Like starting any new life chapter, buying a home is exciting and challenging. As a new home sales agent, it is important to mitigate obstacles and provide expert guidance to help streamline the process, whether the customer is a first-time buyer or is relocating for a job opportunity.
With each homebuyer comes a different home buying experience, so how can sales professionals prepare to make the process as smooth as possible? Below, New Home Star’s seasoned team of sales agents shares their tips, including the importance of transparency, communication, and setting realistic expectations.
New home sales agents should intentionally guide buyers in assessing their financial situation, especially when working with first-time home buyers. This can involve explaining how to get pre-approved for a mortgage, breaking down mortgage payments, including the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance, and providing budgeting tools and calculators to estimate affordability.
Additionally, sales agents should coordinate initial conversations between the buyers and the builder’s preferred lender. The financial aspect of buying a home is among the most challenging and stressful. Having a supportive and knowledgeable sales agent to lead the process will undoubtedly help ease uncertainty and apprehension surrounding such a significant purchase.
When first meeting with a homebuyer, sales agents should discuss the importance of prioritizing the essential home features they want in their home. Encourage them to differentiate these home features between must-haves and nice-to-haves. For example, must-haves may consist of an adequate number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and overall square footage for a family of five. Nice-to-haves may include high-end interior finishes such as granite countertops, a fireplace, or a swimming pool.
Sales agents should provide common compromises buyers may face when looking at homes to help them better set expectations and explore options within their financial limits.
Expectations must be set upfront so customers know the good, bad, or potential obstacles. During the first meeting, sales agents should outline the key steps of the home buying process and what the upcoming months will look like for buyers. Agents can make a point to talk about common hurdles buyers often face, such as construction delays, home inspections, or unforeseen paperwork. Educating buyers on the realistic timelines for closing and preparing them for potential bidding wars or contingencies will help keep them level-headed when unanticipated hindrances arise.
The best plan of action is to be upfront with buyers and deliver every piece of news as soon as possible to help keep the process on track and seamless.
When customers understand each step of the home buying process, they aren’t left wondering or disappointed when something doesn’t go as they assumed it would. A primary goal of any sales agent should be to empower buyers with the knowledge they need to feel confident in their home purchase. Confident customers ask fewer last-minute questions and are much happier on key days.
Agents should initiate clear communication and weekly construction updates via photo-sharing platforms like PhotoCircle and personalized emails detailing all project milestones. Another platform worth utilizing is My Home Story, which allows buyers to receive weekly photo and construction reports. It should be clear to customers that they can always ask an agent questions or concerns about their home and community.
Throughout the home buying process, agents must help buyers understand their financial options, balance buyer budgets with needs and wants, set proper expectations from the very first meeting, and keep buyers engaged with regular housing updates. All of these steps will ensure buyers feel supported through clear communication and expert guidance, ultimately reducing last-minute hesitations and leading to a smoother, more enjoyable home buying experience.
Interested in learning other effective ways to sell new homes? Our industry-leading sales training program has been used by homebuilders nationwide for decades. We’d love to learn about your sales needs and how we can help. Find out how to get more leads, increase your sales productivity, provide better customer service, or all of the above!