Written by Adam Horth

Follow these simple steps and it will lead to an extra listing you weren’t likely to get.

Let’s start with a simple question - how often does the average Australian home sell? The answer depends on the area, but every 7–10 years is a fair estimate.

Take a moment to think about the properties in your area. Some seem to have never sold. Some would have easily gone 30, 40 even 50 years without selling. They’re just sitting there, the owners going about their lives with no plans to move – possibly ever. Recently, a friend of mine bought a home that had been in the same family for 83 years!

If that’s one end of the spectrum, let’s focus on the other.

If the average home sells every 7–10 years, and some never sell in a lifetime, surely many properties are selling within one or two years of being purchased. Of course they are! You see it all the time. A property sells and then within 12 months, it’s back on the market.

Recent figures from CoreLogic show that 8.4% of properties are held for less than 2 years. That’s quite significant.

To put it in perspective:

- For every 100 properties sold in your area in 2023, 8 of them are likely to have been sold again by the end of this year.
- For every 500, that figure grows to over 40.

For every 24 people who bought two years ago, statistically, one is likely to sell this year.

There is our opportunity. There is that extra listing. Your marketing efforts are likely not focused on those who bought in the last twelve months.

Let’s change that. Start by simply speaking with 100 of them, and you’re guaranteed to find a listing.

So how do you speak to them? There are two simple ways:

Firstly, face to face. Compile a list of houses that sold in the last twelve months, head out and knock on their doors. Introduce yourself, explain why you’re there and find the ones considering selling.

Alternatively, call all your buyer enquiry from twelve months ago, identify who actually bought, and ask if they’re now considering selling.

BAM! A Listing!

Sometimes the simplest strategies are those that are overlooked.

Of course, the crux of this strategy is prospecting. If we speak to enough home owners, we will find listings. Yet what we often need is a good ‘because’. Encourage your team to use this statistic of 8.4% as their ‘because’.

Smartre Training focuses on simple strategies to help you find business. Real estate doesn’t need to be complicated, and prospecting doesn’t need to feel like a chore.

Our next live Winning Ways event is in Melbourne from June 2nd – 4th. Across three days we take salespeople through every stage of their sales career and the tools required for success.

Day two is completely dedicated to finding and winning great business. Prospecting strategies and tactics are explored and salespeople are given a path to prospect with purpose.

We often give agencies that are considering using Smartre Training the opportunity to attend the seminar to get a feel for our training and see whether or not it is right for them.

If you’d like an invitation, please get in touch with us to discuss.

In the interim, give the above mission to one of your enthusiastic team members — and see what it delivers.