Professional Real Estate Agents : At ‘a’ Time of Uncertainty
The truth about the Real Estate Market right now
What will happen to the economy? Will everything go back to normal? Will my real estate business be affected by this pandemic? How long will it take to get back on my feet? Will I be in real estate, say, one year from now?
All these are great questions. Do you have an answer to any of them? I certainly don’t. I like to search for answers and most of the time I find them. Right now I can’t find an answer to those questions, and these uncertain times are putting my professional endeavor in a pickle.
Yes, nobody has all the answers in these unsettling times. So, I decided to focus on what I can do. Recently I was listening to an Instagram live ‘StreamCast’ where Rainn Wilson (yes, Schrute from the TV Show “The Office”) and Jenna Fischer (Pam from the same show), were addressing different topics. Jenna mentioned a chart Rainn had sent her to help her define what are the things “I can control” and what are those “I can’t control.” It was a brief few seconds of their interaction, but it helped me clear some things up, so read on!
In the time of this pandemic there are many things we can’t control, but there are SO MANY we can. When we define those, we can continue building, progressing and succeeding.
I have decided to return to Real Estate after a 3 year absence because I was living outside the country. As I am ‘gearing up’ to continue developing my business I land right in the middle of a pandemic. When I arrived in the United States I was actually taking a breather from a 3-week quarantine back in China. Back on the mainland, I did my social distancing thing for a few weeks and fell right into another quarantine. I can’t remember how long I’ve been secluded at home, (20 days? 30? I really don’t know anymore). The point is, I now have to look forward to new beginnings and focus on the things I CAN CONTROL.
REALITY
What does the market look like during the pandemic? I was dreading to answer this question. I haven’t panicked and I am not stressed, to be honest, but I have to decide where to I take it from here. So let’s look at some hard cold facts.
At the time of this writing on April 25, 2020, there are 397 NEW active residential listings during the past 30 days in a 10 mile radius from my location. During the same period 515 residential sales went into pending status in that same area. Those are good numbers.
So what else can I look at? The numbers on sold residential properties are difficult to use in forecasting the foreseeable future real estate businesses because these are contracts entered during “normal” times, but there have been 617 in that same radius the past 30 days.
My vision broadened. These are the numbers right smack in the middle of a pandemic and “Stay at Home” restrictions. The good news is: ONE OF THESE COULD BE your listing! There is a great possibility of getting this off the ground.
Perspective. Now, let’s compare the number of TOTAL active listings, not only the new ones, during two periods: normal times and pandemic month. In the month of November 2019, that is, a few months back during normal times in the same geographical radius, there were 2,615 active listings. In March 2020 there were 2,316. Now, to me, those look like great numbers!
But let’s be real! The bad news is, there were 125 residential sales contracts which cancelled in the past 30 days in that same geographical area, and 20 more withdrew conditional. There were also 79 residential listings which went “temporarily off market.” To put these cancellations in perspective, however, 181 contracts cancelled the 60 days before that, that is, between January 25 and March 25.
Why do I bring the figures up? Because I was NOT EXPECTING to see so many new listings during a pandemic! I have been pleasantly surprised to see life goes on for many of us and we are all trying to figure things on along the way. I can take advantage of the time and energy I have available now, and so should you. Here’s the next step:
Define what I CAN CONTROL:
Work with your Sphere of Influence
You can control the number of people you contact from my sphere of influence. Once you decide on who and how many here are a couple of ideas as to how to contact them:
- Virtual networking: write blogs or articles online or to send in an electronic newsletter. Send brief notes to friends, colleagues and clients via instagram, facebook, or email.
- Make a good old fashioned phone call.
- If you’re for it, expand this and make some cold calls.
Work on Farming
You can control the work you do. Farming is part of your marketing strategy and one of the most traditional ways in which real estate agents promote themselves. If you need to learn in depth how to do some farming this is a good place to start: https://medium.com/@DRamseyMOD/be-your-areas-1-go-to-agent-with-real-estate-farming-230c8eafff59.
If you know how to farm already, prepare and order cards and mail them to your farming area. If you don’t have a farming area you can easily pick a neighborhood or mailing list based on the areas or demographics you like to work with. You can prepare these lists with the tools you have in your MLS which provide tax roll and parcel data. The post office is open and will be very happy with your support by sending mail.
Take some Classes!
There are plenty of workshops and classes online. Your local Realtor Association may be hosting plenty of virtual workshops or classes, the MLS has virtual classes and university where you can brush up on your skills.
Perk up your listings!
If you have listings during the #STAY AT HOME restrictions, things have changed. Many sellers will most likely opt out of receiving buyers in their home. But not all is lost! You can create virtual tours and have Virtual Open Houses, public and private. These “live” open houses, will stream-cast on your regional MLS as well as realtor.com. And, remember to follow your MLSs guidelines on virtual tours regarding what is allowed and forbidden for photography and videos used in the virtual tours.
Get Organized
I CAN organize my time to perform. Make an agenda every day. Being in quarantine and staying at home may make us a bit complacent. Create an agenda where you include time for meditation (if that is your thing), time for productivity (classes, contacting friends and clients, writing), “Me Time” (reading, playing games, watching TV or movies) and time for your family. Yes, that time you will use for washing the dishes can also be put into your agenda. Why not?!
Do some Research
Research is very helpful to a real estate agent. It can tell you how your market is performing and what you should focus on. My initial research brought me to writing this article.
For example, you can research the values of real estate in the neighborhood you are farming, how many homes sold within the past 6 months? what was the average days on the market for those listings? With the information you find, you can decide to write a blog or find some small quips to put on social media or send to your friends, acquaintances and clients about the market or your services. You can also research before you prepare a client or business newsletter, if that’s what you like. If you have a website, you will need new information and topics to keep it fresh. Research takes time and we neglect it. It can be a great asset for your promotional work and to keep you and your clients informed on topics they won’t easily find in normal media outlets.
Define what I CAN’T CONTROL:
Remember those first questions I asked? THOSE things you can’t control.
You can’t control who doesn’t stay at home. You can’t control the economy. You can’t control who loses his or her job. You can’t control when things will be normal again. When you define what you can’t control it helps you decrease stress and understand the process you are living in right now.
How long will it take to get back on my feet?
You may not know the answer to this question, but YOU CAN CONTROL many aspects of your personal and professional life which will make this time longer or shorter, so start TODAY.
Will my real estate business be affected by this pandemic?
It probably will be affected. We need to understand all of our lives will be affected and we’re all in this together. But, you CAN CONTROL a lot of the outcome by performing, by executing the activities you CAN CONTROL and nurturing yourself with positive energy and thinking. Other things you can control are eating well and exercising (a hard one for me).
Will I be in real estate, say, one year from now?
That is a question you may not be able to answer either, unless you have already decided to quit. But, I can assure you, apply the answer to the previous question and perhaps you and I will meet next year on the roads, open houses, broker’s opens, caravans, closings or workshops.
LOOKING AHEAD…we can’t control what will happen during the next few weeks or months, but we can CONTROL our outlook in the next few months. Stay active, stay positive, stay in touch.
Ann Hoff Fanaian is a licensed Real Estate Agent in the state of Florida in active status. She got her license in 2006. She has worked in helping clients sell or purchase residential property in the Central Florida area. She also has vast experience valuing homes in this market, producing thousands of Broker’s Price Opinions for many businesses and clients.
