Craig works in Portland, OR, a market that is through and through a seller’s market at this point in time. Since the downturn of 2008, the average house in Craig’s market has appreciated by $50,000. This appreciation is largely due to the overwhelming demand for homes in Craig’s market. There is hardly any inventory on the MLS and most sellers are getting multiple offers. In a market like this it’s hard to work new expireds because most everything is selling. However, these conditions are perfect for working old expireds.
Craig’s market is very similar to many markets around the country. Low inventory, improved equity, and appreciation is getting to be pretty common. The people who may benefit most from the climate of this market are homeowners who gave up trying to sell years ago. Using REDX, Craig has pulled data for expireds all the way back from 2007 in some cases. In our interview with him, our very own Michelle Holt roll played with Craig to help listeners get a taste of what he’d say to owners who haven’t had their home on the market for years:
Agent: Hi this is Craig Reger with Keller Williams Realty, how are you?
Owner: Good.
Agent: Great, I saw your house expired from our Multiple Listing Service way back in 2008, did you ever sell that home?
Owner: No
Agent: Yeah most people didn’t, NAME. The market was really bad back then. You know, here’s the good news, I saw your house came off at about $250k. That’s the number you failed to get for your house. This isn’t exact but houses in your neighborhood right now are selling on average for above 300k. So may I ask you, have you thought about selling your house in this hot real estate market?
Owner: Not really.
Agent: No problem, Would you be interested in knowing your home’s value in this market?
Owner: Sure
Agent: Let me get your email, because I already have your contact info, and all your pics from when you were on MLS 6 years ago. If I can get your email, I can some quick numbers and I’ll send you an email and then I’ll call you back tonight when you’re not as busy and we could talk about what your value is today. Would that be ok?
Owner: Yes
At the end of his roleplay, Craig said that he’d usually try to push for a face to face appointment but the email is pretty good especially since he could put that email into one of his drip campaigns.
Hopefully this messaging helps. How much success you have working old expireds will depend on your market. Portland maybe an unusually good market but are there many places where houses are worth less now than they were back in 2008?
