I had a newer agent reach out to me, exasperated about how the market has shifted over the past few months. After a few minutes, I realized that they were unsure of how to manage the sale of a property they had on the market.
For context, here is the reality of our professional Real Estate community – the agent count on our board of Realtors has jumped from 33,000 in 2012 to over 65,000 currently. This means that many of the 30,000 plus newly licenced agents have never had to experience anything other than a robust Seller market.

This blog goes out to the Agents who have joined our business and have never seen a down market. Our industry can only get better if we become better educated, collectively, and work together.

I have compiled a list of actions to help newer agents, based on over 35 years of working experience in markets like ours today.

• Know your numbers. This is a time when knowing how the numbers are shifting on a weekly basis will help your clients make better decisions. Understand, memorize and be able to share how the selling prices are shifting, the number of new homes entering the market, number of price reductions, (and price increases) and homes leaving the market not sold.
• Know your numbers. Not a misprint; it is imperative that you are able to share not only the current numbers, but where the average prices have moved over the past year. This will show how high the values currently are and not focus on how much they have dropped.
• Along with the sale prices, be able to share strategies based on the relationship between the asking prices and the ultimate selling prices. Knowing how to price is critical. Also, be aware that some price ranges are still receiving multiple offers, illustrating again that pricing strategies are critical.
•  Increase your budget on staging, photographs, virtual tours and drone photography. We are in a price and beauty contest. This is not the time to start cutting the important marketing tools that will help your home stand above the others competing for the same Buyer.
• In a market where the values are decreasing, get out in front with pricing, meaning, price below the last sale, causing your Sellers’ home to stand out.
• Cooperate with other Agents. This is a time to reach out to Agents who may have Buyers, to follow up on Broker showings, and network your properties to increase visibility.
• As the market shifts, taking longer for homes to sell, understand the stress your Sellers are experiencing. If you were used to contacting your Sellers once a week, consider daily updates. Communication is critical.
• Remain optimistic. Understand that your Sellers are more than likely being influenced by the media.  Help them understand what is happening locally to help ease their concerns. When you immerse yourself in local data, the media reports become white noise.
• Make use of a “Velvet Hammer.” Meaning, be brutally honest with your Sellers. If they need to sell, help them understand the reality of the current market. If a seller is just wanting to “test the waters” and is not motivated, help them to understand this is not a market for that type of exercise.
• When offers are presented, make certain that the Sellers are protected with large deposits and fair terms. Strong contractually sound offers close. This is a time when you want rock-solid contracts.

Over the past decade, we have seen a mostly upmarket, with a small dip that occurred in 2017. Agents have been educated on dealing with a strong market where mistakes today would be corrected with increasing prices tomorrow. Along with Agents learning how to navigate a strong market, Sellers also came to realize that a strong market brought fast, active results. The market we are currently in will educate Sellers quickly about the new realities of selling, however, there is no argument that we are still in a Seller’s market. For the month of June Oshawa, Whitby, and Clarington collectively sold 460 homes, at an average of 6% over the asking price in 12 days. It is still a great market. We are entering a time where Sellers who have a need to sell, working with Agents who have the experience in shifting markets will be the ones with smiles and sold signs.

If you are a Seller considering a move, I am more than happy to share my success strategies developed over the past 3 decades. For Agents, if I can help in any way by sharing my experiences, feel free to reach out.

I can be reached at lindsay@buyselllove.ca or connect on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.