How do you sell apartments when the market is at a standstill? We asked the brokers (Photo: ShutterStock)
"I have a WhatsApp group where there are intermediaries. We help each other. Now many of them call me and ask: 'What's going on, what's going to happen?' The work is very difficult now, many realtors are worried," says therealtor, Hanna Deri, owner of Topliving, which works in the Tel Aviv area and specializes in luxury apartments, among other things.
The state of the frozen real estate market – both because of rising interest rates and because of the uncertainty and situation in the country against the background of the legal reform – directly affects the work of real estate agents. "The sellers have not yet internalized that the situation in the market today has changed," says Deri, who has been in the field for 23 years. "A person shows you a 60-square-meter apartment, wants an exorbitant and unrealistic price. If six months ago it might have worked for him, today the situation is different. The sellers are the problem here. They are unable to accept that the situation has changed, so there is a stagnation in real estate. At the moment, the situation looks not good. Suddenly, everything stopped. Even people who searched for apartments for me for NIS 20 million suddenly tell me that they decided to freeze the purchase because of what's happening in Israel."
Hannah Deri, owner of Topliving (Photo: Private)
How does it affect your work?
"It requires me to work harder than I've ever worked. I just fight for every deal. But no matter how much I work, it doesn't necessarily guarantee that a deal will be closed. Until people reset on the new situation and start lowering prices and relaxing, we'll be stuck."
Does the situation increase competition between intermediaries?
"It was never easy, but today the competition is even tougher. Also, there are too many realtors who just fell out of all kinds of professions and are trying to do it. They have a license, not necessarily experience, and they also take work from professional people like me who have been in the market for so long and with so much experience and satisfied customers. I'm lucky that people send me clients with recommendations."
More in Walla!
The smart test that detects an increased risk of stroke - now on sale
Presented by Shahal
Benny Lobel, manager and owner of Anglo Saxon Greater Jerusalem (Photo: Private)
Total commitment
"At the end of the day, a situation like what is happening today cleans our market of all kinds of 'passersby,' let's call it that," saysrealtor Benny Lobel, manager and owner of Anglo Saxon Greater Jerusalem, which has been in the field for nearly 30 years.
"When real estate conveys sexiness – and that's all they've talked about for the past five years – there were those who said: 'I'll get a real estate license, it won't hurt.' But people don't understand that mediation work is not what is seen from the outside and that it is not something that can be done on the road. It's an absolute commitment, an investment. Today it is not enough to be an information provider. Customers can find this information on their own online. Today you have to be able to be a professional, to know the real estate, the plans of the neighborhood, what educational institutions it has, what transportation passes through there – things in which it will be more difficult for 'passersby.'"
What does the work of realtors look like in the current period?
"Whoever used to sit and wait for phones, now there are fewer phones. Whoever mediates his being, works harder now, understands that he has to initiate and cannot sit and wait for things to come to him. On the other hand, if six months ago you might have been able to sell an apartment on your own because there was a real estate frenzy, panic of buyers and a feeling of 'grab now, because tomorrow the price will be more expensive', then today those who want to sell an apartment need realtors to look for buyers who really want to buy. Therefore, today it is also much easier for us to locate the serious sellers who really need to sell and also appreciate the professional aspect. In practice, unequivocally, there are fewer deals, but we are already familiar with situations in which the market stops for a few months."
Lovell adds: "Especially in Jerusalem, over the past 30 years, we have experienced everything: stops in the real estate market because of an intifada, because of periods of security unrest, stops as a result of global crises, such as Corona, and more. Now it's a combination of different things, including psychological. First of all, suddenly interest rates went up, something the market hasn't seen in five years. Rising interest rates stop people, and those who don't have to buy or those who depend on mortgages won't buy now and wait. Added to this is the political crisis, the uncertainty – which does not create a good environment for real estate transactions. People say, for example: 'Let's wait to see that my work situation is stable,' 'Let's wait a few months, see where the reform goes.' At the moment it is pent-up demand, but in the end people get married, have children, need this real estate. Eventually, people will materialize. You need patience."
Hadar Farber, realtor, owner of a "place to call home" office (Photo: Private)
A matter of patience
"The increase in interest rates and everything that is happening now in Israel have caused many clients to sit on the fence and say: 'I'm not sure I want to invest here, I don't know what will happen, maybe it's not worthwhile,'" saysHadar Farber, a realtor and owner of a "place to call home" office that has been working for the past decade mainly in Ramat Gan, Givatayim and East Tel Aviv neighborhoods. "I have clients who just canceled deals because of the uncertainty. They literally say: 'I feel unstable ground, maybe I should change to another channel, invest abroad.' I also have clients from abroad who were looking to live here and really froze their decision."
