Three reasons why sellers won't list their home...and what to do about it!

What are the three biggest reasons why someone would not list their home today? We have a new study that tells us exactly what sellers are thinking, which is what great marketing does. Great marketing answers questions before they're asked.

When you're thinking about your marketing plan, think about the questions and the concerns that you're hearing from sellers today.

The study found that 39% of the time, sellers are anticipating a more favorable sales price if they wait to sell. 34% of respondents said they feel like life is too uncertain to make the change at this point. 31% said they are afraid they won't find or be able to afford a new home. 

We need to come up with answers to these concerns so we can form our marketing around them. We also need to be able to answer these questions in the field when they're brought up to us.

So how do you answer the first concern, that they will sell for more later? One response would be to say, "Hey, I hear what you're saying. Totally understand, but here's something to consider. If you're buying or selling in the same market, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to wait, because if you wait, the value on the home you're buying is going up at the same pace. What matters more than that is your timing and when it makes sense for you to move. The only time that would be different is if you're moving to a different market." 

The second biggest reason why someone would not make a change right now is that they're concerned about life's uncertainty. We might reread that to say they're concerned about COVID. When we talk about COVID, we're talking about getting people past that worry and that fear. In this case, what we really want to talk about is our safety protocols.

We want to show off how we're keeping buyers and sellers safe through the process. This means we should have developed our 10 step process for keeping people healthy and safe during showings. On social media, we need to be showing pictures of ourselves in masks and gloves, and show the process of wiping everything down and keeping people safe. This is so people can feel comfortable knowing that when they work with us, we're going to take their safety seriously. This will give them a level of comfort that they may not get from other agents.

That third question is important as well, which is the replacement property question. "So what if I can't find something to buy?" In response you might say, "Hey, until we find your dream home we can make any offers that come in subject to you finding a replacement property. Most agents are completely focused on taking your listing. Let's take a step back and let's treat you as a buyer first. Let's talk about that dream home you want to buy."

We're going to take that pressure off and make people feel comfortable. You could also say "A lot of people assume you have to move on closing - when you don't have to. We can create your moving date. It's all part of the negotiation process. We can state it right in the listing. Whenever you want to move, we can put that moving date in."

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