How can an agent increase their inventory of saleable listings today?  The same way it has always been accomplished.  Open houses, center of influences, farming, working your COI, calling expired and FSBO are listing activities that work if you work them! 

Start today by setting a monthly goal for the number of new listings you will wish to take.  Refocus your business plan to include daily activities that will help you reach your goal.  With first time home buyers eager to take advantage of the soon to be gone tax credit, a smart agent will want to have a number of saleable listings available for them to view.

Finding sellers has become increasingly more difficult as the market continues on its downward course. Don’t misunderstand, listings are still fairly easy to come by and with over 35,000 listings in my 5 county market area, you don’t have to look any further for proof. The problem is agents are discovering that there is a BIG difference between having a listing and having a seller.

A listing is often recognizable by what the homeowner says. If you have heard “I am not going to give the home away” or that “I need to get a certain amount or I am not going to sell”, then chances are you only have a listing and not a seller.

Sellers on the other hand are those home owners who take our advice and suggestions about their home’s market position. They are not as price driven as they are driven by the desire to sell their home. Perhaps this drive is a result of a employment opportunity or personal matter that creates a need to sell. What the homeowner could have received for their home last year or the year before has no bearing to a real seller as they understand that market has moved on.

Finding a true home seller requires confidence and patience on the agents part. Successfully qualifying the homeowner each time to determine motivation, need and desire will eliminate the agent having to do a lot of work with no hope of ever realizing an income.