Stressed About Low Inventory? Read This.
The current state of the housing market is leaving everyone in and adjacent to real estate feeling uneasy at times. But it doesn't have to completely knock you off your rocker. With low housing inventory and high interest rates, the time to buy or sell can seem unpredictable to prospective clients. This is where you come in. You know it's more complex than that, and that investments in real estate, even in a tricky market, can pan out successfully in the short- and long-term. Clients need a real estate pro to guide them through this, and someone they can trust. But with low inventory and a ton of competition, how can you cut through the noise? We have a few solutions. The Issue at Hand Low inventory isn't just a cause for concern for aspiring homebuyers — it adds plenty of pressure to real estate pros, too. With low inventory comes an increase in competition for listings. It's not to knock the wind out of your sails, it's just an indicator for you to get with the times and maximize how clever, comprehensive and well-rounded you are in your approach to your clients. Ways to Ease the Tensions Caused by Low Inventory Thankfully, there are ways to help ease the issues low inventory is causing so you can offer a stellar experience for clients and get one step closer to closing. Harnessing Your Technology Platform Leaning on technology as a key part of your real estate business's arsenal is more critical than ever before. To help ease the pressure low inventory is putting on us all, tap into your tech stack. Make the most of online lead generation by posting and advertising on social media. This gets more eyes on your brand, as well as engagement with you as a real estate professional. When you purchase ads on social media platforms to promote your business, you also have an opportunity to tap into previously-unreachable audiences. You'll also want to ensure you're well-positioned on real estate websites. Make sure your MLS feed is hooked into each one so your listings are seen, as well as ensuring your headshot, bio, and contact information are up-to-date across all major sites. As you start to grow momentum with online ads, social media, and the big players of the real estate portals, make sure your real estate CRM is on point. This is the hub where you track prospects and their activities, as well as automating key elements of your follow-ups, like emails and text messages. It's also the central place to nurture your relationships and monitor every step of the journey you're guiding your clients through. With help from your CRM, you can also develop and send targeted email campaigns. Take advantage of list segmentation to send personalized, relevant emails to subsets of your database. For example, a set of prospective buyers in your ZIP code are going to want to hear more about listings and mortgage rate updates, while prospective sellers will want to get notices about market changes that could favor them in their home sale. Always seek to share relevant, customized, helpful information your clients will actually want to read. Lastly, break into the art of virtual tours for your listings. Not only does this save time by allowing your prospective clients to self-serve their walkthrough, it also illustrates your commitment to new marketing methods — a great way to stand out from your competitors. Embrace Direct Mail Marketing Going hand-in-hand with the power of tech is embracing more classic approaches. Integrate direct mail marketing into your outreach plans to really stand out from the crowd. It adds a personal touch, which can help leave a lasting impression. With a similar formula to your online approach, you want to use targeted prospect lists specific to your market, or even your niche in real estate. When you're creating your marketing materials to send out, make sure they're compelling and eye-catching. You'll also want to be consistent in how often you send direct mail, so you can help get prospects to the point where they're anticipating your promo materials and know your name and face. As you start to ramp up your outreach and generate interest, you can track and measure how many prospects came your way from your direct mail marketing throughout your early conversations. Nurturing Relationships with a Personal Touch Another great way to nurture relationships and maintain a strong personal connection? Getting involved in your neighborhood. By volunteering, sponsoring, hosting, or simply networking, you can quickly become a fixture in your community. Aim to get to know the people in your neighborhood and forge personal connections; you don't have to hit them hard with real estate from the very start. By building relationships first, your ability to guide them and provide your expertise can unfold naturally. As your connections progress, both online and offline, add personal touches to your communication plans, like handwritten notes or specified educational content that adds elements of the neighborhood, like local guides or your top recommendations. By adding more of a human element to your marketing, follow-up, and communication planning, you can cut through the noise, beat out the competition, and make it crystal clear to prospects they need to partner with you. Want more insight into why this type of approach truly matters? Check out this article: Why Agents Should Prioritize Meaningful Outreach. To view the original article, visit the Inside Real Estate blog. Related reading Low Inventory Got You Down? 5 Tips for Finding More Homes for Sale Protect Your Real Estate Business with These 6 Foundational Principles Low Inventory? No Problem! 3 Digital Ad Campaigns for Finding Seller Leads

Freddie Mac Announces Action to Make Down Payment Assistance Programs More Accessible for Individuals and Families Across the Nation
Multi-pronged approach removes industry-wide barriers to DPA programs MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 04, 2023 -- Freddie Mac today announced new, standardized mortgage documents that increase clarity, consistency and accessibility of down payment assistance (DPA) programs nationwide. These documents can be used by lenders working with housing finance agencies (HFAs) at the state, city, county and local levels to eliminate confusion and misinterpretation of DPA programs. Currently, these forms vary greatly. "Saving for a down payment continues to be the largest barrier to homeownership for lower-income and first-time homebuyers," said Danny Gardner, Single-Family Senior Vice President of Mission and Community Engagement at Freddie Mac. "We know that standardization has increased efficiency, lowered costs and improved many areas of the mortgage industry. By embracing standardization and creating a set of industry-wide documents, we are providing clarity and consistency that will enable more lenders to help more individuals and families leverage down payment assistance programs across the country." Historically, subordinate lien documents for various DPA programs have been HFA-specific and worded differently, leaving room for confusion when interpreting terms and payment plans. Through standardization, Freddie Mac is helping to bring efficiency to the loan manufacturing process, creating time and cost saving opportunities across the industry. This greater visibility will also help increase the number of lenders interested in participating in DPA programs as well as the number of individuals and families able to access them. "This effort by Freddie Mac compliments NCSHA's HFA1 Affordable Homeownership Lender Toolkit online resource, which enables home mortgage lenders to partner more efficiently with state housing finance agencies in providing mortgage loans and down payment assistance to lower-income home buyers," said Stockton Williams, Executive Director, National Council of State Housing Agencies. To construct the standardized subordinate lien documents, Freddie Mac partnered with Fannie Mae and state HFAs as co-creators and early adopters. By the end of this year, standardized lien documents will be available for at least nineteen states followed by the remaining states and the District of Columbia. Current versions of the state standardized lien documents are available on Freddie Mac's website for the following states: Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Idaho Illinois Iowa Massachusetts Minnesota New Mexico South Dakota Tennessee Virginia Washington The effort is part of Freddie Mac's multipronged approach to create more standardization and awareness around down payment assistance programs. Last month, Freddie Mac announced DPA One®, an innovative new tool that aggregates and showcases down payment assistance programs on a single, insights-rich platform so lenders can easily access and compare programs while providers can have less submission errors, make real-time updates, and receive more visibility for their programs. DPA One is available at no cost to lenders, housing counselors and down payment assistance program providers. DPA One currently has the down payment assistance programs available for 48 of the 50 state housing finance agencies, including local and municipal programs for the Texas, Minnesota, Florida, California, Virginia and Kentucky markets. The remaining local and state assistance programs will come online throughout 2024. About Freddie Mac Freddie Mac's mission is to make home possible for families across the nation. We promote liquidity, stability, affordability and equity in the housing market throughout all economic cycles. Since 1970, we have helped tens of millions of families buy, rent or keep their home.