Not a day goes by that I do not hear this expression from a would-be home seller: "I don't want to go through the hassle of listing it, just bring me a buyer and we can work out a deal". From the other side of the table, I totally get it. The perception is that as a real estate agent, I am constantly interacting with new clients who simply can't find a home. While that is somewhat true as part of my job is finding buyer clients, the odds of an agent addressing the population at large and actively plucking out a perfect buyer for that specific property, and getting lucky enough that said buyer is actively searching for a home at that very moment is about the same as a snowballs chance in you-know-where. I'd give the same odds on randomly running into that buyer on the street or at the local grocery store. So, it begs an explanation of a phenomenon that I feel is misunderstood in today's real estate market. Where do buyers come from?
We're Going To Need A Bigger Boat
Let's think of our market as a lake. In Douglas and Sarpy counties about 10,000 properties trade hands every year on average. We also know that the market has been crazy over the last couple of years (a feeding frenzy you could say) where most listings were receiving multiple offers. So, out of 10,000 successful sales that means there were AT LEAST 10,000 buyers active in the Omaha area over the course of a year. But, this sum must also include the buyers who were either unsuccessful in their bids or simply gave up so we know the true number of buyers is somewhere north of that. These buyers will represent the fishy inhabitants of our lake.
Now, let's say we are in the mood for a fish dinner. However, we have a discerning palate. One that can only be satisfied by a rare type of fish of which there are only about a dozen or so in our lake. Not only do we want one of these rare fish, we want the one with the biggest wallet...I mean filet. So, where do we go from here? Well, one option is to strap on the scuba gear, dive in, and start sorting through our 10,000+ fish hoping we run across the one, singular fish we are looking for while perusing the aisles of our aquatic grocery store. Is it likely? Not exactly, but it's not out of the realm of possibility either. Is it an efficient technique? Definitely not. However, we may just be in luck. Our rare fish species just so happens to be quite partial to a certain type of food, black olives (apologies to my wife, she loves them). This brings us to option two, drop in a line baited with a big, fat, perfectly presented black olive. Every one of our dozen rare fish can't resist and they come flying in from all corners of the lake. Now, all that's left to do is pick out our winner.
The black olive is a well-presented listing in the hands of a skilled fisherman. One that is positioned and marketed so well that it becomes a super magnet by which every suitable buyer is pulled from the throng, causing them to raise their hands and identify themselves. This is how buyers are identified in the marketplace, not from agents, but from the listing itself.
