Flip the Script: Why Winter Could Be Your Best Time to List | Leading Lane Podcast | Ep 88

I always tell people, I guess I don't really feel like there's a bad time to list as. As long as it's listed appropriately if it's how, if it's priced right, shows. Well, I don't think it matters if it's July or if it's December. I mean, there have been some, you know, January's and February's that I had 10 to 15 closings, which means that we were looking in November.

Welcome to the Leading Lane Podcast for Real Estate Pros by Real Estate Pros with your hosts Ashley Frederick and Stephen Burch. If you're looking for an honest, authentic and raw perspective, you found it.

All right. Welcome to the Leading Lane podcast. We're just going to go with random questions that we have here. So actually, why is listing your home and selling your home in the wintertime, in the winter months the worst time to list your house?

I wouldn't necessarily say that it's the worst time to list your house. I think that there are pros and cons. But actually there tends to be less competition, if you will, because everyone wants to wait until spring. So the actual number of homes on the market is significantly less, which there are people that are always going to be moving. It doesn't matter if it's July, October or January. So I think that you could actually reframe that a little bit and take advantage of it. I think it really has to do with the seller situation as to why they want to sell and does it make sense for them to wait, you know, have they found somewhere else to go, those types of things. But you know, there's always ways to prep for it too. So, like I have people that are set on selling in the spring, like early spring, which to me is February, March, because we're trying to beat the April rush. And I have them do things now. So like last week I think I had three properties that were photographed for green, right. So that people can understand what their yards look like. So I know that there are some people that have some really nice outside properties that that is difficult for because they show it in the winter. It's just all covered in snow so people can't appreciate it. So I always tell people, like, that's the route we're going to go. We can always just get pictures ahead of time so people can appreciate it. But I do really think it's a matter of like supply and demand and there will still be demand. I think for this winter it will be interesting to see what happens with interest rates because they are the lowest that they've been this year since April. And if we continue on that trajectory could be a little bit lower. So I think that might get some people off the fence. So they're going to need properties to look at.

So let's then reframe this because I think, and maybe it's just my opinion that other agents that are going to these listings, they have it in their mind that winter is the worst months to be able to, to do it. So how can, if you're teaching me as a brand new agent or an agent that has this opinion that winter months are poor, how would you coach me to change that and portray that to the seller that that really might be a great opportunity for them?

I mean, I think it comes down to numbers, right? So like knowing the actual market. So that's kind of your cma, which you know, I look at the last, you can look at the last 90 days, you can look at the last six months, whatever that might be. But if you do a proper CMA and you show them that there's like one house for sale and you could go back and go back to say last April and show them how many houses were for sale last April, be a really good comparison of what that competitive market looks like. But I think it's also just a matter of explaining to sellers too. Like obviously if they're having that discussion with you and they want to sell, say in the winter, like obviously that means they're potentially looking somewhere to buy, right? So I guess I would kind of flip it around and be like, well, but you're looking to buy right now and it's quote unquote winter. So does that not prove that there are people that are looking? I always tell people, I guess I don't really feel like there's a bad time to list as long as it's listed appropriately if it's how, if it's priced right, shows well. I don't think it matters if it's July or if it's December. I mean there have been some, you know, January's and February that I had 10 to 15 closings, which means that we were looking in November, you know, so for us, two winters changed a little bit. It's not as dire as it used to be. So we don't really get snow until Christmas. The negative temperatures don't start till February. So again, I think it's more of just understanding the market, understanding pricing and making sure that it's a, you know, win win for the seller. So like, right, one of the main questions you ask the seller is what's more important to your timing or price? And a lot of times they'll say it'll be timing because of whatever is going on in their lives. And I think we can always just make it work. But I think, you know, if you were to look at the market and say there's. Which hasn't happened a long time, but say there's like 15 active listings, you know, that we're currently on, are we in a saturated market right now? Right. Is it. Is it a buyer's market? It is a seller's market. It can be strategy as far as talking about that and kind of playing it by ear. The other thing too, I think, is just always keeping them up to date. So, sure, it looks. This is what the market looks like today, but, like, I'm giving you a number today that's not going to hold true 90 days from now. So just knowing that it can change. We don't know what happens as far as catastrophic events in the world. You know, all those types of things. We don't know. But how do you try to frame it to sellers?

