7 Things Real Estate Agents Wish the Groundhog Could Predict

Punxsutawney Phil peeks out of a hole once a year, and people wait with anticipation to see if there’s going to be another six weeks of winter, or if spring will come early.

You’d think real estate agents would be more interested than most people as to whether spring is right around the corner. But many agents aren’t even doing business in areas that are all that affected by winter weather. And the truth is, the spring market doesn’t really wait for spring to actually arrive to ramp up.

What agents could really use is a groundhog that predicts more universal real estate waiting games! Like, instead of Punxsutawney Phil, agents could have Ralph the Real Estate Rodent as their own Magic 8-ball to pull out of its den and answer such things as:

1) How much longer do I have to wait for my buyer to show up?

Agents are patient and know that things happen in life that cause people to be late. But some buyers always seem to have “things happen,” and others are just so late that you start to wonder if they’re ever going to show up and if you should keep waiting. It’d just be nice to have a groundhog to turn to and find out how much longer you have to wait so you at least know, or can move on with your day.

2) How many more houses will I need to show this buyer?

Most buyers need to see a bunch of houses before they actually buy one. But every once in a while you find yourself showing houses to a buyer for months, even years! Again, agents are patient, but it’d be nice to know that the buyer will eventually buy a house, and not decide to “just keep renting”…

3) When will the market shift?

Whether it’s to be able to answer when buyers and sellers ask, or just for their own sanity, knowing when the market will “cool down” would be wonderful insight to have from a groundhog!

4) How long until we get the “clear to close”?

You can have the smoothest transaction in the world, and everybody is ready to close on time…except the lender. They could’ve received every bit of documentation they asked for the minute they asked for it, but you still have no guarantee or clue when they’ll give you the “clear to close”. Will it be a few days beyond the proposed closing date? Weeks? Who knows… Maybe the groundhog does!!!

5) Will this listing sell within 6 months?

Every agent knows they shouldn’t take an overpriced listing because it probably won’t sell, but pretty much every agent does eventually take one on. Afterall, some agent will list it, and hopefully it’ll sell, so you figure you might as well take it and hope for the best. It’d just be a whole lot easier if you knew it would sell before your listing expires and they relist it with someone else for the price you originally suggested.

6) How much longer until we hear back on the offer we submitted?

It doesn’t matter if the listing agent is a rock star and great at getting back to you in a timely manner or not, waiting for a response on your buyer’s offer can seem like forever. But when it’s an agent or homeowner who does take forever to respond, a trust nod from the groundhog on how much longer it will be before hearing would be helpful.

7) Will people show up to my open house?

There’s nothing worse than holding an open house and nobody shows up. It’d just be nice to know that it won’t be a total waste of time, even if it’s a potential buyer showing up five minutes before it’s over.