6 Secrets To Getting a Real Estate Listing Every Day

• Check Expired Listings
• Look for FSBOs
• Research Distressed Properties
• Ask About Old Agents’ Listings
• Run Pay-Per-Click Ads
• Leverage Social Media
• Frequently Asked Questions About The Secrets to Getting A Real Estate Listing Every Day

In a typical work week, there are dozens of tasks vying for your attention. Client appointments, real estate marketing ideas, and responding to messages are a few important ones. Add finding new listings to your docket and you have a full week in no time. 

Acquiring fresh listings is the lifeblood of your business in many ways. It represents your inventory, and by extension, your potential cash flow. If you run out of listings, you’ve run out of commission opportunities. 

So, how do you ensure you have enough real estate listings at all times? Is it possible to even get one listing per day? It is–if you have proven strategies. Here are six secrets to getting a real estate listing every day. 

Check Expired Listings

Expired listings are one of the fastest and simplest ways to find new listings. Before you go looking for them, it helps to know what an expired listing is and why they appear. 

When a homeowner hires an agent to sell their home, the property is placed under contract between the two parties. The contract states that if the house isn’t sold after a specified period of time, the listing will expire–and therefore needs to be relisted. 

Since most homes sold in the US are done with the help of an agent, this means homeowners usually relist after the expiration period. This gives you the opportunity to become a seller’s next agent. 

Once hired, it’s a great time to educate your client on what is a comparative market analysis and how to get a home appraisal. As you know, accurate information here makes a big difference in conversations with buyers.

While not all sellers will change their agent, the expired contract means your opportunity has arisen. You can contact the seller, share a couple past deals with them, and request the opportunity to speak further. If the seller wants to see what new agents can do for them, they’ll be happy to hear from you.

Look for FSBOs

FSBO stands for “for sale by owner,” meaning the homeowner has researched the best time to sell a house without an agent’s help. Roughly 8% of homes sold in the United States are FSBOs, and this percentage has decreased by 2-3% over the last decade. 

Selling one’s own home has advantages, like working on your own timeline and not needing to pay an agent commission. However, about 10% of FSBOs end up learning how to find a good real estate agent, which is great news for you. 

It’s not illegal to work with FSBO listings, but you don’t want to be that desperate agent, either. You should leverage a relationship selling approach, which is all about understanding prospects’ needs. So, how do you gain FSBO listings through relationship selling techniques? 

The second of six secrets to getting a real estate listing every day starts by being a resource to homeowners. Instead of contacting FSBOs and asking to be their agent, offer them a free guide or eBook. It can be titled something like “Avoid These Pitfalls When Selling FSBO” or “How to Sell Your Home In Less Than 2 Months.”

The idea is to give them real, free value solely because you want to. You aren’t asking anything of them, but you’re hinting at the fact that they can hire you if they want to. 

Given all the paperwork, staging, and marketing necessary to sell a home, it won’t be surprising if the FSBOs you contact reach out to you. When a professional provides practical insights and it just makes sense to work with them for the next steps, many homeowners will be happy for you to ease their burdens. 

Research Distressed Properties

A distressed property is a home that’s at risk of, or has already been, repossessed by the bank. The majority of distressed properties are caused by foreclosures, which is when a homeowner has become unable to pay their mortgage. 

Because of the financial risks associated with distressed properties, lenders usually want to sell them quickly. This offers you the opportunity to step in and help find a new buyer. 

Foreclosed properties tend to be less expensive and require more repairs than the average property. Lenders usually don’t want to repair or maintain such properties, so you’ll often be able to market them at considerable discounts. 

While you’ll need to market distressed properties differently, you may find buyers sooner because of their lower prices. Your commissions won’t be as large on distressed properties, but you can find several of them and make smaller commissions more often. 

Ask About Old Agents’ Listings

If you work for a brokerage, you’re one of several agents at the company. As agents move to different brokerages or get promoted, they often leave their current listings in their old role. 

One of our other secrets to getting a real estate listing every day is asking your boss if you can go through old agents’ listings. Chances are they had a few, if not dozens of listings that you can now use. 

The success of this strategy depends on how your office operates and whether or not your boss has a new hire lined up. If they have someone to take over the old listings, don’t get stingy. If your boss is open to it, though, ask how soon you may access their properties’ information. 

Run Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Ads

If you don’t already have a pipeline full of people to talk with, you need to learn how to generate real estate leads. One of the fastest ways to drive leads is through pay-per-click (PPC) ads, which are the ads people see when searching on Google.

Getting your PPC targeting right takes some time, which is why you should learn from a digital marketing course first. You don’t want to throw a bunch of money at your ads only to see most of it go down the drain.

In general, it’s good to target keywords that are low cost, low competition, but medium volume. These kinds of keywords take your ad budget as far as possible while still being served to relevant audiences. 

Then, make sure your ads link to a relevant page, like your website’s homepage or a landing page. Once prospects book an appointment or fill out your form, you’ll be pulling in listings effortlessly. 

