Negotiation Skills, Creativity and Persistence Gets Deals Done.
I am seeing far too many overpriced listings and failed offers.
Agents are giving in and giving up way to early.
We are in a fundamentally balanced market across most of Canada. Yes, there are pockets where the seller or buyer have a bit more power, but for the most part, you are negotiating in a balanced real estate market.
A balanced market means that neither the Seller nor the Buyer have a significant power advantage. Plenty of inventory means that sellers must compete against other listings and that buyers have choice. Most sellers aren’t desperate and there are active qualified buyers in the market. If a seller is motivated to sell and they price their property fairly, they are likely to be successful in attracting an offer and negotiating a sale.
While these markets do require negotiation skills, patience, persistence and creativity, they are great opportunities for agents that are on their game. You will work hard to get deals done in this market but the skills you learn, the reputation you build, and the market share you gain will ensure your success into the future.
A man is rolling a large ball..,3d render
Several times over the past few weeks I have had agents tell me an offer was dead and, in many cases, we were able to resurrect the offer and get an agreement between seller and buyer. Expectations are out of alignment, emotions are running high, people are under stress and even agents are adding to the pool of psychological chaos that is getting in the way of real estate transactions. Your job as a professional REALTOR® is to sort out this chaos and help people achieve their desired outcomes. It’s tricky but this is what negotiation is!
I can’t remember a time that I have seen so many overpriced listings on the market. I suspect that this is directly related to the lack of training many REALTORS® have on negotiating with a seller. In a balanced market there is no benefit to anyone to having an overpriced listing on the market. The seller gets frustrated and thinks poorly of the agent. The agent spends money and cognitive energy (stress) on a listing that won’t sell. Additionally, buyers and their agents must wade through a fog of inventory to find a decent property. This also has the side effect of buyers thinking they have more power than they do which results in low ball offers even on the well-priced properties.
Negotiation skills are essential in this market and if you don’t have them you will continue to suffer.
CREA and the boards have decided to only recognized courses offered through NAR (National Association of REALTORS® which is sort of weird considering that NAR is American and not particularly popular with its members) and right now, I don’t believe that there is anyone qualified to teach the Real Estate Negotiation Expert (RENE by NAR) course in Canada. I can’t find a course being offered anywhere across the country.
The boards are no longer allowed to offer my courses. I successfully ran over 8000 Canadian REALTORS® through my program, with about 50% of those courses held at real estate boards. My courses received the highest student ratings with courses consistently selling out. No one ever had a conversation with me about discontinuing my courses. They just stopped answering my emails. Weird.
I’ve decided to keep offering my courses because they help make REALTORS® be more professional and help the consumer get better results. This matters to me.
Take the AREN and PREN negotiation courses anyway. CREA recognition and CE credits pale in importance compared to having the skills to get deals done. These are great courses. I have hundreds of powerful recommendationsfrom recognizable agents just like you who have benefit from these courses.
PS: Re/Max proudly recognizes the AREN and PREN Negotiation Designations.
