How to Get Real Estate Listings When Inventory is Low

Low inventory has been a national issue (with a few exceptions) since the Great Recession. With no sign of this trend reversing anytime soon, it may behoove you to brush up on tactics for finding sellers when homeowners are not selling.

In a low-inventory market, you’ve got two sides of the coin. On the one side, you’ve got sellers who are enjoying growing (or recouped) equity and finally in a position to get out of underwater mortgages, but may stubbornly hold out for a premium sale price.

Conversely, home buyers face a huge inventory shortage in most markets and might make competitive offers on homes only to keep from losing out to other bidders.

Despite what you may think, a low-inventory market trend presents a huge opportunity for real estate agents. But how do you find more home sellers? Follow these 10 tips and with some hard work, creativity and persistence, you’ll increase your listings in no time.

1. Look for expired and withdrawn listings

A good agent will scour the MLS for homes that were listed in the past but never sold. A lot of homes failed to sell because they were seen as overpriced at the time. Does their last list price seem like a reasonable price today? Chances are the owner doesn’t realize how much the market has picked up and might still be open to selling the home before the glut of inventory increases the competition for buyers.

Contact the owner and express your interest in helping them to sell their property while it still can be profitable for them to do so. Explain to them the benefits of selling their home in a growing market; when they see that there’s a limit to how long they might be able to sell at premium prices, you’ll likely get a response.

2. Capture seller contacts at open houses

Open houses are a great way for real estate agents to meet new buyers. Have you thought that these buyers could also be potential sellers? Many will likely need to sell their house first before buying the next house.

Download the Open Home Pro App on your tablet, then use it at your next open house to check people in and collect contact

Open houses are a great way for real estate agents to meet new buyers. Have you thought that these buyers could also be potential sellers? Many will likely need to sell their house first before buying the next house.

Download the Open Home Pro App on your tablet, then use it at your next open house to check people in and collect contact

information from them. The most valuable questions asked on this app are: “Do you have an agent? Do you have to sell your house before purchasing the next one?” Using this tool at open houses allows you to meet, qualify and connect with potential home sellers — without being a pest.

3. Search Zillow’s Make Me Move® price homes

Have you checked out Zillow’s Make Me Move functionality? Make Me Move allows home owners to indicate a price that would make them sell. You can use Make Me Move for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the potential sellers are not quite ready to sell, but are testing the market. Perhaps it’s their dream price. Some sellers can be unrealistic in their pricing, but regardless, they are exploring the possibility to sell.

You can filter listings on Zillow by searching for Make Me Move homes in your neighborhoods. Pick up the phone and have a conversation with the home owner. Tell them you are a real estate agent who represents a lot of buyers and you are interested in checking out their home. It could lead to a face-to-face appointment with a potential seller!

4. Explore rental listings

Think about the scenarios in which a homeowner might want to rent out their property: job transfer, divorce or life change. But in most cases, they are renting out because they couldn’t afford to sell. Their home could have been underwater, or the market simply wouldn’t support the asking price. Instead of listing it with an agent, they decided to rent it and “ride it out” for a couple of years. Here’s your opportunity to inform them the market has changed and that now it’s a great time to sell.

5. Target moving, estate and “huge” garage sales

When was the last time you looked for “moving sale,” “estate sale” or “HUGE-ENORMOUS-MASSIVE garage sale” in the local newspaper or on Craigslist? Yes, the kinds of sales where people are trying to get rid of their junk and furniture. Or it could be that they’re moving, the owner has passed and the heirs can’t maintain it, or they’re cleaning house to accommodate an impending major life change.

Run their locations in the MLS and see how many are listed for sale. Find out the stories of others that are not listed for sale. Give them a call and offer a free home value analysis report. This can lead to solid seller contacts.

6. Prospect past clients of your former real estate co-workers

Do you work in a broker office? There are real estate agents who left your office, right? Go to your broker and ask for the files of past buyer clients. Contact these buyers and indicate that you are taking over for agent John Smith, and ask them what their real estate needs are. Some of them may just be in the transition to move.

7. Find the empty nesters