Stop worrying about changing interest rates and start worrying about how you can serve the customers in front of you, writes Kyle Crawford of Century 21 New Millennium.
Mortgage rates won’t save us. And to be honest, it wasn’t supposed to be that way.
Although the Fed cut interest rates, the 30-year fixed rate remained largely unchanged. Freddie Mac said it was 6.47% as of mid-June, down from 6.81% a year ago. It’s not the dramatic relief everyone was selling.
Therefore, the old talk track should be retired.
“Buy now before you climb.” “Wait, and you’ll lose your dream home.”
If we’ve been taught to move our clients that way, it’s not going to work, because our clients are smarter than that. They have the same information as us.
Your job is not to scare anyone into making a decision. It’s to help them interpret what’s going on and make it practical. Great agents have stopped trying to predict where the market is going. They talk about where they are now. Whether your client moves today or six months from now, all the value you bring is in helping you make that call with clarity.
Here’s what it sounds like in three conversations we’re all having right now.
1. Buyers who want to wait
Inventory is increasing. Across the Bright MLS footprint, active listings increased approximately 10% year-over-year this spring. This means you have more options and more room to negotiate, even though affordable housing still moves quickly and the median time to contract is around three weeks.
So the message is not “Hurry up”. It is as follows:
“Get ready. Once you find a home you like, consider asking the seller to reduce your price. The longer a particular home sits, the more rooms you’ll get. Let’s explain how each option will affect your payment.”
2. Seller fixed at 3%
“Keep it. Why give it up? It might be better to keep it as a rental. I’ll happily run comps for what it brings.”
In some cases, your best bet is not to sell at all. Even if it costs you to list today, saying it out loud makes you exactly the person they’ll call for the next three deals.
3. Clients who say “maybe next year”
It’s not a closed door. This is a follow-up. The deals we lose are not lost to interest rates. They are met with silence.
Use CRM, use AI, and actually stay in touch. Even a simple message like, “Our rates are stable this month. Just wanted to give you an update,” can get an agent to call you as soon as they’re ready.
That kind of honesty, through the good, the bad and the ugly, is how you earn lifelong clients and subsequent referrals.
Many of us walk into an appointment expecting to leave with a signed contract. Winners strive to understand their clients. That way, if you follow up like you mean it, the rate environment won’t be your problem.
That will be to your advantage.
Kyle Crawford is vice president of strategy at Century 21 New Millennium. Connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
