Three tips to help Realtors® deal with low inventory

Homebuyers are in the game again, but they’re facing inventory shortages in a lot of markets. Some buyers make three or four offers on homes, only to keep losing out to other buyers.

The Real Estate Marketing Insider (REMI) released a tip sheet this week for Realtors® advising them on strategies for beating inventory shortages in their local markets. REMI’s advice included developing brands outside the local market and considering an online component for their practice.

“The benefits of this inventory shortage are many: they will help pump up demand, lower market times, and raise prices back to healthy levels. Some of these benefits will take some time to show, and in the meantime Realtors® might be frustrated with low inventory in their home market. However, there are ways to get around home shortages in a local market and grow a real estate business through a shortage,” said REMI in a release.

A low inventory market adds to challenges for buyers, who already say the most difficult part of the process is finding the right property. According to the 2012 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 23 percent of buyers said the most difficult step in the transaction was the paperwork, while 16 percent said the most difficult aspect was understanding the process and steps involved.

REMI offered the following three tips for Realtors®:

• Consider properties outside the local market that can be managed online or via a third party
• Cultivate a brand outside the local market. This can mean online ad purchases, enhancing web presence, or starting a blog or social media account
• Consider diversifying to an online business, which will allow for selling properties over distances and in other markets with softer inventory cushions.

Buying a home under ordinary circumstances is challenging, and all the more so in a low-inventory market. Low inventory makes the role of the Realtor® all the more crucial. Nearly nine in 10 (89 percent) buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker in 2012, a share that has steadily increased from 69 percent in 2001.