Leverage Social Media

It’s difficult to overstate the power of social media in today’s world. Real estate has transformed from a technologically deficient industry to one that champions emerging tools, like virtual reality (VR) and automated valuation models (AVMs). 

Social media continues to be a big part of this shift as platforms add new capabilities and user adoption increases. Social media also offers you a window into the lives of others, and them into yours–which is great for starting conversations. 

When you get your real estate license and share the news online, people will take notice. Friends and family who want to sell their house may have been waiting for someone they know to help them. Now that you’re in the business, they feel more comfortable reaching out to you rather than a stranger.

You can also start new conversations by posting home selling tips and responding to messages in a timely manner. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram offer a wealth of opportunities if you take advantage of them!

Frequently Asked Questions About The Secrets to Getting a Real Estate Listing Every Day

A career in real estate is full of victories and challenges. One such challenge is finding the number of listings that keeps your business profitable.

Securing listings is tough. It requires a strong network, keeping your eyes and ears open, and never giving up. Perhaps you’ve applied all these principles already, though, and you’re looking for the next step. 

Getting a real estate listing every day is a great goal to have after you’ve closed your first few deals. We researched frequently asked questions about this matter so you can discover what works. Check out our answers below: 

How Can I Get My Real Estate Listing Fast?

If you just got your license and you’re ready to serve clients, you can find listings quickly if you know what to do. A few methods include contacting local developers, looking for listings online, and talking about real estate with your sphere of influence. Let’s take a closer look at these three strategies. 

Contacting local real estate developers is an excellent way to find new listings. These companies create local plans for the new homes that will be added. They can share details about how many properties they’re developing for and their anticipated timelines of completion. 

Looking for expired or distressed properties online is an effective means to find more listings. Expired listings are properties that weren’t sold by another agent within the specified time, and distressed properties are those that are about to be foreclosed. If you reach out to the seller or lender at the right time, you can have a new listing almost immediately. 

Good old fashioned word-of-mouth is another one of our secrets to getting a real estate listing every day. Your friends and family are celebrating your newfound career alongside you and are likely to know people who are selling their homes. 

By keeping your ear to the ground, you’ll start conversations right in your own backyard–so to speak. Remember to provide those in your sphere of influence with the same professionalism and honesty that you would any strangers. You can also learn the fastest way to get more referrals so your network does much of the marketing for you!

Do Realtors Have Secret Listings?

Yes, some realtors and real estate agents have secret listings. These properties are also called pocket or quiet listings and don’t appear in multiple listing services (MLSs). So, why keep real estate listings private rather than creating a thorough online presence for them? 

One reason is that an off-market listing can win higher prices than those in plain sight. If a property has been sitting on an MLS for a month or more, it’s likelier to receive lower offers. This is because buyers know that no one has taken the property yet, which can mean that the home isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. 

Another reason is because not every buyer is looking for a primary residence. Some buyers are looking for a vacation home or investment property, and therefore have more cash on hand for the deal. 

A third reason is off-market listings are sometimes the only way to find properties in a hot or niche market. During seasons when everyone is looking for a home, staying off the MLSs can prevent sellers from getting overwhelmed with offers. 

What Do You Do When You Get Your First Listing?

Landing your first listing is an exciting moment as an agent. You’re likely feeling pressured to do great and have several questions floating around in your mind. Here are the essential steps for your first listing: 

• Do a property tour with the current owner. If you haven’t already walked through the property with the homeowner, this is a must. You want to hear from the seller themselves what the home is all about, including its best features and drawbacks. Invite the seller to share as many details about the home as possible. This is key information for when you’re leveraging real estate branding ideas later.
• Discuss the listing price and date. The next step is discussing listing prices and the date with the seller. Remember, this is a team effort; the seller has knowledge that benefits you and vice versa. Listen to your seller’s priorities and make sure you’re on the same page before taking anything public. 
• Stage the property and talk about holding an open house. Next up is staging the home, including photos and videos made with professional video editing tips. Always hire a professional; buyers’ first impressions of the property are largely based on pictures. If the property looks like it belongs in a print catalog, you’ve done your job well. After that, speak with your seller about the first open house date and consider booking several.
• Begin premarketing activities. After the aforementioned steps, it’s time to start premarketing activities. This includes checking comparable properties on the MLS, scheduling a home inspection, and consolidating the home’s details. Ensure you have all the info necessary to provide advice to your seller on all aspects as well as speak with buyers. 
• Publish the property on the MLS. With the above work completed you can list the property. Double check that your seller is ready to go live, then start getting the word out. Respond to inquiries in a timely fashion and keep your seller apprised of everything taking place.

Listing Your Way to The Top

Generating real estate listings consistently is a tough part of being an agent. The limited housing supply and increasing number of agents makes it tricky to find listings that others haven’t yet. 

With the six strategies in this post, not only will you have plenty of leads, you may need to hire an assistant! Regularly investing in the growth of your agency and treating each opportunity as one to succeed with will take you to the stars.