If you are involved in the residential real estate industry, you have likely experienced the seasonal boom that often accompanies the summer season. Even in a typically warm state such as Texas, the summer months are traditionally some of the busiest of the year for real estate agents, brokers and title insurance companies.
However, if you hope to take full advantage of this annual surge in transactions, it’s good to start preparing your team. Join us as we examine five tips for getting your business ready for summer.
What to Expect in Summer 2022
During Q4 of 2021, HomeLight surveyed over 1,000 of the nation’s highest-performing real estate agents. This survey revealed valuable insights that your real estate team can use to prepare for summer 2022.
Of the agents surveyed by HomeLight, three-quarters believe that inventory shortages will continue well into 2022. Another 36% of those surveyed expect additional Gen Z buyers to start to enter the market.
Perhaps most importantly, 83% of participants believe that 2022 will remain a seller’s market. If these predictions prove true, then a high supply of buyers will continue competing for a limited number of homes this summer.
If your team hopes to effectively serve your clients, improving efficiency and agility must be at the forefront of your priorities. Optimizing your nimbleness will require you to invest in quality technologies, choose the right real estate escrow company, and demonstrate an unwavering commitment to your clients.
Summer Is Prime Time for Real Estate Transactions: Here’s Why
Before your real estate company can effectively prepare for the summer surge, you must understand what fuels this measurable increase in demand for real estate services. While summer is particularly frantic in the residential real estate market, the commercial sector is also experiencing an uptick.
This predictable annual trend is a two-part equation involving an increase in interest from sellers and buyers.
Why Summer Is a Hot Time to Buy
Summer has long been a popular time to buy a home for several reasons. However, prospective buyers had additional incentives to make summertime home purchases in 2021.
Many states began loosening COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in the summer of 2021, which gave buyers the freedom to get out and start home shopping.
While the real estate market of summer 2022 will not benefit from this unprecedented external influence, buyer interest should still peak due to traditional motivators.
Parents of school-aged children are most prone to buying a home during the summer when a purchase allows them to settle in before starting the new school year. By delaying this move until school is out of session, parents can avoid the need to uproot their children in the middle of a semester.
Another incentive to shop for homes during the summer is the great weather. While inclement weather is less of an inhibitor in Texas than in cooler states, it still influences the market. Let’s face it: no one wants to contend with torrential downpours or heavy snowfall while they are shopping for homes.
Certain professions also have the freedom to take more time off during the summer. They can use some of this time off to view listings, navigate the purchasing process, and transition into their dream home.
The Appeal of Selling During the Height of Summer
The most apparent reason homeowners prefer to sell their residence during the summer is that doing so can net them the best return on investment. Late spring and early summer are frequently the optimal time to sell a home.
According to 2021 data from ATTOM, all five of the best days to sell in 2020 fell in the month of May. Sellers received a premium above-market value ranging from 16.2% to 19.3% during this time frame. These figures indicate that many sellers may want to capitalize on the summer market conditions as early as possible.
While the average seller premium took a downturn in June and July, it remained in the double digits. The remaining nine months of the year saw the seller premium above-market value dip into the single digits, with October, November, and December having some of the lowest sale prices.
Another reason that selling homes during the summer is popular is the weather.
The great Texas summer weather not only encourages buyers to come out and look at properties, but the home itself will have more visual appeal during these warmer months. The grass will be green, and the curb appeal will not be inhibited by too much moisture.
5 Tips to Prepare for the Summer Surge
As you can see, there is plenty of data to support the concept of the summer real estate surge. Therefore, it is important that you get your business summer-ready. To do so, we recommend that you leverage the following five tips.
1. Reassess Your Plan
Whether 2021 was a record year for your company or your margins were less than ideal, you should prepare for the new year by reassessing your business plan.
Reexamining your goals and game plan for achieving those goals should be a regular component of your overall business strategy. This practice allows you to identify what you are doing right and what areas of your business need improvement. If you haven’t put together a business plan yet, check out our Business Planning Tips and Tricks worksheet to help you get started.
Once you have reassessed your strategy, outline what you need to do to succeed in the summer of 2022. Much of your focus should be on core business processes.
However, make sure to examine auxiliary components of business processes as well. Examples include who you use for title services and what customer relationship management technologies you have invested in.
2. Have a Sit Down with Your Team
When was the last time you had an open forum discussion with your team? If you don’t remember, it is high time to schedule a meeting.
During this information-sharing session, make sure to listen to your staff. Find out what concerns they have about summer and ask if they have any suggestions for remedying those issues. Gathering feedback from your staff can boost team morale and allow you to look at existing business challenges from a fresh perspective.
3. Review Your Technology Investments
To remain competitive in the modern real estate environment, you must equip your staff with quality technological resources.
Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, electronic document processing tools, and other resources can give them an edge over other real estate professionals. These investments will also allow them to better serve your clients, which will bolster your brand image.
When reviewing your current technology investments, use the information you gathered from your team and go from there. If they encounter a specific pain point, explore ways to resolve that productivity barrier with technology. With the right technologies in place, you can have your most productive summer to date.
4. Engage in Brand Building Efforts
In the real estate sector, brand image is vital to the success of your business. Prospective home buyers and sellers choose real estate professionals based on their reputations. If your firm is a relative unknown in the real estate space, it is time to engage in proactive brand building.
If you are not sure where to begin, partnering with a marketing agency might be a great place to start. A professional marketing team can manage your advertising campaign and help you get noticed in the community.
5. Explore New Partnerships
Forging new partnerships within the real estate ecosystem is a great way to expand your business opportunities and open the door for growth.
You must have strong partnerships with key professionals such as a real estate closing agent or title insurance broker. Having a go-to resource for these essential services can help you close difficult deals and provide higher-quality service to your clients.
Partner with Patten: The Premier Texas Title Company
At Patten Title Company, we have developed an exceptional reputation throughout the Lone Star State. Our broker and agent partners depend on our closing and title services when preparing to conclude important deals.
In addition to offering expert realty title services, we also serve our clients by leveraging the latest technologies in our processes. We have forged partnerships with entities like Qualia, CertifID and Zoccam to facilitate safe, secure, and convenient transactions.
If your team has been exploring ways to gear up for summer, partnering with Patten is an excellent place to start. Contact Patten Title Company today to learn more about what we are doing to revolutionize our title and escrow services.