Yeah, I think it's like, I mean, it's just almost kind of flipping the script on them, right? Like, making them really have that chin check of an opportunity to be able to, like, huh. Well, if the. If everybody's telling you to wait till spring and that's what every agent that you just spoke to is all saying that spring is the best time to sell, then wouldn't you want less competition? And then just be quiet for a little bit and have them process that question. Because a lot of times they're like, huh, I never even thought of it that way. Like, you know, the. If the market top. That's when we think we want to go in. But, you know, it's a lot like the stock market, right. And I'm no guru in stocks, but you want to invest when things are. Are low so that when prices come up, like, you're. You're gaining off of it. So I think it's kind of the same mentality and putting it in that position. But if it's something of, you know, they're not really worried or they're not pushed for time, like, I'm all for. For being able to. To try it out and have limited competition that's out there because people are buying and selling real estate all the time. And I think that's one of my big things that I get really frustrated with agents of. It's always Busy, in my opinion. There's always opportunity that is out there, in my opinion. So it just depends on your perspective and how you are positioning things and if you are creating those opportunities or not, that's a whole different story. So yeah, no, I, I said let's do it, let's get, I want to put on the market.

I think, you know, you make a good point as far as if you were to think about like opportunities. Right. There's things that happen like we just don't have control over. So I've done a lot this year with estates. I don't know what it is but you know, either people that passed away, got put into homes, whatever that might be and same thing, like would you really tell them, oh, let's leave the property vacant for six months while all these things could happen. Right. So in those situations you're okay being like, nope, let's get it listed and on. So I think, you know, just thinking about it from other standpoints of what's truly best for the seller, is it waiting or is it putting it on?

So kind of shifting gears with this, you do, if I recall correctly, you do your CMA a little bit differently than the way that I do my cma, which still both works. There's no right or wrong and I'm sure you'll tell me I'm wrong, that's okay. But so like when you position yourself in doing a cma, what are you actually doing beforehand? And then how do you handle that through that journey with that seller?

Sure. You're talking about like my two step process.

Yeah, yeah.

So beforehand I get all the pre list info. So basically for me that's the. If there's an old MLS sheet, I like to see what Zillow says it's worth because they've likely already looked at Zillow. So I want to be prepared for what that is. We also have the rpr which is different. Sometimes it's spot on, sometimes it's not. You know, there's a one to five star radius on there, tax bill, assessments. So basically any pre information that I can get so that, you know, maps. I think that's an important one too because I think when people, when you show up with all those things, sellers are, I think they're surprised if you will because like they won't remember what, what year their house was built and be like, I think it was 1950 and I'll be like it was 1956, you know, or like I don't know if you know where the land And I was like, oh, yep, it looks like on the map, that's just the edge of the shed. Right. So, like, you've already done those types of things. Then I go to the house, I ask for a tour of the property. You know, a lot of times they'll ask to sit down right away. And for me, I'd rather have a inkling of what I'm getting into before I sit down and have any type of discussion. So they'll give me a tour. They'll talk about updates that they've done. But in that same time, like, right, I'm looking to make some connections with them. You know, if you see Wisconsin badger thing on the wall. Right. We'll talk about the upcoming season or whatnot. So it's a chance to build rapport, too, just to kind of see if there's other things that they leave out in conversation that you can pick up on, which I'll write down. A lot of people like to sit down and then talk about just the timing, the process. I like to bring up compensation right away. A lot of agents don't. I've been to a lot of listing previews where I know that someone else has been there before. And then. So I'll say something like, and I'm sure the last agent spoke with you about compensation. And then they kind of look at me like stargaze, not knowing what I'm talking about. A lot of people have never sold before, especially in a state or something. So I think that transparency means a lot. But then a lot of people will say, so, what do you think it's worth? And then I just always say, well, that's what I came here today for. So I'm going to go back, I'll do a cma, and we'll. We'll come back together. There's a lot of people that go in with a price ahead of time. I just find it difficult because I don't know if they've done updates. I don't know if I think they've done updates. And you get there and it smells like cat pee, like, Right. Those are all things that change. So for me, I just need like a day or two to do a cma. And for me, that's really the market depends. But I like to look at the last three to six months. Right. That's what an appraiser is going to look at, too. They're going to try to find the most recent sales. I pick a range typically lower than what I think it is and higher than what I think it is come in the middle. And then really it's just being confident in those appraisals or those other properties because you know, you need to know the square footage. Have you been in those? Which that's also I think it's important in our area to go on tour because maybe you haven't had a chance to see those properties. Right. So I could see that, yeah, maybe this one sold for this. But I could tell them like, yeah, there's water in the basement in that one which you're not going to see from any of those pictures. So being very confident in the properties that you're comparing it to. And then so I meet them, I do an estimated net proceeds too with what I thought was going to be the price, talk about compensation through that too because there's different ways to do that and meet with them. Kind of talk about a marketing plan, getting the house ready, those types of things.

