To all the agents in the house,
"All those men have their price," Sir Robert Walpole apparently said in 1734 about corruption in the British Parliament. Does that apply to homeowners in 2021?
My colleague Brooklee Han wrote a story Tuesday on DropOffer, a company co-founded by Compass agent Greg Burns with the tagline, "turn the off-market on." To that end, the company plans to attract agents who don't just search for homes on the market on behalf of their clients, but also homes off the market, soliciting homeowners with "personalized emails" and even targeted online advertising.
"Every single house has a number where the owner would actually move," Burns told HousingWire, perhaps channeling Walpole and Marlon Brando's character in "The Godfather."
Already, there's instant home buying companies that can leverage all the data-mining techniques of today to make an offer on your home in 24 hours, if you want to sell your home. And there's door-knocking and "We'll buy your house!" postcards soliciting homeowners.
Moreover, a maxim of many agents is to keep in touch with their clients. Beth Fernandez, of Premiere Property Group in Portland, for example, sends monthly gifts to her clients as a way of keeping in touch. But DropOffer's approach seems different from the wrapped wine bottles and check-ins practiced by experienced agents, instead using property records as a blunt path to existing homeowners.
Agents, how much soliciting do you do of homeowners who, as far as you know, are not looking to sell? Has this area of your work increased in the low inventory market? Have your approaches changed amid the pandemic?
And, ethically, how far are you willing to nudge your clients to think about selling?
I am curious to hear any and all your thoughts about soliciting existing homeowners. Please email me anonymously at mblake@housingwire.com.
Sincerely,
Matthew Blake
Senior Real Estate Reporter
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