CITY INSIGHT HOUSTON   •   May 1, 2019

How To Answer, “How Is The Market?”

When a home buyer or seller is looking to get started on the process of selling or buying a house, they are going to have lots of questions that you’ll need to be prepared to answer. One question you’re guaranteed to hear is, “how is the market?” As a real estate agent, do you give a definitive “it is the best time to buy/sell!” or “right now is not the time to buy/sell”. The truth is, there are several factors you’ll need to be well versed on in order to answer this question.

• Provide An Alternative

A realtor’s level of professionalism can help clients understand the answer or adjust it based on the client’s needs. A blanket answer is usually not ideal. You do not need to act as your clients’ cheerleader all the time but instead, advocate for the best choice for your client. In some cases, it may not be the ideal time for a customer to buy a home. Depending on the client’s personal situation, you could advise on renting instead of buying. This is a short-term solution and also helps answer their question.

• Choose A Path

Being a Real Estate Agent, you may get questions at any point in time whether you’re prepared for them or not. If you are asked this question and are not fully ready to answer, the best advice is not to immediately jump into giving an answer with figures and statistics. Find out why they are asking. Are they looking to buy, sell, rent or invest? Some clients could be asking just out of curiosity. This curiosity is probably driven by a relative, neighbor or friend seeking an opportunity to buy, sell, rent or invest. Once you have an idea of what they are looking for, you can now tackle the question and answer it skillfully.

• Base It On The Market

The answer to this question can also vary depending on the area and the type of house that is for sale, purchase or rent. Once these factors have been put into consideration, you can now work on answering the question. When handling homes for sale in Houston for example, the answer could involve having to take interest rates into consideration. A canned answer is not ideal in any case.

“How is the market?” is a broad question with several factors to consider when answering it. If you follow these guidelines, you should be able to take the necessary actions to get a better idea of what your client is asking, and how to give them the answer they are looking for.

To your growth and success.

The team at City Insight Houston