So when you like, do you have a magic formula that you use for your cma, like to come up with those numbers?

Just what I feel comfortable with. I mean I think, you know, I'll look at this estimate, I'll look at the rpr, but for me, I guess I'm just comfortable enough and knowing the other properties that have sold that.

Yeah.

And sometimes like you'll start, right? I'll do say I'm looking at a property that I think is 350 and I'll go like 300 to 400 and I'll be like it's not really fitting in with that. So then maybe I have to adjust down or I have to adjust up. But I feel like for the most part I'm normally within a twenty thousand dollar ballpark.

So then do you take any sort of active or pending in consideration when you're preparing for your cma?

Yep. So I do active pending and sold. You know, and that's the other thing too is having the absorption rate. So that will tell them whether we're in a buyer's market or seller's market or a balanced market. But you know, a lot of the pendings if I might know because it might be in our office. So I'll have a pretty good idea. But otherwise sometimes I'll reach out to the other agent that had that has that listed and just want to ask if they could tell me was it a strong offer. Right. Is there anything. Can't obviously tell me the terms, but at least you'd be able to give the seller an inclination of. But also like when was the status change? So were they on the market for three weeks before they got an offer? Were they on the market for two days before they got an offer? I think, you know, that's something where I tell people if it's within the first week, it's likely going to be a very close to asking. If it's been 90 days, I'd have to guess that there's probably some leeway in there.

Good. Yeah. No, you know, I. We have an agent that came over and helped him do a CMA and he was hyper focused on active and that's all he was really focused on. Now I do think that you have to take that into somewhat consideration. But that's more so for what does your competition look like now actively on the market versus what are you comparing for sales price? And so I think it's super important to make sure that you're looking at it from different lenses of the sold active pending. So I do three sets of it essentially so I can see am I within that range that I'm. I'm after or not. But I don't put the active necessarily in. Into the push of what I think the price should be. I'm really hyper focused on what has sold and that's it. And sold within the last six to 12 months, depending on where we are at in the market. And I don't go off of bedrooms. I don't really. The only things I go off of is square footage. I want to go 20% down from the current square footage and 20% up and then off of the year built. So five years down, five years up. And those are my parameters that I start with within whatever area that I'm in. And then from there I'll see if I have a crazy amount, then I'll tighten it up to see if I can change the status date to maybe six months or three months or whatever else to see when things start falling off. But I'm very. The numbers side of things, very analytical in black white. And I actually try to come up with a number going in blind. And not that I'm trying to stick the number to it, but I too still do, you know, go and walk the property. There's been times that I walk the property with my number and I will legitimately, you know, tear out the, the piece of paper in the. My hard background book that I prepared for them like I was completely wrong. We need to adjust. But I try to do all the, the knowns, all the things that you're talking about, the tax and previous sales, all those Funds things too. But I have some agents that, that I've worked with that spend hours upon hours preparing for CMA. And to me, this is where I do 100% agree with you. Like, that first meeting is really about the conversation. It's really about the connection. It's about the relationship and building rapport and making sure that you guys are a good fit. I can always adjust my number later. I can always go forward, you know, later on. But I want to make sure that I'm not spending tons of hours and then not even getting listing if. I mean, if that's a possibility at that point. So I don't know. I just think that sometimes we overthink it. We talk about that multiple times. But people way overanalyze and try to get to the exact number, the precise number, and at the end of the day, it's still the seller's decision of what they want to be able to price it at. You need to know, are you comfortable with that number or not at that point?

