4 Ways to Prepare for the Spring Real Estate Market | homegenius
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    MARCH 06, 2023

    4 Ways to Prepare for the Spring Real Estate Market

    With warmer weather nearing, spring is just around the corner, and it should be no surprise to any real estate agent that their schedules are about to get busier. This time of the year ramps up because homebuyers are defrosting from their hibernation and are ready to bring their dreams of home ownership to fruition. Homebuyers in the spring may have an increased sense of urgency to close before the peak of summer. Closing quickly enables them to have time to settle into their new home and neighborhood so that their children can have a seamless transition into the new school year. As we inch closer to spring, here are four things you should focus on for a successful start to the busy season.

    1. Reach Out to Your Portfolio of Clients

    The National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers revealed that 50% of buyers and 63% of sellers found their agent through a referral or used an agent they worked with previously. Keeping this in mind, customer referrals and maintaining relationships are of the utmost importance for your success. With the number of home sales rapidly rising in the latter half of 2020, there was a heavy drive for people to break into the industry. According to NAR's Historic Membership report, just under 178,000 realtors joined the workforce from 2020 to 2022, with more than 156,000 joining from 2020 to 2021 during the peak of the housing boom.

    Since there were so many transactions taking place over the last few years, tenured professionals may not have felt the repercussions of the new professional influx. With heavy saturation among real estate agents and the market beginning to rightsize, new agents are vying for your clients’ consideration. They’re cold calling, hosting open houses, distributing their marketing collateral, and are doing anything that they can to gain client interest. It’s essential to reach out to existing clients, place yourself at the forefront of their minds, bring them value that will differentiate yourself from the plethora of competition, and show them why you should continue to be their real estate agent of choice.

    2. Maintain Your CRM to Effectively Engage with Existing Clients

    With a large majority of business being repeat and customer referral transactions, devising an engagement strategy should be one of your top priorities. Before you start planning, take the time to update your client relationship management (CRM) system. Your CRM is a powerful tool, and contrary to popular belief, is more than just a contact list. These programs give you the opportunity to take valuable notes about existing clients, their aspirations for their next home, their interests, and much more. Odds are that you’re meeting with dozens of people. Being able to quickly refresh your memory and speak on some of their passions and goals the next time you see them is critical to showing the client that you value them.

    While your brokerage may host client appreciation events, it’s important to not solely rely on these to sustain your working relationships. Oftentimes, existing clients will not be able to make it to these events. If they do, and there are many people in attendance, they may not get the valuable face time that both of you wish to have. Take the time to set up coffee chats that work around clients’ schedules. Make the most of the time they give you. Consider what information and topics of conversation would bring your client value, such as market trends or home valuation estimates. Be sure to plan and set a goal for how often you want to engage with each client. Maybe you anticipate contacting certain clients once per quarter and other ones once every six months. You can easily schedule follow-ups in your CRM and receive reminders so that you’re taking the guesswork out of your outreach.

    3. Closing Gifts that Remind Them of You

    While closing gifts are not a requirement, they are standard within the industry. Oftentimes real estate agents will give their clients food or wine baskets, gift certificates, or flowers. These are all incredibly kind gestures, but once they’re used, they’re out of sight and out of mind. When you’re working with clients, make sure to ask them personal questions and really get to know them. It never hurts to develop a deeper relationship with clients because the hope is that this relationship continues to flourish. Showing clients that you care about getting to know them deeper than surface level will make their homebuying process feel less transactional and much more personal.

    As you’re getting to know clients, take note of some of the things that pique their interest, and when you give them a closing gift, give them something that they’ll love and will use all the time. This way, your gift keeps on giving for both of you; it’ll spark the positive memory of working with you and continue to bring them value or joy. For example, a client loves wine, and while a nice bottle of wine would be greatly appreciated, maybe consider giving that client engraved wine glasses with the date of their closing.

    4. Accomplish More with geniuspricePro

    Think about what you can offer existing clients that will distinguish you from your competition while simultaneously bringing value to the transaction. Your time is limited, and you want to be sure to make a lasting impression. What if you could cut down the time it takes to get a price estimate accurately on a client’s home?

    GeniuspricePro, provided by homegenius Real Estate, utilizes homegeniusIQ, an artificial intelligence and photo analysis technology to inform a property’s value estimate. A process that traditionally takes upwards of 40 minutes can now be performed with just a few simple clicks. When you utilize geniuspricePro, you can take the time saved on your valuation estimates and put it towards working with clients so that you can better prepare for an open house, have more time to answer questions, and continue to foster relationships. These time savings will also allow you to focus on growing your business and closing more deals.

    Stay Focused This Spring Season

    There’s a lot to consider heading into the spring market. Taking the time to figure out your goals, cutting them into small actionable steps, and ensuring that you are equipped with the proper tools will set you up for success. If you would like more information on how geniuspricePro can help you exceed your client’s expectations and set you apart as the local market expert, please contact us.


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