Dealing with real estate buyer stress is probably the least favorite part of a job for most real estate professionals. Yet every agent must know how to overcome these objections successfully in order to close the deal.
Buyers worry not without reason, especially in seller-dominated markets. A recent study from Owners.com found out that 72% of buyers expect stress during a home buying process. Their top concerns are worrying about losing an earnest money deposit (64%), becoming “house poor” (61%) and a growing home price due to the bidding wars (59%).
So how do you persuade your buyers to take action without appearing like you’re being pushy or abandoning their concerns? There are a few tips that will help you calm down your buyers, encourage them to re-think your offer and speed up the sales cycle.
5 tips on handling real estate buyer stress
1. Rely on numbers
It’s quite hard to persuade or reassure buyers if your arguments do not have solid ground. Numbers and stats are perfect to emphasize your point and prove that it makes sense to act as you advise.
Depending on the situation, you may need to present some data on price trends, recently sold homes in the area, etc. Second-home buyers often seem to be more focused on the numbers having already gone through the home buying hassle. But you can use numbers and data with any buyers, of course.
2. Dealing with multiple offers
In a low-inventory market, competition is fierce. So the major reason for real estate buyer stress in this case is fear of missing the new property when it hits the market. It certainly makes sense because in a seller’s market, sellers get multiple offers on the first day they listed their property.
Probably the best thing agents can do is to reassure (and report back to) the buyers that they watch the market closely and reach out to the seller the very first day the property was listed. In other words, you want to show them you’re dynamic and alert.
At the same time, you can keep your buyers posted on the price of a new property and let them know if it’s realistic for them before they commit to anything.
3. Not willing to negotiate or step down
All agents have faced this situation: the property is perfect and the sellers really want it but suddenly get stubborn over a few thousand. All you have to do is to break down the price and their expenses.
For example, if your buyers refuse to pay another $5,000 for a $150,000 property, try to explain what that would mean in terms of their mortgage payments. E.g., if it costs them only $15 more each month, it makes sense to accept the offer.
4. Inspection issues
So you’ve finally got to the point when the perfect property has been found and the offer has been accepted. Now, the time has come for another issue that can amplify real estate buyer stress – the home inspection.
Again, buyers have all the reasons to be concerned. Closer home inspections can reveal problems that can be costly to fix. As an agent, you need to reassure them of a couple of things:
- that a home inspection will be conducted by someone they can trust. That being said, you can recommend an expert;
- that based on a home inspection report, you will re-negotiate the price if big issues have been uncovered. Either the price can be lowered, or the seller commits to fix the issues on their own before closing the deal.
5. Sellers are dragging on with the answer
When your buyers have gone through the pain of making a decision and agreed to your plan, they expect things to unfold quickly. But this is not always the case as sellers may be slow to respond, especially in a seller’s market.
No surprise that real estate buyer stress grows with each day. The best way to keep your buyers optimistic is to update them every regularly, even if there’s still no reply. At the same time, you work behind-the-scenes as an agent to get the seller’s agent get back to you. Plus, it’s always a good idea to set your buyers expectations in advance and warn them that the process might take some time.
What’s next?
There you go – a recap of the most common issues related to real estate buyer stress that you probably struggle with every day. And the best advice for any agent is to stay patient and friendly to actually make the home buying experience for your buyers enjoyable.