I've had a lot of conversations lately too, with sellers, just that we need to be very conscious of what we're doing with pricing right now, because it is different. Things are just different. So, you know, there is this. I think that there are still sellers that, you know, think that it's the middle of COVID and like they're going to get 10 offers. And there are some really big cities that are still doing. I mean, I've heard, you know, 10, 15 offer, like, that's just not happening in our market. And we need to be realistic, and I would rather be realistic with you up front to expect not to get 10 offers in the first week or get, you know, $10,000 over asking and be more realistic that we need to be strategic about where we're putting this so that, you know, you. If you do want to be under contract in the next 45 days, right. Like, there's a window of where. So one thing, I don't do it as much, but kind of depends on the seller too, is I'd actually put it on a line graph, the solds and then I'd put the actives on a line graph. So you kind of find this sweet spot of like, right, everything sold for 260. So where do you think yours is going to sell for if seven of these nine properties sold for 260? Right. And then on the active, you put it on a line graph, you kind of see where everyone is. So again, you're like, strategic of, okay, there's someone at 269. There's someone at 274 9. Like, where do you think it's strategic to fall into place with what's currently on the market?

I think that's super smart because what you're doing is you're, you're making them talk that through the truth, right? Like you're making them speak the truth. And it's really hard for people to turn their eyes, you know, on, on data and numbers because data doesn't lie, numbers don't lie. And so being able to force them, like, where do you want to rank essentially, is what I'm hearing. Where do you want to rank against your competition that's out there? Well, everybody wants their property to sell quickly and at the best price. Right. So they're going to try to be as competitive as they possibly can. And I think that helps theme conversation a little bit more of like the fear of the rejection or the fear of the pushback of the price. If you say, this is what I think it should be, you're helping them arrive at the decision that you think of where it needs to be able to be. So it's just positioning and playing. It's not playing them, it's. It's giving them the option, it's giving out the stats, it's laying out the truth. So I, I think that's an awesome tactic to be able to do for sure. So when you go to that first one, do you like the pre listing is what you call it, correct? So do you leave them with anything? Any sort of content or marketing materials or anything?

I. If I feel like it's going to be something that I'll like, I know they're not interviewing other agents or anything. I leave them with the condition report and then we have a property history report. So. So something they can start to get. A lot of people ask, is there something you need from me? So even before the pre list, I'll ask for them to find their prior title insurance policy so that we can have that ready too. But I don't leave anything with them the first time. I leave something with them the second time.

Okay, and then what is it that you leave with them the second time?

The full CMA. So that's probably about, you know, 35 to 40 pages. So. But I go over it with them too. So I'm not, I don't. I always tell them like, I'm not going to read you line by line, but I kind of highlight my like prior clients recommendations. A lot of people I might Strategically place people in their names that they'll recognize and they'll be like, oh, you worked with so and so. But I also have my marketing plan in there. So like these are the things that we're going to do as far as staging professional photography, brochure boxes, all those types of things. And then there's also like a room by room checklist to get them ready. So this is what they should be doing in the kitchen, in the dining room, in the living room. So I think a lot of people use that to kind of go back towards. And then that's also what has like the actual quote unquote CMA where it's on a graph, it's the pictures and the details of the other properties which, you know, it's funny, a lot of people have already done a lot of their homework and they'll be like, oh yep, I sold, I saw that one sell and I figured that one would be in there. Or they'll say something like oh, that one's a lot nicer than ours, you know what I mean? It's like they've kind of seen it, but also there's pictures that are available. So they can also, I could say like to them like see this kitchen has been fully remodeled, maybe theirs isn't fully remodeled. So it's a good like visual for them to have of what they're being compared to.

What kind of reaction do you get from the sellers when you have all of that prepared and handed over to them? Like specifically when you are up against or they're interviewing multiple agents, what kind of reaction do you get from your sellers?

You know it's kind of funny because a lot of it's prepped for us, you know, we just are putting in the fine tuned things. But they'll always be like, oh my gosh, you must have spent so much time on this. And you know, you kind of chuckle but a lot of people are like, wow, that's really detailed. I wasn't expecting that much detail. I think, you know, it's a hardbound, you know, booklet so has all their information. So I think a lot of them are just impressed, you know, and it's goes back to this old school thinking that like if you give them something there's a thought process that they turn around and like give you something back, which would be the listing. So I think that most people are fairly impressed. You know, a lot of times when I know I'm up against someone, I'll send a thank you card after that's won me Quite a few listings because I didn't hear back from the other agent that they spoke with too. So I think there's just like, what little things can you do to differentiate yourself? Sometimes people will be like, like, do you want me to take it out of the binding so you can like, reuse this and I'll. No, no, no, you're fine. But I think it just shows them. Like, for me, it's trying to show them that I, I took the time and effort to do this prior to the listing, so I'm going to take the time and effort to do this during your contract as well.

