Getting a buyer’s criteria is only half of the equation—you also NEED inventory to matchmake them with. When there is very little inventory in the market for you to choose from it can be disheartening. You have to dig deeper and be creative with your search process. In this episode of Agent Rise, I’m going to share SIX ways you can source inventory to present to your buyers.
The first way you can source more inventory is by sending out a mailer in a neighborhood you know your client is interested in. It can be a letter directly from the family or you as the realtor. Attach your contact info, state you’re interested in a home in the area, and let them know they can give you a call.
Look at expired listings from 2012-2017 where the house sat on the market and didn’t sell. Send the owner a letter with the customer version of the MLS listing attached. Let them know you have an interested buyer and see if they’d be willing to let them see the house. They don’t have to list it, stage it, or get professional photos done—they just have to schedule a time the buyer can see it.
Everyone wants to avoid these because you have to negotiate for your commission. But Zillow, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace are crawling with FSBOs. When competition is tight in the market like it is now, taking advantage of FSBOs is a great way to leverage the market. Listen to the episode for more details!
There are a lot of homes out there available for rent. They’re listed on Marketplace, Craigslist, and even Airbnb. You can send them a message and find out if they’d be willing to entertain an offer to buy vs. a rental agreement.
Someone reaches out to you about a potential listing, but aren’t sure they want to deal with the process. Obviously, you want the listing—but what if you can let them know you might have an interested buyer? You may not get a formal listing with them, but you could end up with a transaction you wouldn’t otherwise have had (or even 3).
We’ve all been there when hosting an open house and nosy neighbors mosey over to see the place. They mention offhand that they’ve thought about selling their house but aren’t ready yet. Take the opportunity and view the conversation as a job interview. Neighbors are easy inventory for your buyers. If you let them know you have a potential buyer, they might go from “just thinking about it” to “ready to sell”.
Hopefully, these 6 options have given you some ideas to forge ahead and continue match-making for your buyers. Everyone is struggling with inventory right now, right? But whenever there is a limitation on a market there is always an opportunity available. Listen to the episode for the full details on each option!
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