Let’s face it, the ways of buying and selling real estate have changed and evolved greatly over the last two decades. Gone are the days of real estate agents being seen as the keepers of information. It used to be that agents were the inside track on market inventory and the only way for a potential buyer to see a house was to walk through it with their agent. Now with the increasing popularity of real estate search engines like Zillow, Redfin and Trulia homebuyers can do their own research and view high-quality photography and video tours online.
So how does a real estate agent provide value to today’s savvy buyer? By filling the role of project manager. Coaching clients on how to prepare their home for a sale, offering hyperlocal knowledge on individual communities, possessing strong negotiation skills and being well-versed on the many complex processes and disclosures required in a real estate transaction.
Seven Gables’ agents adhere to a philosophy known as Ninja Selling. Based on the notion that agents must stop selling and start creating value, Seven Gables’ agents focus on building relationships with clients by listening to their needs and helping them achieve their goals.
Lisa Greubel, Vice President of Seven Gables Real Estate, has this to say, “Agents today must connect and communicate with their clients on a level above and beyond the ways of the past. They must manage all aspects of a sale from helping their clients prep their home to hiring a professional photographer and videographer to navigating the negotiation process and being well educated on the many disclosures required during the closing process. Agents must be the total package from start to finish.”
Another significant difference between then and now is the ability to specifically target groups of buyers with extraordinary accuracy. Marketing teams create what’s called a buyer persona, which is a representation of a prospective buyer that helps to understand what the buyer is trying to accomplish, how they think, how they buy and why they make buying decisions. These buyer models prove highly effective for sellers trying to reach the right demographic for their home.
And then there is the hyperlocal focus many agents are adopting for a specific geographic region and market segment niche. Specializing in a neighborhood or a demographic, positions the agent as an expert and helps a buyer make informed decisions based on their needs.
It’s an exciting time for the real estate industry. With so many advances in the ways buyers and sellers are connecting to each other and their agents, it makes us wonder… where will we go from here?
