Getting Buyers To Take Action: They Are Stuck on the Fence

These days, more buyers have become hesitant to complete their purchases. Many are backing out of the contracts or opting to wait and see what happens next year. As a seller or real estate agent, it can be frustrating to see a buyer hem and haw without making a move. So, what can you do?

Greg Harrelson & Abe Safa discuss buyer thought processes in the current market and how to help them move forward.

Have the Right Mindset

First off, you have to reframe your mindset about the current real estate market. While the news has been full of negativity on the housing market for years, there are still plenty of people buying and selling homes. In fact, the market is stronger than ever when compared to previous years.

As such, you need to change the story in your head and view the current market as an opportunity rather than a disaster. Harrelson advises checking your data from 2018 to 2019 and comparing it with your performance in 2021 and 2022. You’ll be surprised at how much the market has actually recovered.

Understand the Buyer’s Perspective

Next, you need to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes to understand their perspective. Most of the time, sellers keep trying to prove buyers wrong in the latter’s decision to wait for a better deal or a more perfect home.

Instead, if you want to get buyers off the fence, you should be trying to understand why they are hesitating in the first place. Only then can you hope to change their mindset and convince them to take action.

There could be any number of reasons your buyers are stuck on the fence. Maybe they’re afraid of making a bad investment, or maybe they’re just not sure if now is the right time to buy.

All of these are valid concerns. After all, they keep hearing about an 80% interest increase, inflated prices, and that the cost of a new home may come down soon.

Look at the situation from their lens. Rather than battling them with why they shouldn’t be on the fence about pushing through with the purchase, understand why they are stuck. Only then can you give them the best solution to their problem.

Get Buyers Connected to the True Gains

It’s also crucial to note that buyers buy using their emotions, while sellers sell with logic. Some of the top reasons buyers purchase a home are attached to emotional milestones, like marriages, births, and even divorce and deaths. The list goes on, but the point is that these big life decisions usually push buyers off the fence.

To get buyers to take action, you need to connect with their emotions and help them see how your property can improve their life. This could be anything from more space for a family to a shorter commute.

They may be on the fence now because they’re emotionally disconnected from the reason they wanted to buy a home in the first place. As a seller or agent, you can ask why the buyers are moving and help them reconnect with their primary intention.