We previously reviewed in Part 1 the similarities between agents who show too many houses to buyers and a hungry person ordering food from a wide selection of dishes at a restaurant. When there are too many choices available, people have a natural tendency to not make a decision and to avoid it altogether. To prevent that from happening, in part 2 of this article, I’ll go into how agents need to strike a balance between giving the buyers houses to choose from and not showing too many that it makes the decision too difficult to make.
So,
1) How MANY homes do you show?
2) How OFTEN do you show them to your buyers?
I would say that of agents I’ve spoken with in the last few months, most show about 5 homes each time they go out with their buyers and altogether, they show an average of 20-25 homes before their buyers decide upon a home to purchase. When making the choice of how many homes are appropriate, you need to tailor it according to the type of buyer you’re working with. Buyers that come in from out of the area may need to see areas before they see homes, whereas the local buyer knows where they want to live and needs to see specific homes in the area.
Some ideas that you can use in your next showing are the following. Select the best six from the homes that match the desired criteria. Show the best one first. That becomes the "house to beat." As you show the others which are not as good, the buyers get a good comparison of the homes which then makes the winning home more clear cut to them.
A different way of going about this is to select a maximum of five homes that really match the criteria, one that is close but "out of the box" and one that is so far away from their wants they quickly say "no way." That tells you that the buyers know what they want - that they they are focused on what they want and will not waste time considering everything under the sun.
When working with buyers who want to see everything on the market, another method to handle the showings is to invite them for a buyer’s consultation or orientation where you explain the entire house-buying process in a buyer’s packet that you create so they know exactly what to expect. They can specify the characteristics/features they most desire in their dream home. From the information in this form, you pull up available listings on the MLS that match the desired features. You review these with the buyer—checking out the interior pictures, going through the details of the property, and selecting the ones that meet their needs. The buyers can then start with the list of homes and run by them on their own to get an idea of what elements they most prefer.
Since location is such an important aspect of home buying, this is an easy way to weed out the ones that they won't consider based on location. Think of it, how many times have you pulled into a driveway and they say before setting foot out of the car, "We don't like this one." The buyers can get a gut feeling about the neighborhood and exterior of the home and will know their emotions about the building. For the homes that the buyers are most interested in, you would then schedule in showing appointments and drive them to those select homes. It is a good point to suggest to clients that they drive neighborhoods before scheduling an appointment to view. However, keep in mind that some buyers will be offended by the idea of having to preview homes by themselves.
A good rule to follow is to have three showing sessions with the buyers showing a total of 12-15 homes. If the buyer has not made a decision by that time, it’s best to sit down and reevaluate what the buyers want and to determine how far away from the ideal you currently are at with the buyers.
Every once in a while, you may meet up with the buyers who can’t seem to make up their mind, so you may need to use the “one house at a time� game plan in order to get them to focus and to buy. By limiting the homes they see and compare, it may make it easier for them to make a decision. In the really extreme cases, you can always refer them to another agent and collect a referral fee. Then you can go on to a more serious buyer.