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January 2007
Index of all
past
Affiliate Corner columns
Brave new world...helping your clients buy from a builder
By Ed Lowell
Regional Vice President,
Village Homes of Colorado
By a healthy margin in the Denver front range market, the majority of home sale transactions every year are resales offered through a licensed REALTOR®. In fact, 65 percent of our housing market is made up of resale transactions.
But one out of three buyers purchases a new home. Is selling a new home as much a part of your practice as pulling up properties to show from the multiple listing service? How can you best profit from this part of the market and insure that your client has a good experience, calling you again when it’s time to make another move?
Here are six steps to insure a good experience and maintain control of your transaction:
1. Bring up new. Find out right away if your buyer is one of the 35 percent who wants to purchase a brand new home. Usually a buyer will feel strongly one way or the other.
2. Learn which builders you like. Which builders really deliver on their promises?
3. Get to know the onsite agent. Learn who will work with you. Who keeps you informed of inventory and special incentives? Who helps you feel comfortable taking care of your buyers?
4. Plan and go. Plan your new home tour and accompany your buyers if at all possible. At the very least, call ahead if you cannot accompany your buyers. Prepare the onsite agent to welcome your buyer.
5. Let the onsite agent do his or her job. Once you have introduced your client and offered some background information, let the salesperson highlight the benefits of the community and features in the home.
6. Stay involved. As a professional seller, a builder provides for many details you would normally oversee (ordering title work and inspections; scheduling the closing, etc.). Although it’s best to let the builder manage the process, insist on communication so you can stay informed every step of the way.
Just like you, builders work hard to provide professional service and a smooth home buying experience. By capitalizing on the different strengths of both products, you can better offer services on the entire spectrum of resale and new housing options and maximize your share of the market.
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