Q: “Denise, I went to your Real Estate Success Summit last week and I loved what you said about inventory being on the market being “Freezer Burnt”. I took a look at how long our inventory has been on the market and wow! More than 50% of the homes have been on the market for more than 60 days! I have some buyers who need to get on those! How should I put together that message?”

Great job on taking a closer look at your inventory! Opportunity abounds when you look for it.

First, I would make a chart like I had at class. It looks something like what I have below. Please note that each area may be different and 30 days may be the norm in your area, in which case, adjust the table accordingly. You should at least have a range for your “hot” timeframe, a “warm” timeframe, and a point at which your inventory is dated. In this case, I am assuming we have 100 homes for sale.

For this particular market, those 45 listings are freezer burnt. These sellers still want to sell, but they have been on the market for so long that buyers are passing them over in favor of fresher inventory. Maybe their pricing is in line now but it didn’t start out that way and they are trying to catch up to the market. That is the message that your buyers need to hear.

In addition, interest rates have gone down over the last several weeks – another drop was indicated by FreddieMac just this morning. On November 15, rates stood at an average of 4.94% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. Today, rates are down to an average of 4.41%. On a loan amount of $300,000, that is a difference of $95.42 per month or $34,351.20 over the life of the loan. Provide a few examples for your buyers of typical loan amounts in your area. You may use our Future Value Calculator or work with a mortgage lender.

Those two points combined is the message you should be shouting from the rooftops for all potential buyers if you indeed have a glut of old inventory.