These past few weeks have been extraordinary. The market in the Coachella Valley is in overdrive as pent-up demand from buyers has been unleashed; many are jumping into the market to take advantage of low interest rates. The Jelmberg Team has put 37 transactions in escrow in the last 43 days alone!
We’ll see in the coming weeks how the governor’s new restrictions affect buyers’ mindsets, but the high demand we have experienced over the last month and a half, along with the valley’s low inventory, puts us in the middle of a pretty strong seller’s market. Today I am going to share the top misconceptions we have faced from sellers in today’s market and how we overcome them.
The term “seller’s market” is not used as often for the desert real estate market as it is for places like Orange County or Seattle. Unless a seller is at the right price point in Palm Springs, La Quinta, Indio, Cat City, DHS or Coachella right now (all markets with less than 3.5 months of sales), getting three above-asking-price offers like you may see in the coastal markets probably isn’t a reality. Being prepared with hyperlocal market data to dispel or confirm these hopes and setting the right expectation for a potential seller are the first orders of business once the price is discussed at a listing presentation. This includes communicating a clear plan for any out-of-pocket expenses to cover repairs or staging that will maximize your clients’ proceeds.
The other common misconceptions a seller can bring to a listing presentation revolve around the value of an agent and our commission in a seller’s market. Now more than ever, we have to make the value we bring to our potential clients very clear. That involves showing them that by partnering with us, they will be able to safely sell their home for the highest price faster and with less hassle.
One way we do this is to have a personalized and detailed marketing plan. A listing’s exposure to the right buyers is key for a seller to maximize their sales price. Our agents employ the highly effective Jelmberg Advantage—a specific and comprehensive plan leveraging the Jelmberg Team’s 20 years of national marketing experience to drive traffic to our listings via digital, print, and social media strategies. The plan includes 360° virtual tours through Matterport, which provides agents inside and outside our office the opportunity to have their clients preview our listings virtually anywhere in the world. Our listings are also shared with our agents’ best-fit clients from our database of over 20,000.
Another way to show your value is to explain to your potential seller how you will get them from contract to close virtually, safely, and with less hassle. We have an in-house contracts manager, listing coordinator, and marketing department focused solely on their respective expertise who have been through well over 1,000 transactions together. They work with our agents and their clients to get them from the signed purchase or listing agreement to close efficiently, and with a proactive approach that handles potential issues before they become a problem. We can do all of this almost exclusively virtually if needed. This allows a level of service for our clients that is unmatched while saving our agents a minimum of 20 to 40 hours per transaction that they can use to show a property, negotiate, and write deals.
Commission discounting will likely consistently be an issue for you if you aren’t able to show a seller that your value far exceeds “just sticking a sign in the yard and letting the market take care of the rest.”
Reach out if you have any questions or are curious about the myriad of services we provide our agents. We’d love to help you.
