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Success starts with understanding what’s going on and trusting that you can provide your customers with the information they need to make the best decisions for themselves. David Childers, CEO of Keeping Current Matters, shares action steps and talking points to help you reset your mindset for success.
Childers began by saying, “Mindset is probably the biggest battle agents face right now. [with] everything comes from [National Association of Realtors] Settlement and the question of what will happen once the changes are expected to come into effect.
“That begs the question, who are you listening to? Are you listening to the media, to the people who are scared, or are you paying attention to the facts? Because when you start looking at the facts, they tell a different story than what is often told Words vary. Who you listen to determines your mindset and the actions you take, so be careful who you listen to.
How to change your mindset
Childers said the first step in developing a winning mindset is forming a relevant market view based on facts. “The question is going to arise,” Childs said. “Are prices going to go down?” What are your thoughts on mortgage rates? What do you think will happen in the next six months?
You will answer these questions in one of two ways. The first is “I don’t know,” or “We’ll have to wait and see.” The second question is, “Can I share with you what I have discovered and what I believe is going on?” When you come to a relevant view of the market based on facts, it is no longer your view versus theirs. Opposing questions. It’s their opinion versus the facts.
He advises agents to use data to provide potential clients with the best possible information. He divided FAQs into three categories, including pricing, transaction volume and interest rates.
Optimistic pricing forecast
Childers said all agents should be aware of current pricing trends. “While local prices may differ from the national average, the seven forecasters we follow at Keep Current Matters expect national average appreciation this year to be around 2.5%. But those forecasts range from flat to a 5% appreciation.
When setting prices, agents need to understand national and local data. Forming an opinion based on local pricing trends is critical to an agent’s success, but when a potential buyer or seller turns on the TV at night, they’re being educated on a national level.
So this is what you want to say: “You may have heard about what’s happening with home prices at the national level, but let me also share with you what we’re seeing at the local level. When the time comes, share this slideshow of country data along with your local print data.
Being able to demonstrate how steady price appreciation can build equity is another way for agents to be educators and provide buyers with a professional perspective. This chart shows expected home price performance over the next five years from the Fannie Mae Home Price Expectations Survey.
While showing these percentages can be helpful, it can be more valuable to visually show what these projections mean for home equity. The next slide shows potential equity growth over the next five years based on the purchase of a $400,000 home in January 2024 and the price appreciation predicted by the House Price Expectations Survey.
An agent is able to provide a fact-based opinion on pricing, which is exactly what potential buyers need in today’s environment.
Transaction volume forecast is encouraging
The next area we discuss is the 2024 home sales forecast. This is going to be a year full of deals; the question is how much market share are you going to capture?
We are in a demand-based rate environment
When asked about mortgage rates and their impact on transaction volumes, Childers said: “The current market is a demand-based rate environment. We believe 6.5% is the dividing line between limited to weak demand and good to strong demand.
Most consumers realize that it is highly unlikely that we will see a situation where interest rates on 30-year mortgages were 3% two years ago, so we take a number of factors into account to evaluate what the future holds.
We are paying attention to economists’ views on the 10-year Treasury bond rate and the timing of the Fed’s expected cut in the federal funds rate.
According to economists, we expect a better interest rate environment in the second half of the year. Most forecasts show improvement, with rates expected to be in the 6% range by the end of the year, and possibly even in the 6.5% range.
Based on sharing this information with potential buyers, they will often say, “Great, then we’ll just wait for the price to come down.” But that’s what other people are saying as well. This can lead to higher prices and increased competition to purchase the homes that are available for sale at the time.
“Based on this, buyers may be wise to purchase the home now rather than wait for expected interest rate drops and increased competition for the limited number of homes for sale.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same
“In our world, everything has changed and nothing has changed. The NAR settlement and the circumstances that affect the way we do business have changed. But relative to our need to be educators, nothing has changed. Relative If anything, the value of being an educator has increased over the past few months and over the last year. So our job is to be active in the local market and share the facts rather than other people’s opinions,” Childers said.
“When questions arise about the market, our ability to share exactly what’s going on will be an important factor. Now people want to know: Do you know what’s going on? It also takes the pressure off us because we don’t have to convince them to do it. Anything. We just give them the best information possible so they can make the best decision for themselves and their families.
Jimmy Burgess is CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties in Northwest Florida. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
