Special Survey Preview
Now in their 10th year, the Property Academy’s 2017 Home Moving Trends and Landlord & Tenant surveys have had over 15,000 responses thanks to support from EAs across the country.
The full results will be published at the EA Masters on 22nd September but I’m going to give you a special preview of three key pieces of data and some insights and ideas for you to consider.
For those respondents who are currently selling a property it’s interesting to note that 25% are selling for the first time and 14% for the second – over a third therefore are inexperienced sellers – and yet how many of you have sections on your web site that specifically offers help to this significant group? I’ve looked at hundreds of estate agents sites in the last few months as we’ve created the Best Estate Agent Guide and only a handful of you have a prominent tab on the home page offering advice to first time sellers. One idea is to have a “Selling for the First Time Guide” which should be easily downloadable and this could be a traffic generator for you if properly optimised for search and promoted via social media.
Exactly 2/3 of sellers, 66%, didn’t visit their EA’s office prior to putting their property on the market. It’s the same for landlords – just over a third, 37%, visited their EA’s office. This doesn’t necessarily make your office redundant but it does beg the question, are you getting as much from it as you could? If you have a good looking office then make use of it, make it work for you. Invite prospects to visit you rather than just always offering to go to them. I really like the idea many Australian EAs use, of a “set up to sell/let meeting” where after the market appraisal they invite the client into the office to discuss the marketing, etc. and use this opportunity to make sure the property is correctly positioned into the market at the right price.
1 in 4 sellers who had sold said they’d experienced problems with their chain, and this supports the research carried out by Rightmove earlier this year. But, just 68% of all respondents said they thought their EA was Excellent or Good at progressing the sale and 15% said they were Poor or Very Poor. You need to make the invisible visible and highlight the likelihood of issues occurring and your record and ability to deal with them.
We’ve got many more insights to share on the 22nd September at the EA Masters – if you haven’t bought your tickets yet then can I suggest you do so now as the event will soon be sold out – full information here.
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