Most homeowners are vaguely aware of the local real estate market. They know in general terms that it is up, or down -- or that is a buyer's market, as opposed to a seller's market. But when it comes time for a homeowner to resell, then it becomes critically important to become more informed. That is your job as their agent.

Update Your Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)
Before we take a listing, we provide a snapshot of the market, which shows: a list of active listings for sale, a list of sold properties, and other relevant market statistics. This overall picture should demonstrate to the seller the temperature of the market.

But this market analysis changes constantly. Agents not updating their CMAs do a huge disservice to their clients.

To increase your own productivity and your credibililty with your clientele, think of meeting with your clients on a regular basis to update them to your current CMA. Most agents will not completely rewrite their CMA; instead they will only provide an update of the market.

Five items to include in your update:

1. New listings taken in the neighborhood
2. New homes pending in the neighborhood
3. New homes sold in the neighborhood
4. Average days on market changes
5. Percentage of list price to sales price changes

This information could be combined with interest rate changes and other market influences to provide the seller with an updated picture of the overall market.

This process can do many things. First, it will likely provide you with a chance to discuss the price of the home, and may result in a price reduction, second it will provide you with a reason to communicate with the seller, and third it will provide you with an opportunity to mine for new personal referrals.

Buyer Showing Follow-Up
If you ever had your own personal home on the market, you can identify with a seller when their home is shown. As a seller you naturally want to know every detail of the showing, the buyer concerns, objections, and most importantly why the home was rejected if the buyer did not make an offer. Without this information, a seller can begin second guessing every aspect of their home's marketing, including the price, the condition, and every detail in-between.

As agents we should provide a way for sellers to learn as much as they can about each showing. How? You need to create a buyer showing follow up system. Don't panic! This is extremely simple.

First you need to tell your seller that each time there is a showing on the home you need to be notified of the time, day, and agent who showed the home. Armed with this information you can do one of three things: call, fax, or email a buyer a simple "buyer follow-up" form. For time's sake, the best method is to make a quick phone call.

Buyer Showing Follow Up Report:

• Agent Name: ___________

• Date of Showing: ___________

• Listing Address: ___________

• Seller Name: ___________

• What did the buyer think about the price of the home?

• What did the buyer like or dislike about the home?

• What can we do to improve the listing?

• Did the buyer find another home?

• What attracted the buyer to this home?

Once you have done the survey, take the time to carefully review the answers with your seller. If you continue to receive negative comments on some aspect of the home, the sellers may need to correct the problem, or adjust the price to compensate for this issue.

Home Warranties
As a broker and agent I always thought that home warranties were a scam. But then I bought a home that just happened to have a home warranty included in the sale. The sale closed in early August, about the same time my wife was eight months pregnant. We moved in during a sweltering heat wave, and just as we were about to finally relax, the heat pump broke down.

I called the home warranty company fully expecting to get the typical corporate run around. Instead what I received amazes me even to this day! First they arranged for a local heating guy to come out and look at the heat pump. He quickly determined that is was the compressor, an $1100 dollar part that would take a week to get! I called the home warranty company and explained my dilemma, to my amazement they told me to take my wife to a local hotel, and they would foot the bill for the fix and the hotel stay.

From that day on, I have become a huge believer in home warranty programs.

Incentives
The problem with incentives is that it assumes a buyer buys based on logic, and not on emotion.

The thought process behind incentives is a logical one. The carpet is poor, so I will compensate for the carpet by offering an allowance to the buyer. Of course the theory behind this is always the same. "They're going to want to pick their own colors anyway, right." Wrong! Why? Because they're never going to buy the house. Why? Because the carpet turned them off!

Buyers make split decisions. My suggestion it to never provide condition incentives. Either reduce the price to compensate for the problem or fix the condition.

But there is one area of incentives that is frequently overlooked. This is financial incentive packages.

What if you offered to buy down the loan points for a buyer, so that their monthly payment could be lowered? What if you offered to pay the buyers closing costs, or what if your seller offered to cooperate in a zero down financing program? These kinds of seller incentives can provide you with a unique marketing opportunity.

Published: June 14, 2005

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Jim Remley is a speaker, author, and consultant. He is also an active real estate broker in Southern Oregon where he owns a network of six offices. Jim won the Rookie Instructor of the Year award in 2001 from Realty-U, the largest network of real estate educators in the nation. He was the winner of the 2002 Pacesetter Award, and nominated for the Real Estate Instructor of the Year Award during the first quarter of 2003. To learn more about Jim, please visit ProPerformer.com or e-mail him at .