Any business person or investor will tell you that 24% return on investment is spectacular – and very hard to find. Actually, many people are getting that amazing ROI, and you could be one of them. This lucky group of profiteers are U.S. homeowners.
Homeowners Realize The Highest Real Estate ROI
Homeowners who sold their homes in the first quarter of this year realized an average gain of $44,000 above their purchase price according to real estate information company ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q1 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report. That forty-four thousand dollar “profit” translates into a 24% average gain.
ATTOM Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist finds the numbers counterintuitive, saying, “Homeowners are continuing to stay put in their homes longer before selling and it’s perpetuating the scarcity of starter homes available for first-time homebuyers.” Low inventory is an issue nationwide, but Blomquist thinks these new numbers could get people moving and added, “Sky-high potential price gains may be finally prompting more homeowners to sell.”
Ensure Your Clients Understand This Potential
A lot of consumers might take a moment and think, “Wow!” if they read, see or hear a news story about double-digit home price increases. But the information doesn’t have much impact beyond that unless they are shown what it means to them.
More specifically, consumers want to know “What’s in it for them?”
This is a great opportunity for mortgage loan officers and their Realtor partners to reach out to their databases of past clients and spheres of influence as well as various target farm areas. Conversations are easier to start when you have the advantage of being the bearer of good – or at least intriguing – news.
Of course, now is not the right or even a good time for every homeowner to get on the market, but it’s always prudent to find out where one stands when it comes to home value, equity position and how those things fit into and possibly facilitate one’s immediate and long term goals. People receive statements for their bank and investment accounts regularly, so it makes sense to offer a personalized real estate equivalent in the form of a current market analysis, mortgage review and a discussion of what’s possible in different time and market scenarios.
Seize This Opportunity
Other purveyors of real estate data such as CoreLogic and Zillow predict that home price appreciation will be approximately two-percent slower this year, but still healthy by historic standards. So even if “now isn’t the right time,” for some people you reach out to, recent housing news presents a fantastic opportunity for MLOs and Realtors to provide real value to prospects of all kinds.
Your professional perspective coupled with current market data provides solid information for consumers to make decisions to sell, buy or wait, and it sets you apart from competitors who simply ask for business in a given moment.
