Altos data is an absolute must-have for listing presentations - especially in a world where sellers have done their own research on Zillow, and your competitors all come armed with good CMAs.
Altos data differentiates your market analysis by putting your comps into the broader market context, allowing you to set realistic expectations about price and timing based on what’s happening in the local market. As you walk your seller through the data, you’ll also demonstrate how the unique insights you get from Altos will inform your strategy, and ultimately enable you to get them the highest possible price in the least amount of time.
And of course, being able to talk about the market in a sophisticated and insightful way, while also educating your seller, helps you build rapport, establish credibility, and develop trust - three key pillars of every successful sale.
Here’s how to integrate Altos data into your next listing presentation - either before or after you review the comps:
Bring up your Altos market report for their zip code, and begin with the Market Action Index (MAI). You might say, “I use this metric called the Market Action Index, which actually helps us predict where prices are going to go in the future. You can see that it’s becoming a seller’s market - inventory is starting to drop, and demand is growing.”
Then scroll down to look at available inventory in their market segment, noting the specifics: “Not only is inventory tight in your price range, but there are only X homes on the market in your market segment.”
Next, bring up the chart for Days on Market for their segment, and point out how fast homes are moving at the moment. “Demand has been pretty strong this summer - our average DOM is only 54 days. That’s faster than it usually is.”
Now that you’ve given them some market context, move on to price. Bring up the chart for the Median List Price and note where homes with similar characteristics are currently priced, and what’s been happening over the past few months - are prices increasing or decreasing, and by how much (and how fast)?
In the scenario above, it’s likely that prices are starting to creep up, and the seller might be able to price their home in the higher range of their market segment.
That being said, it’s also important to show sellers the percent of active listings taking a price reduction - remember that 30-35% is average. Make sure to point out that nearly a third of active listings are overpriced out of the gate, and that their pricing decision should take this into consideration.
And finally, look at what’s normal for this time of year. Pull up the three-year chart for prices and show them the rhythm of the market - when prices are going up and when they’re going down. This will help them make a better pricing decision based on where the market is likely headed in the coming month or two.
You should include print-outs of these charts with your other materials for the seller to take home - don’t forget to ask them to watch the MAI, price trends, inventory movement, and DOM in the reports you send them every week in your Altos campaign.
There’s a right way and a wrong way to share data. Coming in and rattling off a bunch of statistics doesn’t necessarily help the seller understand how these stats drive the market and fit into their decision-making. That’s why as you present the data, you should also be educating your sellers on how to interpret it, and bringing them in on the analysis so they feel empowered. This approach goes a long way towards building rapport, credibility, and trust. Having real data will also help prevent emotions from creeping into decision-making!
Our data can be at your fingertips momentarily, so dive into the numbers and make your next listing presentation even more powerful. Click here to run a report for your area.