I keep hearing from several agents that they have buyers who are just sitting waiting for who knows what? What one line can we tell them to get them off their heinies and make that move?
"Now's the time to buy!"
Alicia Ramirez: "What one line can we tell them to get them off their heinies and make that move?"
There is no "ONE LINE" Alicia. The "talk" (media, industry experts, ect.) is that the market will "bottom out" around the end of the next quarter.
The buyers, for the most part, are going to wait for "the bottom". They want the best deal they can get.
It may be a good idea to remind them that once the bottom comes the market will most likely "V" and not "L" so the prices will start to rise again once the bottom has been hit. So they don't want to wait too long.
Hope that helps.
Let's see. The fence is so comfortable let's let them know if they buy now we will throw in that comfy fence at no additional charge. lol
Alicia....Scott may be right (there is no one line); and you might want to reconsider using "lines" with customers. You may be surprised at how many of them know that it is "just a line".
In your case, I do have a suggestion. Since you do feel that now is the time to buy; do just that. You can then mention to your client that you bought now because "now's the time".
Alicia, I'm finding that my buyers are more spoiled by choice. and they feel that if they haven't found the "perfect" home at the "perfect" price, they'll wait and see if it comes up. Hard to work with. Each situation is individualistic and I work with it as it comes up.
Shelly
Since I can't presume to know when the time is right for my client, I'm not going to use any line at all. :)
If it all makes sense, that's all that is required.
YMMV . . . just like theirs! ;)
I know the buyers are waiting for the bottom but that could be in 2-3 years. I think my post was misunderstood. I was looking for things we could say that might make them want to buy now. Of course, we can't make them do anything, but what could we say to get them to start thinking more seriously about buying?
How about "There are so many motivated sellers right now, we could negotiate a great deal for you."
Any others?
If you are like many of us, Alicia, you have some buyers who just seem to keep looking and looking but aren't 'pulling the trigger' for some reason(s). They appear to really want to buy something but something is holding them back.
The problem for us is that, while they are 'looking' and 'thinking', we are literally giving away our time and resources showing them home after home. The reality for us is that we simply cannot afford to continue on that path with little or no hope of compensation.
We are going to have to learn to ask the probing questions that get to the heart of their hesitation. That may not be easy for many of us. I'm not a 'questioner' by nature (fortunately for me, Susan is though). Without knowing 'what' is holding them back we are just shooting in the dark and hoping something hits. Their 'reasons' could be any of a number of things but it seems that one of the 'biggies' we have run into lately is that they fear paying 'too much' because they see prices dropping a little each month.
Or DO THEY REALLY? Here's how we handle this one particular objection (maybe it will help you):
First of all, help them see that 'the market' hasn't really gone down in price all that much since they first started looking. What actually happened was that individual houses lowered their price while they were 'considering' them. So you (buyer) have seen about 10 different houses reduced their asking price $5K or $10K (or whatever) and then selling. The 'perception' becomes that prices are dropping by $5K or $10K every month... but that's not the case. The market is pretty much stable or has only dropped 1% or 2% over the past 12 months.
Once they realize that the market has remained relatively stable or only dropped 1 or 2 percent, ask what their 'fear' is in going forward. Chances are they will say that they want to wait and see if the market drops another 2%. Chances are good that this type of buyer is currently renting (if they own something now, then they are moving up and when moving up everything is relative anyway... that is an easy objection to overcome).
Assuming that they are renting, simply add up their rent each month. In our market, they are probably paying about a grand per month. So, Mr. Buyer, let's say that the market DOES drop another 2% over the next 12 months... or let's take a worse case scenario and assume a 3% reduction. You are looking at $200,000 homes. If these homes drop 3% over the next year you will save $6,000 by waiting....
But what will it COST you to wait? (Don't answer.... wait for them to do the math.) When they realize that they are going to throw away $12,000 in rent over the next year, you can go into the tax benefits of homeownership, the pride of home ownership, the beginning of building equity, etc.
Bottom-line? We must know what their hesitation is and we must know what their MOTIVATION is. That will let us know where to go from there.
I hope this helps.
OK Alicia . . . here's one:
"What could we do that would make you want to proceed now?"
(wait for answer, then make it happen) :)
Hey Tim that was good! Can't wait to see Radley's take . . . ;)