Every November, the summer buying and selling frenzy slows down. Financial planning for real estate slow seasons can increase your profits for next year. Here are some tips to stay on top during those slow months.
Just like any successful business, a marketing plan sets forth specific actions you will carry out with potential clients in order to convince them to list, buy, or rent real properties with you. Experts consider a marketing plan as a marketing “strategy” laying out goals and how to achieve them.
Before you can begin to develop a marketing strategy and plan, you must conduct market research. This requires monitoring the real estate industry, including new trends and looking at your competition to see how you can gain a competitive advantage over them. In addition, market research involves following the types of advertising your competition conducts, along with their social media engagements.
Questions you should ask yourself in order to develop a marketing plan include:
After you answer those questions, create a Contact Calendar to map out when and how you will contact your sphere. Google Calendar offers a free calendar for events and reaching out to contacts.
Take marketing classes, attend real estate industry conferences like the Inman Connect and the NAR Convention. If your budget doesn't allow travel to out-of-state conferences, look for local conferences offering marketing and new trends seminars.
If you don't have time to attend classes or seminars, do online research of new industry trends and real estate marketing tips.
And in the meantime, you can order our Mobile Real Estate Marketer.
Multiply the number of leads you generate by giving prospects more ways to get information on your listings and respond to your marketing campaigns. It includes:
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NAR’s Realtor Magazine has an article describing the leading low-cost financial tools for real estate agents, titled “Financial Planning: Products on the Market.” It describes 12 leading products, along with prices and links to websites where you can purchase them. This list includes: Quicken and Quickbooks, Xero, NolaPro, and Expensify for accounting. Also includes financial management tools like: RealtyZam, Billy, Brokermint, Emphasys Back Office, and brokerWolf.
As a real estate agent, you are treated as a business owner for practical and tax purposes. One real estate industry expert estimates that over 80% of all real estate agents do not have a financial plan. The slow months are the perfect time to review your finances and create a plan. Here are some questions you should ask yourself:
While it would take too much space to help you to answer these questions here, you should take the time to research and consult with experts to answer every one of them for a more profitable year.
Real estate markets vary by seasons. Each location has its own seasonal peculiarities. Depending upon where you live, different regions may have a cooling real estate market. Housing supply and demand may depend on the weather. According to Investopedia, a seasonal discount for a home’s listing may be lowered by as much as 10%.
Besides the cold weather, real estate prices may be affected by the school year or holiday seasons. Sellers and buyers with children typically do not want to move their families during the school year. They prefer to wait until the school year ends so they have more free time to move and settle in before another school year begins. Studies show that the busiest moving times occur during the summer months, with June being very busy and July 31st as the single busiest day.
You will also find that people do not like moving during the holiday season, between November and January. Investopedia points out that during this time, people try to avoid moving because of family obligations and end-of-year deadlines, coupled with cold and/or wet weather and the financial strain of the holidays.
On the other hand, buyers looking during the slow season are very serious about purchasing. Otherwise, they wouln't be going out in cold and wet weather to view homes.
Seasonal patterns affect real estate housing supply and demand. Less competition from buyers not wanting to move, coupled with sellers who have to sell due to unforeseen circumstances (new job location, inability to pay bills, threat of foreclosure, etc.) gives home buyers an advantage. These circumstances create the perfect climate for negotiating lower prices and better terms.
As a real estate agent, you have the knowledge and tools to determine the market metrics for your area. You can monitor every month in your real estate market to determine average sales prices
You have the ability to identify significant lows and peaks where housing price drops occur. This knowledge allows you to approach home buyers to advise them on the best times to make lower-than-listed. It’s all about supply and demand.
Your buyers may be able to save 10% or more by buying when no one else is.
