My father has made a habit of catching me off-guard with mind bogglingly open-ended questions. To which no answer i have ever given has been totally correct. Today was no different. As i was enjoying my morning coffee at my desk the question came. "Corey", he said, "what gets a homebuyer excited?". Ah-ha. I had him. In his old age he had slipped up and asked me a question to which i already knew the answer. In fact, we have spent days discussing this very question. How could he have forgotten? With all the confidence in the world I answered, "opportunity, dad". In the 26 previous years of my life, this might have sufficed. But today, this was not the case.
40 minutes later i had the true answer...the "Greg approved" answer. It's not necessarily opportunity that excites buyers, rather the perception of opportunity. And only those agents, systems, websites or real estate tools that can create real or perceived opportunity will be effective in accomplishing real estate transactions.
So here, today, i will humbly attempt to write a summation of his thoughts.
Let's start with the obvious. Price. A well priced home creates an obvious opportunity for any buyer: instant equity. But is that real opportunity? Actually, No. That equity cannot be realized until the home is re-sold, thus there is no guaranteed opportunity. Rather, the home's price in relation to the market created the perception of opportunity.
How about days on market? If there is one thing I have learned, it's that you will never have more interest in your home than in the first 15 days it's placed on the market. For buyers, that's prime opportunity time. They're feeling as though they are seeing something others have not had the chance to see, and that maybe they can snag it from someone who, if given the chance, would buy it instantly. Simple psychology has taught us that new is often good. But, something new, rare and wanted by the masses is even better. The real opportunity is in finding the home of your dreams and buying it before someone else does. However, it's limited time on the market has created the perception that an opportunity exists to buy something others would want if given the chance to see it.
I don't doubt that you have seen ads for homes that promise an incredibly low mortgage payment. In fact, the payment is often posted on the ad. Opportunity or Perception? One could argue that since that payment suddenly makes the home financially manageable, they're being given a real opportunity. They would be right. But that reduced payment wasn't the product of a reduced price. In fact, in 30 years they will have payed more for the house than a more qualified buyer would have. The perceived opportunity is affordability.
A staged home? Look at the statistics. A well staged home is more likely to sell, and more likely to sell faster. Why? It's going to look the same whether empty now or empty when the furniture is out. It's because the perceived opportunity is buying a more beautiful home.
So for the endlessly tired and hardworking agents out there...read and learn. It's not necessarily real opportunity that will sell that home, but the perception of opportunity. So forge on my whithered brothers and sisters, and get a little creative. Your buyer is out there, they just have to be convinced they're your buyer.
And in all fairness to you ever-so-prudent buyers out there...while sellers and agents work to create positive perception, please beware of looming deception.
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