Who Moved the Cheese?

Mice in a maze learn to look for cheese in the same spot. They are trained to efficiently look for their food in the same place as before, and the longer they’ve been in the maze, the faster they find their food. Reward! This is not unlike real estate agents. We repeat the patterns that we’ve learned reward us.

Agents often think the market we are in will stay like this forever. But the market is always changing and the strategies you use to look for opportunities must change with it. When the market changes, they continue to use old techniques and wonder why their business significantly drops.

Agents are notoriously slow to adjust to changes and in the process, they inflict more pain on themselves than necessary.

We’ve had several great years in real estate with low inventory, houses selling quickly, and seller agents dictating the conversations. Indicators are that the market may shift in 2020 and return to a more balanced market. What does mean? There are typically fewer buyers in the market, house prices will start to decrease or at least level out, days on the market will increase and in negotiations, everyone must be more thoughtful. Listing agents who carry a lot of inventory must be careful with their finances. If properties take longer to sell, they will spend more on marketing and it will be longer between pay days.

Remember, the real estate market is fluid and outside influences will always play a part (e.g. employment rates, interest rates, foreign trade deals, elections, new technology).

The question is, are you prepared to change your strategies to adjust to a changing market?

How often are you checking inventory levels to predict if a shift is happening in your local market? The agents who spot changes early are the ones who reap the benefits. Years ago, we could sense a shift in the real estate market by how busy our phones were. Very unsophisticated I admit, but it worked. Today. you have access to real-time data to predict when a shift is coming.

We can’t control the market, but we control how we react. As the market changes, you must change where you look for business. Be prepared to take a much more aggressive approach to prospecting this year. Go back to basics and think about real estate as a contact sport…give your prospects and clients more face time to keep them close. The holiday season is upon us. This is a great time of year to reconnect with all your friends, family and past clients to remind them you’re in the business. Don’t just send an email. Pop by to say hello.

Change is only painful when we are slow to react.

When we don’t make decisions, the world makes them for us.

Chris Leader
President
Leader’s Edge Training