That's one of my favorite tricks, like, especially doing, you know, depending on who the seller is. But typically the other agent is going to have, you know, a one, one or two page report printed out from the mls and you can see it printed in black and white, not even in color, like, stapled together, laying there on the table, all crinkled up. And then you have our hardback bound book and folder and everything else that is so well put together. And it's very simple. Like, you want this to represent your. Like, which one out of these two to represent how your property is presented. And since it's tangible in their hand and impressive, like 9 times, 9 times out of 10 they're going to be like, no, no, I want the hard backbound book. Like, yes, this is way over the top.

Go.

Extremely professional. I see your value, right? Like, this is how I want you to present my property too. So I think it's just a, a great way to be able to make sure that you, you are showing. Because it's hard to be able to explain, like, what we do behind the scenes. But something like that, that is so tangible you can clearly show and articulate. Like, I am clearly different than the rest of my competition that's out there. And I clearly will present your property because this is how I'm making sure that I'm walking in here and this is everything that I can be able to ensure that I'm going to do for you. So I love it when sellers are like, oh, my God.

Well, I think even in, like, in my marketing piece, I'll talk about things I do different, which for me, it's even just like the colored brochures on their, on their actual sign. So always say, like, have you ever, like, drove by and like pulled one out and it's got rained on and it's all crinkly or whatnot, which they all have. And then just other things that maybe they wouldn't think about like I use a Supra lockbox, which is extra security. And I'd say 80% of the agents in town still use the dial lock box, which everyone knows how to get into, you know, so just like pointing out things that you know that are different and that they expect, you know, they're used to and then maybe telling them how you're different still, it's a matter of them just, you have to try to think for them or guide them because they don't know the questions to be asking. They don't do this every day.

And last question for this one now, like, if this is a seller, let's say that you were coming over to my house, I had a house there and you were going to list my house and we're friends, would you still do the full CMA and presentation everything, or would you, because we know each other, would you be like, oh no, I'll just skip over it.

So a lot of those close friends are like, no, you don't have to do that. And then I just say, no, this is the part of the process. And for me especially like, I want that CMA done because let's say there's an appraisal issue down the road and the appraiser calls me and says, well, what did you use for comps? I can't just be like, oh, I pulled that one out of the air. Like, oh, here's the CMA that I used. Here are the comps that I use. So I don't feel like friends should get any less of service than what you give to anyone else. Plus those tend to be your biggest referral sources. So why wouldn't you try to do anything and everything like you would for everyone else so that when they are referring you to people, they've had like the firsthand experience.

Yeah, I completely agree with you. I about fell out of my seat this last week when somebody's like, oh no, I didn't do the hard backbound book. I didn't do all of that. Like I know them, I've done multiple deals with them. And it's like if those are, if you're sphere of influence, those are the, your cheerleaders, those are the people that are going to send you your, your other friends and people to make sure that they are coming over to you and using you, you would want to be able to present to the top notch to them. And because I think also with that too is that when their friends that don't know, you know how you handle business. When they talk about that XYZ agent came over with that two page MLS printed in black and white all crinkled together. And they'll be like, oh no, Ashley has this book and this whole presentation and this like look at it. And I think the other great thing here too is that having something that is so tangible like that, the hard back on book, like they're gonna leave it on their coffee table or leaving on their dining room table. And so when their friends and family come over, they're gonna, you know, they're gonna go through it. They're gonna be opening that up and like saying, this is what Ashley did for me. Isn't this somebody that, you know, you want to used to buy or sell your property as well? And so I don't skip that part at all. I don't care how many times you've done is so important to make sure that you present to the if it's a person that you've done no transactions with and never will do a transaction with to somebody that you've done 100 transactions with. Always making sure that you perfect your value and articulate your value for sure. Good. All right. Thank you for listening. And make sure you tune in to the next one. And as always, reach out if you have any topics or need anything from us. We appreciate you.

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