Don’t Wait for the Market to Shift: Shift Your Mindset to Sell More Homes.
Just two years ago, a 30-year fixed mortgage’s interest rate was as low as 3% and buyers were battling over houses. On October 18, 2023, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage hit 8%, the highest rate it’s been since mid-2000. And differing from such a short time ago, many buyers are simply walking away from their new home contracts just as they’re about to close.
While contract cancellations have always been part of the real estate cycle, they certainly weren’t affecting as many agents as they are today. Financing issues and appraisal shortfalls happen no matter the interest rate level. In today’s environment, more buyers are realizing late in the game how much their monthly expenses will be with their new home, and they decide to forego the expenses they’ve incurred before closing and walk away from a 30-year commitment.
But the reality is that there are many cost-saving tools and resources for homeowners to achieve their dream despite higher interest rates.
Time to Get to Work
For real estate professionals who have experienced cancelled closings often during this market or who simply feel their businesses can’t grow, the future may seem bleak. But according to Verl Workman, a change in mindset and personal development can make all the difference.
“In this challenging time, agents need to shift their messaging to clients, positioning themselves as trusted advisors,’ said Workman. “This is a time to expand your vision to advance to higher production levels. Eliminate unproductive habits that are holding you back – you can determine where you are inefficient by tracking all of your daily activities and then cut out those that are holding you back.”
Workman has found that those who take massive action now instead of waiting for conditions to change are thriving. “Agents can establish competitive advantages amid adverse conditions when they’re bold. Work on proactive relationship building, being accountable, emotional intelligence, and self-mastery as methods for gaining market share during this time of uncertainty.”
Ready for THE SHIFT?
Keep More Closings from Canceling
In addition to working on your mindset and being bold, you can also learn a proven method to ensure more deals make it to closing. Workman Success Systems has created a method known as THE SHIFT that helps agents work with their buyers to overcome uncertainties about closing and discover how a home purchase today can be a reality.
THE SHIFT is a proprietary system — including stories, scripts, guides, worksheets, and calculators — that provides the information you need so you can get even the most reluctant buyer to closing. Some of the focus areas of THE SHIFT include:
The River of Real Estate
Named after the mighty Mississippi River to remind agents that new and existing home sales continue to flow no matter the economic environment, this resource focuses on a formula to calculate the number of existing and new home sales that should take place in a specified market area annually.
Interest Rate Offset System
At a time when historically high interest rates are making many potential buyers believe they can’t afford a home, our Interest Rate Offset System shows the homebuying dream can be realized. With this proprietary system, learn how using price reductions and seller concessions can offset high interest rates.
Discount Points Rate Reduction System
To make buying a reality in today’s market, you need to know how to get a seller to contribute toward a buyer’s closing costs. By doing this, the buyer then can use these funds to pay discount points to their lender, which may be just what your client needs to get to closing.
New Construction Advantage System
Many potential home buyers mistakenly believe their only choice is an existing home because new construction is too expensive. But new home builders must keep their revenue flowing and often have a glut of new homes due to deals falling through. This can make new home ownership a dream come true for many of your clients.
