5 Current Trends in Real Estate Seller Leads You Should Know

 

With tight inventory across many housing markets, being able to secure new seller listings has become even more important.

As we move through 2024 and beyond, several key trends are shaping the best practices for producing and converting seller leads.

In this comprehensive blog post, we will explore the 5 most impactful current trends that real estate professionals should know in order to effectively tap into motivated sellers in their area.

By leveraging these seller lead generation trends and strategies, you can gain an advantage over the competition.

But before that, here's a quick recap of all the lead generation tools you need in your arsenal to stay ahead of the competition:

Ready? Let’s dive in!

Trend #1: Real Estate Inventory is Tight

The ongoing lack of housing inventory has plagued real estate markets across the country for the past couple of years.

High buyer demand combined with historically low mortgage rates have led to widespread bidding wars and homes flying off the market in a matter of days.

For real estate agents and brokerages, the extremely low inventory environment makes attracting viable seller leads more difficult yet also more essential than ever before.

When there is a limited number of homes available for sale, being able to generate and convert seller leads into signed listings becomes a crucial competitive advantage.

But You Still Need Volume...

While quality over quantity matters greatly when it comes to seller leads, real estate professionals still need a steady volume of leads to sustain their business. 

Just a handful of unlisted seller leads per month is helpful, but not nearly enough to support an entire real estate practice. 

The key is to identify scalable seller lead generation strategies and channels that can reliably tap into large pools of potential sellers on an ongoing basis. 

Simply relying on unscalable tactics that produce only a lead or two here and there will not get the job done.

Looking for Buyers to Find Sellers

One effective approach for generating seller leads at scale is to leverage broad-based buyer-focused advertising campaigns and then skillfully tease out the subset of responder leads who also need to sell a property before buying.

The data says that a sizable portion of prospective home buyers actually have a property that they need to sell first before being able to purchase:

  • Around 23% of people searching online for "homes for sale" say they need to sell their current house before they can buy a new one. Nearly a quarter of generic buyer-focused traffic could also translate into potential seller leads.

    15% to as high as 17% of people who register their information on Facebook while browsing homes or engaging with real estate content are homeowners who have a property to sell before buying. Facebook's hyper-targeted ad capabilities provide major seller lead potential.

By driving large volumes of buyer-oriented leads through well-crafted digital ad campaigns and lead capture landing pages, savvy real estate agents can expect to convert 20-25% of those new buyer leads into unlisted seller leads based on the stats above.

While on the surface this appears as a basic buyer lead generation play, tapping into the massive buyer traffic pool allows you to build a steady source of seller leads in the process.

The key is having your lead management and CRM systems set up to identify and segment out the buyer respondents who also need to sell.

Doing the Math

Running some quick math shows the compelling value of generating seller leads through buyer-focused online advertising and lead capture when compared to other seller lead generation tactics:

  • A highly qualified home value estimation lead typically costs in the range of $50+ per lead, and can easily be upwards of $75 to $100+ per lead depending on your metro area. Simple home valuation leads are on the pricier side.

  • Conversely, you can generate a lower funnel buyer lead for around $10 per lead on average. The exact cost varies, but buyer leads come in around 5X+ cheaper than valuation leads.

  • Now if ~25% of your buyer leads can become seller leads based on industry stats, that means for every 4 lower cost buyer leads you generate, 1 of them will also be an unlisted seller lead prospect.

  • So for an outlay of only $40 ($10 per lead x 4 leads), you can yield 1 seller lead plus 3 additional buyer leads. Much greater bang for your buck!

By leveraging high-volume buyer ad campaigns, an agent can generate qualified seller leads at a fraction of the cost of specialized home valuation and other explicitly seller-focused lead generation initiatives. 

This approach also provides 3 times more buyer leads to boost your pipeline. 

The key lies in optimizing your lead capture processes to identify and segment out potential sellers from the buyer lead flow and direct them into targeted seller lead nurturing campaigns.

Watch our CMO Juefeng Ge go in-depth into this strategy below:

 

Trend #2: Automation and Lead Nurture

Once seller leads are captured, following up in a prompt and effective manner is critical for converting them into signed listings. 

However, excelling at lead nurturing requires finesse and skill. This is where technology like artificial intelligence and marketing automation comes into play to assist the process. 

AI and automated marketing platforms provide several key benefits when it comes to maximizing the conversion of real estate seller leads:

AI is on the Rise, Automation Helps to Set the Stage…

AI-powered chatbots and smart email sequencing rules allow automatically setting up tailored lead nurture campaigns to send targeted content and value focused messages to home seller prospects.

This helps warm up the leads through valuable information and relationship building prior to personal follow up outreach.

The technology handles the repetitive nurturing tasks and primes leads for future conversations.

Utilizing Tech to Nurture Leads

Sophisticated lead nurturing and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms provide the ability to segment and craft personalized outreach messages to inbound buyer leads. 

By identifying buyer leads who also need to sell from survey questions or other profile indicators, the system can automatically deliver customized information about preparing their home for sale, the benefits of selling now, and recommendations for listing agents. 

This preframes the leads mindset for seller-focused conversations once handed off to agents for personal outreach. 

The technology solutions enable nurturing potential sellers hiding within general buyer lead traffic.

Automating Follow-Up Sequences

Brokerages can program intelligent follow-up email and text message sequences targeted specifically to potential seller leads. 

These automated nurture campaigns make the first touches to leads feel personal and relevant vs generic outreach.

Instead of repeatedly sending the same blanket messages, creative auto-sequences craft unique value-focused content for each message in the flow. 

This grabs more attention and surfaces more sellers from buyer leads.

As this trend continues to gain traction, expect to see more automated and AI-powered services like Raiya pop up in the market.

