As of May 21st, the Mortgage Bankers Association's reported on their Forbearance and Call Volume Survey that there were now 4.1 million U.S. homeowners in mortgage forbearance plans. Based on its figures, loans in forbearance now make up 8.16% of all U.S. mortgages, up from just 2.66% on April 1. That is a huge jump and this will have a significant impact on the real estate market. But how? When? And what can I do to advise my clients, support them, and still build my real estate pipeline?

That wraps up our “Shift” series and the various tactics millionaire agents use to thrive in a shifting market. The bottom line is, successful people know how to shift. You can’t do all things at once, so focus on what’s important first.

For the last tactic of our “Shift” series, we’ll talk about bulletproofing the transaction. When it comes to real estate, being forewarned means being forearmed. We must educate our clients and tell buyers and sellers what to expect—it keeps the drama out of the transaction. 

In a buyer's market, it should be just that. But that isn't always what happens. The buyers don't actually buy quickly - in fact, many times they sit on the fence and take their time. Why does this happen? The great irony of a buyer's market is that even though the opportunity to buy is high, buyer urgency tends to hit an all-time low. Fear settles in - the fear of paying too much seems to stop most in their tracks and immobilizes them.

"In a shifting market ....Gary writes, "unless sellers are under pricing it they will end up under selling it.  Time is not on their side...."  This is difficult for some sellers to understand, and much more about correct and strategic pricing is explained in the book.

Welcome back to our series on the real estate tactics described in Gary Keller’s fantastic book “Shift.” Today, we’ll be covering Tactic No. 4: Find the Motivated - Lead Generation. This tactic, like the others we’ve described in previous episodes, can help agents not only survive, but also thrive during a shifting market.