In My Opinion
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Change and Trust
By Gary Taylor, CRB, GRI, CDPE, Summa Professionals Real Estate Group
As we have seen in the past few months, the one thing for sure in the real estate sales game is that it
will change. We went pretty quickly from having tons of inventory and few buyers, to having tons of
buyers and nothing for them to buy. Managers went from sales meetings about how to find buyers to
how to deal with multiple offers. As of this writing, we are starting to see interest rates rise. Changes
always seem to be with us.
I am an addict of automobile shows on TV. One of my favorite is “Wheeler Dealers” where the star,
Mike, buys a car fixes it up, and flips it. He is a master negotiator. He now has a new show where he
goes to a country and buys an entry level car and flips it to a more expensive one, hoping eventually to
end up with a “supercar.” Last week he was in India where he met the biggest car dealer in Calcutta.
Even Mike was impressed with the guy because he keeps in contact with thousands of previous buyers.
The dealer said it was because in India, people want to deal with someone they trust, and his constant
contact with former clients helps foster that trust. I wonder if he has taken one of Brian Buffini’s
courses.
Most of us in real estate knew a year ago, when prices were low, inventory high and interest rates were
at an all-time low, it was a perfect time to buy. My guess is those agents who have clientele who trust
them were able to get some pretty good deals for those people. But, many buyers who did not have
trust in an agent were unable to pull away from the herd mentality that seems to rule the real estate
market. In other words, buyers and sellers seem to do what everyone else is doing, regardless of
whether that is the right thing to do at the time.
Let’s look at interest rates. If they continue to rise to, say 6%, the herd will probably back off of the
current buying frenzy, because rates are “too high.” Most of you reading this probably can’t remember
the days when we, Realtors®, were saying that if interest rates ever got back down to 12% we would be
in heaven. I would have bet the farm (if I had one) that we would never again see single digit rates.
Those agents who have a large group of clients trusting them will be able to get their clients to moving
in what could very likely be a situation where the herd decides to back off. Those clients will have a lot
of houses to choose from.
The difference here is trust. Trust is a hard thing to earn, but the process is pretty easy – stay in contact
and give people good information, but, must importantly, make them feel good about themselves.
Where have we heard this before? Write personal notes. Make phone calls. Pop by with little trinkets
as gifts.
PMAR eNews; July 2013
On another note, I find it very interesting that in my neighborhood now when I see a real estate sign go
up, it is sometimes weeks now before I can find the listing in RMLS™. Maybe listing agents are just too
busy. It couldn’t possibly be that in this seller’s market they are looking for that extra bit of commission.
Also, I get several e-mails a day from agents promoting new listings, and, judging by these promotions,
the average price of a home must be around $600,000 now. Not that many e-flyers for the $300,000
range. Are agents basing their marketing on the amount of commission they will receive, the
expectations of the owners, or what will benefit the seller? I am certainly getting cynical in my old age.
I seem to think that the seller of a $300,000 home has just has great a need to sell as one whose home is
worth twice that.
Maybe my rant above does have to do with trust. If we are to have our clients trust us, how can they do
that if we don’t expose their home for sale as much just because it may be in a lower price range?
Those agents who are truly working hard for each and every client may just have an easier time getting
their client base to trust them.
I also watched a TV show the other day featuring Caesar Milan, the “Dog Whisperer,” in which he talked
about the concept that an owner who approaches a dog with nervousness and apprehension will likely
cause the dog to be aggressive as a result of the dog’s nervousness about the owner who is nervous.
Caesar noted that if we went to a doctor who was nervous and exhibited anxiety that we would
probably react by being nervous and anxious as well. That would certainly hold true for me. That
principle seems to translate very well into the world of real estate. If our clients see an agent who is
self-confident and cares sincerely about their needs, the clients will have trust in us.
So, what have we learned today? I watch entirely too much TV.
Gary Taylor, CRB, GRI, CDPE is a Principal Broker with Summa Professionals Real Estate Group. He is a freelance
writer for ProSchools and a real estate instructor of record in ten states. He is a Past Chairman of the Regional
Multiple Listing Service. He was awarded the PMAR Realtor® of the Year for 2007, the Million Dollar Club’s
“Managing Broker of the Year” for 2006, the Oregon CRB of the Year in 1996, and WCR Member of the Year in
2001. He was also a Notary Public in 1974. He can be reached at [email protected].
PMAR eNews; July 2013