16 ways to create your own real estate inventory

Having a hard time finding inventory? This is a common problem in the springtime: As weather begins to improve, homebuyers become more active, and agents suddenly have more demand for homes after a winter reduction in inventory from listings expiring during the off-season.

In our coaching practice, we get questions about this issue all the time, so we decided to broadcast about this on Real Estate Coaching Radio, which you can listen to on this page — but first, do a quick self-check to ensure that you’re not making any of these common buyer mistakes:

1. It’s not the buyer’s job to find a property to buy — that’s your job. Don’t wait for the buyer to email you what they want. Take the initiative to look daily for homes that meet the buyer’s needs, and remember to communicate with the buyer that you’re actively looking on their behalf.

2. Stay ahead of the competition and be the first one to see new inventory. Monitor your hot sheet and be ready to pounce.

3. Recognize that not all homes that sell are sold through the MLS (multiple listing service). Many homes are being sold intra-office, interoffice and in other ways. In this market, the listing agent has the power. Don’t be surprised when the listing agents attempt to premarket their listings in an effort to double-end the sale. Your mission is to “romance” all the local listing agents so they will share with you their “prelistings” — or, if they are real estate owned (REO) agents, their homes in “premarketing.”

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