It’s a question you hear a lot as a real estate agent: “How’s the market?” Seems a simple enough question. The tricky part is that the best answer to this question really depends on who’s asking.
People look to real estate professionals to help them understand what’s really going on and what it means for them. Buyers, for example, are more interested in whether it’s a good time to buy and what they can expect in terms of inventory, home prices, and mortgage rates.
Investors have similar concerns, but depending on whether they want to flip homes or rent them out, they’ll want to know the best way, in today’s market, to make the most of their investment.
Sellers are more interested in whether today’s housing market is favorable to homeowners looking to sell—as well as what they can expect when they need to buy their next home.
To get better at answering this question, I role-play an elevator pitch with my team.
Here are a couple of scripts you can use, depending on who’s asking.
Buyer: “How’s the market?”
You: That’s a good question, but it really depends on who’s asking; buyer, seller, investor, what are you thinking?
Buyer: I’m thinking about buying a house
You: That’s great, [Name]. I’m going to be honest with you, buying a house right now isn’t cheap. Interest rates have made it expensive, but for my buyers that are out there shopping, they are getting things like closing costs covered and concessions. You would have never seen that during Covid.
If you were to buy, what city were you thinking…
Seller: “How’s the market?”
You: It’s a good question, but it really depends on who’s asking; buyer, seller, investor, what are you thinking?
Seller: I’m thinking about selling my house
You: That’s great, [Name]. It really comes down to supply and demand. Even with interest rates where they are today, there are so few homes available that when priced right, houses on the market are still getting multiple offers with lines out the door at the open house.
If you were to sell, Where would you go?…
Investors
We haven’t forgotten about investors. But depending on their use for the property, their interests will align with the buyer’s and, if they’re planning to flip the home, the seller’s, too.
Play to their major concern, which is how they can get the most value from purchasing an investment property—including how much they can afford to invest in renovations or repairs or whether they can expect to earn enough in rental income to cover their costs.
If you decide to give this a try, send me a DM—I’d love to hear how it works out! And for more agent scripts and tips from me every week, sign up for my Super Secret Agent Email.