Trend #3: Targeting Motivated Sellers

With historically low for-sale housing inventory in many markets, being able to identify and target the most motivated sellers takes on increased importance. 

While all leads deserve focus and effort, certain demographics and homeowner situations tend to produce more motivated or "distressed" sellers, and the following have grown increasingly relevant recently.

As part of an integrated lead generation strategy, also consider targeting:

Downsizing Demographic

Baby Boomer homeowners are naturally a prime target audience for "downsizing" leads. 

As Boomers retire and become empty nesters, the desire to move into a smaller, lower maintenance home escalates significantly. 

Marketing messages should tap into the many benefits of downsizing - less upkeep, single floor living, financial gains from selling their larger home, etc. 

Make sure your lead gen content speaks to this demographic specifically.

Move Triggers

Major life events often act as the trigger for a homeowner's decision to sell their property. 

Common triggers include divorce, new children/babies on the way, job relocations, retirement, children leaving home, illness/death, and more. 

Savvy real estate professionals identify these target audiences through lifecycle and event-based marketing campaigns to uncover motivated sellers. 

Zero in on what triggers or forces the realization that it's time sell.

Inheritors and Heirs

Another motivated seller situation arises when properties are inherited by family members or beneficiaries. 

Oftentimes inheriters are not interested in keeping the home due to it being too large, expensive, or located inconveniently far away. 

Market probate services and cash offers directly to inheriters who are looking for the easiest way to sell.

For Sale by Owners (FSBOs)

FSBOs or For Sale By Owner sellers tried to sell their home themselves and are typically more open to listing with an agent after experiencing firsthand the challenges and complexities. 

Develop marketing letters that gently showcase your ability to sell their home faster and for more money than they could on their own. 

FSBOs usually come to the realization they need an agent so view them as primed for your listing pitch.

Trend #4: Building a Social Media Presence

While still underutilized by many real estate professionals, social media platforms represent a prime channel for generating seller leads. For one, still only a fraction of home sellers find their agent through social media. 

Yet social media offer many advantages for attracting seller leads, including:

High Engagement

Unlike impersonal paid ads, social platforms allow for consistent, high-touch engagement over time.

Savvy agents can build relationships with prospects by providing valuable housing tips, local insights, and area market intel through their social content.

Social selling builds trust.

Targeted Ads

Today's social platforms offer detailed targeting capabilities to help real estate pros hone in on potential sellers based on parameters like demographics, interests, behaviors, and more.

You can narrow to very specific homeowner audiences.

Want an easy win? Ylopo offers highly-targeted social media ads that keep you in the radar of new and old clients - completely as a done-for-you service.

Local Connections

Nextdoor, Facebook Groups, and other hyperlocal social platforms connect you with prospects right in your city or neighborhood. 

Prospects on these networks likely already know your name or have existing awareness of your brand. 

Leverage that familiarity and trust and build the online arm of your sphere of influence.

Hashtag Discovery

Using targeted real estate hashtags allows prospects to easily find your profile, posts, and listings when they are ready to sell. 

Try hashtags like #ReadyToSell, #SellingYourHome, #HomeValue, #NeedToSellFast, and other real estate terms that will attract motivated sellers in feed searches.

The key to generating leads on social platforms is having a thoughtful strategy for each channel and sharing a steady mix of helpful original content, real estate news links, local market updates, community information, and paid ad campaigns. 

Consistency and high-value information builds your credibility with prospects over time.

 
 

Trend #5: Content Marketing

Your website, blog, and social channels present prime opportunities to attract and nurture seller leads through strategic content. 

"Content marketing" refers to creating, sharing, and promoting relevant, valuable content to attract your target audiences. 

Used effectively, content marketing can generate and nurture highly qualified real estate leads over time. 

And with inventory as low as it is, you want sellers to come looking for you as much as you’re looking for them.

Key content marketing tactics for generating seller leads include:

Home Value Content

Most every seller immediately wants to know how much money they can get from selling their current home. 

Creating content tailored around home valuations, Comparative Market Analyses (CMAs), and how to maximize your home’s sale price serves as enticing “bait” to attract motivated sellers and capture their contact information.

And did you know you can do this on overdrive through Ylopo’s integration with Homebot? Read more here.

Market Update Content

Consistently publish market update content focused on trends, stats, and expert insights about your local market. 

Share across your website, social media, email newsletters, and other channels. This establishes your credibility as the go-to area expert. 

Promote new comp listings to attract more potential sellers as well.

In short, developing content specifically targeted to attracting potential real estate sellers, and making that content easy to find through search engines and other channels, is a proven lead generation strategy.

Unearth the Goldmine of Seller Leads Buried in Your Buyer Traffic

Generating a handful of seller leads simply won't cut it anymore.

You need a constant influx to feed your entire business.

That's why Ylopo has devised scalable solutions to tap into the massive buyer lead pools and seamlessly convert 25% into primed, motivated sellers.

Ylopo's proprietary integration allows identifying and segmenting seller leads within your buyer traffic with unrivaled precision. We unlock the buried treasure chest of potential listings hidden in your buyer chaos.

And we go beyond simply uncovering sellers.

Ylopo's AI lead nurturing platform crafts hyper personalized messaging that speaks directly to each unique seller situation at scale.

We prime leads for conversion through automated sequences you won't find anywhere else.

Let's hop on a quick video chat this week so I can walk you through the game-changing technologies and scalable solutions Ylopo offers to help you dominate lead generation through optimized buyer traffic conversion.

This could finally provide the high-volume seller lead gen engine you need to compete in today's inventory starved market. I look forward to connecting soon!

 

About the Author

Aaron “Kiwi” Franklin

Head of Growth