Real estate agents are well-acquainted with the first-time homebuyer market. But did you realize that nearly one in three sellers are first-time sellers? Or that the overwhelming majority (88 percent) of sellers aged 22 – 29 are first-time sellers?
Millennials are not just driving the home-buying market; they are also a crucial new selling demographic, according to research from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).
Here’s the challenge (and opportunity) you face: NAR says that 77 percent of first-time sellers did not use the agent who sold them their first home. That’s a lot of real estate orphans that are up for grabs.
It’s not that these orphans are moving far away. Sixty-three percent are moving within their state, and the total average distance moved is just 20 miles.
The good news is that millennials still want agents. Younger sellers are most likely to use a real estate agent. In fact, 94 percent of sellers aged 22 – 29 sold their home using an agent—more than any other age group.
But according to industry research, millennials want to work with a younger, more tech-savvy agent. The Houston Association of REALTORS®’ “Millennial Survey” shows that nearly half of the agents that millennials use are younger than 40. Almost all millennials rely on texting for communication (92 percent) and expect a real-time response in 30 minutes or less.
First-Time Sellers Want a Modern Agent
Conventional wisdom has been that millennials are not yet ready to buy. Guess what? Millennials are more than ready to buy and sell!
But first-time sellers want a modern agent who can provide them with all of the options available today. They want to see an iBuyer offer. They want to know how a bridge solution could help them buy before selling their home. And they want to see how much they could net if they sold their home on the open market.
That’s what zavvie is providing to brokerages today: an all-options selling platform that keeps the agent at the center of every transaction, whether iBuyer, bridge or open market.
First-time sellers get the best of both worlds: a trusted real estate expert to represent their interests first, encompassing all of their sales options. Agents remain connected to their client (no more orphans) and get paid commission on any selling option their client chooses.
A Multibillion-Dollar Opportunity
If you want to win, you have to be in the game, and you have to know what plays to run. You can’t win by disparaging the new ways to sell, like iBuyer and bridge. These are the modern plays, and collectively, they’re a multibillion-dollar opportunity. You have a home-court advantage with your clients. If you take your ball and go home, you are throwing away this advantage and this opportunity.
First-time sellers want to work with you. Be the modern agent who can show them all of the selling options available today. They may not remember the name of the company that bought their home, but they will remember yours.
If you don’t have all the selling options right now, tell your broker to contact zavvie.
Lane Hornung is CEO and co-founder of zavvie, a complete platform offering all selling options for real estate brokerages, and is CEO and founder of Colorado-based 8z Real Estate, one of the nation’s most successful brokerages.
