Once a real estate agent wins a listing their work is only getting started. They now must find the right buyer for their client's property. This is when a top producer can really showcase their quality; part of being a good listing agent is having a combination of years of experience, the right data and tools, as well as the personality of a (professional) social butterfly! There are several ways that agents can find buyers, here are the top 5 most common methods.
Real Estate Marketing and advertising
A real estate professional will use a variety of marketing and advertising strategies to get a property in front of potential buyers. This can include advertising the property on their own website and on various online platforms, as well as using traditional marketing methods such as print or radio ads.
Think about all the ways agents find sellers to win real estate listings; makes sense they'd use those same tactics to find real estate buyers, right? While this is one of the most straightforward ways of generating real estate leads, it's actually not a favorite of agents. Why, you might ask? Well, it's actually kind of expensive. An agent might need to spend thousands of dollars just to find a single home buyer. That model doesn't really scale, since few agents have that kind of budget to spend on multiple concurrent listings.
Networking
An experienced real estate broker will have a network of contacts, including other agents, lenders, and industry professionals, that they can tap into to find buyer leads. The most obvious tool they'll use is the MLS (multiple listing service); essentially a social media platform for industry professionals to post homes and attract buyers (or really, buyer's agents).
Yet a good agent has resources well beyond that. In the real estate business, a busy agent will make dozens of phone calls every day. They know how to keep their ear to the ground, being in such constant contact with other industry folks. Of course, they also appreciate the value of reciprocity. If they refer a couple clients to a mortgage lender, they know that lender might return the favor and send business their way -- in this case, a real estate buyer.
Open house
Many real estate professionals will host open houses to give a buyer's agent an opportunity to bring their clients to view the property and ask questions. Even more importantly, this is where a buyer can begin to picture themselves living in the home. This can be an extremely fruitful way to generate interest and source home buyers.
While this practice may seem antiquated, it remains extremely valuable. Buyers, especially first time homebuyers, will get exposure to a ton of properties in the early days of their search. House hunting across real estate websites makes it easy to always believe the next click will yield something better. Getting someone to physically visit a property is where the true magic happens. being able to visualize and fall in love with a home, get a sense of everything the local community would offer, that's how a buyer forms an emotional attachment to a property. That is often the key to converting interest into a real estate transaction.
Direct outreach
Real estate agents may also reach out directly to buyer leads who may be interested in a specific property or who meet certain criteria, such as being in the market for a new home or looking to get involved in real estate investing.
This method can only come from years of expertise and building of a sound reputation within the real estate industry. A true, seasoned real estate agent should already have an actual buyer in mind for every listing they take. (This is especially true for the more niche the market, like high-end luxury homes or smaller markets). Many established listing agents will already generate a ton of traffic to their own channels, like their own real estate website or social media accounts.
Client or Agent Referrals
Real estate agents may also receive referrals from past clients or other industry professionals who know of someone looking to buy a property. This deserves its own category besides networking because unlike networking, buyers can often fall into the lap of some agents.
Perhaps the buyer's agent has been in touch with the seller's agent about another deal and they get to talking about other properties. Perhaps an agent from another area has a client moving to a new territory; they'll often refer them to a local real estate expert to service. These types of real estate buyer leads are invaluable to a seller's agent; getting a free lead is always preferable to sinking tons of money into real estate ads.
Summary
Overall, finding buyer leads for a property often involves a combination of strategies and may require a lot of time and effort on the part of the agent. Many agents will invest money into marketing and promotion tactics; they might use pay-to-play lead buying services or advertise with local business. Also popular is the hosting of open houses to get buyers to fall in love with the property. A more experienced agent will leverage their network, receive referrals, and even perform some direct outreach to source qualified buyers.
Now you know how agents find buyers, know how to find the best local agents to sell your home?
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