙛𝙛-𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿. Get it? Then get to work 👊