If you have even the smallest understanding of the real estate industry, you’ve probably heard that spring is the best time to sell. However, what does the spring selling season really mean to real estate investors?
There are both seasonal and fiscal reasons why waiting until spring to list your property is beneficial. If you live in an area with a strong seasonal climate, it’s pretty easy to see how springtime affects buyer’s attitudes. The winter months are long, cold and dreary, and therefore not the optimal time to convince buyers that your property is the best. Just look at a picture of a home in the winter versus the same shot of the home in spring; that alone could boost the property’s value substantially. Prolonged daylight hours also allow your property to be seen by more prospective buyers each day.
It is also important to keep the habits of your prospective buyers in mind. By the time March and April roll in, people have recovered from the holiday hustle and bustle. For many people, spring is a time to start fresh. It’s also far enough away from summer that people tend to focus on vacations and relaxation. For homeowners with children, spring is much closer to the end of the school year as well, likely making a move much easier.
Also worth mentioning are the financial rewards that come with selling in spring, which — let’s face it — is really what investors care about. Prices tend to be higher in spring due to an increase in buyer demand. If other properties are going up for sale in your area, your property’s valuations will also rise if comparable homes are selling for more. Properties sell up to 37 percent faster in spring – an average of 34 days on the market, which allows investors more time to close the deal on their next property. There are a number of home selling strategies investors use to close deals fast, which will be your favorite?
What Investors Can Do To Stand Out
While spring can be very advantageous for investors, it can also be challenging due to an increase in competition. Investors should prepare for this swell by ramping up their marketing strategies. When it comes to marketing, it is important to make sure that your techniques are consistent across all platforms and that you start with a solid foundation.
Here are some tips that my partners at CT Homes and I implement on a regular basis:
Network: The key to marketing is to be aggressive. You need to treat your marketing – and everything else you do in this business – as a system. A sphere of successful marketing that people often forget about, or choose to disregard, is networking. The size of your real estate investing network directly correlates to the size of your bank account. As with everything, networking is yet another system. It’s important to remember that it is not just about attending a networking event, it is about going in with a purpose; offering solutions to other people’s problems. I don’t care if public interaction isn’t your strong suit, nor do I care if you’re an introvert; getting your name, face, and brand out in the world of like minded individuals is what will take your business to new heights.
Advertise: When you embark on your journey into the real estate investing world, your first step should be to choose a niche. Because there are so many avenues available to take in the industry, finding the place where you fit in and where you can make the most profit it crucial. Keep in mind, the more narrow your focus, the higher your success rate. If you try to conquer rehabbing, wholesaling, rental properties, or short sales all in your first few months of starting your business, I can guarantee you will feel overwhelmed and be unable to complete any sort of deal to the best of your ability. Focus on your strengths before broadening your expertise.
After selecting a niche, you must then determine your target market and decide what types of properties or opportunities you will be seeking. When it comes to figuring out your target market, it is important to be specific. Now it’s time to elect the marketing strategies you want to implement, whether it be direct mail, email marketing, bandit signs, etc. Remember, you don’t need a large budget to launch a successful marketing campaign; you just need to keep your target audience in mind and be sure that you advertise in a median that they will see.
During spring selling season, your competition will consist of both experienced and novice investors. If you are on the latter end of that spectrum, focus on techniques that perhaps the experienced investors disregard. Consider posting an ad on Craigslist, buying a magnet ad for your car, or investing in a cheap bandit sign campaign.
Track Your Results: If your phone is ringing off the hook with leads due to your well executed marketing system, that is fantastic. However, it means nothing if you aren’t tracking your results. The key to a successful campaign – that even seasoned investors often forget – is try, track, and tweak. Try starting with something small, like handing out business cards at your local REI club or displaying a few bandit signs in your neighborhood. When those strategies begin to generate leads, make sure to be tactical with how you track which campaign the lead came from. Once you verify which of your small-scale campaigns was most successful, tweak them if necessary, and then go big.
Remember that starting with a small campaign will bring beginner leads with less engagement. However, the plus side is that you were able to send less money with less risk, which is a great way to practice. When you realize success at one level, it prepares you for success at the next. If you are ready to take your campaign to the next level, there are more complex and expensive options like direct mail, or TV and radio ads.
Build A Strong Team: Your success in this business is dependent on the team you surround yourself with. While there are a number external factors that will determine your success, there are six different strengths – or mindsets – that are unanimously seen in the most successful entrepreneurs. The “business focused mindset” defines a person who has the ability to make decisions based on observed or anticipated effects on a project. The “confident mindset” is an individual who not only has a significant amount of self confidence, but also has the ability to transmit that confidence to others. People with a “creative mindset” are experts at coming up with big picture ideas. However, implementing them isn’t necessarily the their forte. Then there is the “delegator,” an important role in any business. This individual knows his or her strengths and the strengths of others, and is therefore able to assign tasks appropriately and effectively. A “knowledge seeker” is a person who is always looking to expand their education to see how they can better their business. Finally, there are the “promoters” or “relationship builders.” These folks are passionate about working in the field, getting their hands dirty, and engaging with potential clients.
If you possess any of these mindsets, you’re on your way to becoming a successful real estate investor. However, if you notice that you are missing any of the above traits, you now know how to build your team to make up for what you lack.
The spring selling season is a busiest time of year for the real estate industry. However, if you commit to focusing on your marketing strategy, you will blow your competition out of the water.
