When it comes to getting a leg up in today’s market, it’s no surprise that real estate agents overwhelmingly said that researching the market and continually connecting with her sphere of influence are key. “Staying top of mind with my sphere of influence and past clients through events and regular communication brings me more business than I could ever generate on my own,” says Troy Williams, an agent with Williams Realty Partners/Keller Williams Coastal Realty in Maine.
Asked in the Q2 2023 RealTrends AgentPulse survey which marketing activity earns the highest return on investment, about 90% of respondents mentioned continual connection with their sphere of influence.
As for keeping in touch with past clients, “I host an annual fall festival, drop by Girl Scout cookies, pies at Thanksgiving, sweet treats in the spring and See’s candies at Christmas,” said Karen Goddard with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Troth Realtors in California. “I love visiting my clients, seeing the changes they’ve made to their homes and dropping by gifts throughout the year,” she added.
A close second was paid lead generation through Zillow and social media, specifically Facebook.
New agent success tips
RealTrends also asked the question: What did you do at the beginning of your real estate career that set you up for success. “Know the market, learn the inventory and establish a local presence,” said Richard Walsh with William Raveis Real Estate in Massachusetts. He was not alone in that suggestion. Some 40% of respondents said the same. Other suggestions:
- Work as an assistant to a top producing agent
- Constantly email and door knock
- Send a monthly newsletter
- Making at least 10 prospecting calls a day
- Attend a coaching or training conference such as Buffini Training or Tom Ferry’s workshops.
- Volunteer to do other agent’s open houses and floor time.
- Call every FSBO and expired listing.
RealTrends AgentPulse requests quarterly surveys from some 19,000+ real estate agents around the nation on market trends, opportunities and challenges. Of the 254 completed surveys, 19.2% were from the Northeast, 30% were from the Southeast, 20% from the Southwest, 22% from the Midwest, and 9% from the Northwest.
Educating buyers and sellers on the current market and building relationships are key today. Real estate professionals were not as optimistic about Q2 2023 compared to Q1 2023. Some 44% of agents surveyed were optimistic about the market (down slightly from 46% in Q1 2023). Some 42% were neutral and 14% were pessimistic about the next three months of housing sales.
However, some 43% of respondents think home sales will be up this quarter, 40% said they will be flat and 19% said they would be down. Some 45% said that home prices in their market will be flat in the next three months, and 45% said that they expect interest rates to rise in the second quarter.
Low inventory is the No. 1 challenge
When asked what their biggest challenges are, some 46% said that low inventory was No. 1, followed by getting listings and business planning.
Rounding out the top five are finding leads and connecting with sphere.
Today’s market requires agents to learn new techniques, consistently prospect and find innovative ways to get buyers off the fence and sellers to list.
RealTrends AgentPulse is a forward-looking survey of real estate agents and team leaders.
If you have questions about AgentPulse or want to be added to the list, email RealTrends Editorial Director Tracey Velt at tracey@hwmedia.com.