A primary aspect of the role of a real estate professional is to know market statistics in the area served. Understanding the market area is critical to knowing the market conditions, levels of inventory and other key indicators.  

Here are some tips to help understand market statistics in an area. Create a spreadsheet and each day, take note of the number of Active and Pending Listings over the last 30 days. Pay attention to whether those numbers have trended up over the next 30/60/90/180 days. Also take note of the List Price to Sales Price Ratio. Doing this will help present a buyer with predictive evidence before writing an offer. It will also give a seller confidence that they aren’t leaving money on the table.

When delivering market statistics, here are a few foundational questions to help a client understand current market conditions:

• What have you heard about the market?
• When did you last buy/sell?
• Would you have changed anything about the process?
• What are your thoughts/feelings going into the process?

Ask open ended questions in order to create a discussion instead of just one-word responses. This will help relay the right information. Some great questions to ask when reviewing the data are:

• What jumps out at you?
• What patterns do you see?
• What opportunities do you see?
• Do you see any potential challenges?

When working with clients whose personality styles differ from each other’s, and maybe even your own, delivering information based on their DISC personality style might be helpful. Here are some things to know and keep in mind when working with each personality style:

• D’s (Dominance) want bullet points and raw data. “Over presenting” data can cause frustration and a lack of rapport, and it can raise questions they didn’t have to begin with.
• I’s (Influence) on the other hand might not want to look at numbers. They like graphs and charts and can easily be talked out of a property by too much talking and/or too many statistics. With this personality type, keep in mind that emotion sells, but logic is going to be what keeps them under contract.
• S’s (Steadiness) may be slower to make decisions. They may need to consult someone else first to ensure future security. They also appreciate the data and prefer a stable market.
• C’s (Conscientious) are going to want all the data. Overanalyzing and taking time to decide is their MO. But at the end of the day, the decision must make sense to them in order to pull the trigger.

When delivering market statistics, it takes practice to create and share all of the information. But being able to do so will make a world of difference in your ability to serve clients and grow your business. Be the source of the information, own the process, and ensure your clients make informed and educated decisions.