How are you doing during this time?
"There are still deals, but there is no doubt that there is a negative impact in terms of the number of deals. I also see colleagues of mine who are thinking about retiring. Today there are almost no phones, fewer customers calling, and I could be in the coming months with little income. But mediation is first and foremost a profession that requires patience. Today I invest more in marketing, in all kinds of alternative ways to reach properties, customers. Today, when sellers find it much harder to sell, you also need to be very expert in negotiations. If there is already interest, you need to know how to keep both sides in the game, so that they do not give up and that a good deal can be reached. I also use professionals, working with a mortgage consultant, to advise and assist clients."
Patience, according to Farber, is the key word today. "Today, deals take longer," she says. "Both sellers and buyers understand that more patience is needed. A crisis, by the way, is always an opportunity, certainly in the real estate world, but the question is where the whole issue of reform is going and to what extent do people look ahead and see the future here in Israel. I believe in real estate here.
In my opinion, at the present time, only the strong mediators will eventually survive, those who can afford to wait. For example, I take advantage of this period to provide service to customers and people who are undecided, even if there is no deal. This is out of the thought that later they will get back to me, and also because a significant part of my business is built on service and transparency. I wouldn't have survived if I hadn't worked like this. Most of my assets are by word of mouth. I also feel that now I'm being approached more for collaborations. I always cooperate, but not everyone does. Today, for example, if some realtor has an exclusive property, then he turns to me to bring in clients. It's not something that happens normally."
Assaf Marciano, owner of "Halomot Real Estate" company for marketing, consulting and accompanying real estate transactions" (Photo: Shaked Persi)
Out of the box
"Today, because of the circumstances that have arisen, many people have stopped deals along the way. This also happened among my clients," saysAssaf Marciano, owner of Halomot Real Estate, a company that markets, consults and accompanies real estate transactions, focusing on the Petah Tikva and Rosh HaAyin areas. "Some people regretted it and dropped buying or selling. Also, if in the past every apartment that was advertised sometimes had dozens of phone calls a week, today it's only a few calls."
How do you deal with the situation created?
"Today you have to think outside the box. This means, for example, targeting a target audience outside the geographical environment in which you used to work, in order to bring buyers from outside the city. If I'm selling an apartment in Rosh HaAyin, then try to bring buyers from Ra'anana, Hod Hasharon, Kfar Saba – even if it's an investment apartment and even sometimes people can be persuaded to move to a city.
In addition, I invest quite a bit of money in marketing. Not only ads on Yad 2 and Madeleine websites, but also paid advertising on social networks, producing flyers, things that in the past were less needed. Also, if you used to reach two or three potential buyers and maybe you already closed a deal, today the goal is to reach as many potential buyers as possible. That way, one of them is more likely to have a relevant offer that suits the seller. By the way, anyone who understands the field knows that today this is an opportunity to find excellent deals below the market price. There are many who are undecided, but there are also those who understand and purchase, because eventually prices will rise again. It's just a matter of time."
Inbar Alon, Real Estate Investment Specialist - RE/MAX Family Krayot (Photo: Ilan Kadosh)
Flip on upside down
Inbar Alon, an expert in real estate investments - RE/MAX Family Krayot, actually feels that the current period is doing her good. "Mostly what has changed in the last four or five months is the undecided buyers," she says. "Before that, the work was actually maybe harder in that respect.
There were a lot of people coming, interested, but those who didn't necessarily have to buy or sell. Rather, there were potential customers who looked more at the market, came to see and not necessarily make a decision. In recent months, however, I have been meeting the exact buyers, those who come and need to buy and want to buy and are willing to buy.
Also, if six months ago a customer had told you that later he would issue approval for a mortgage – and we might have reached an agreement but at the moment of truth maybe he would not have been able to get a mortgage – then today because of the noise surrounding the mortgages, buyers are already coming with approval in principle from the mortgage bank."
According to Alon, she personally prefers what is currently happening in the real estate market. "Now you're not with the immature buyers, but with whoever comes to make a deal," she says. "Six months ago there could have been a promenade, today it's much more focused. The amount of potential buyers has decreased, but it is much more qualitative. I hear brokers talk about making fewer deals, but for me it's background noise. The data in the market says that there are fewer deals in the center, but everyone knows how to talk about his piece of God.
For me, there was no decline, but an increase. I, thank God, am not on the side that was hurt. My transactions even increased from last year. It's just that if I used to show the house to 10 buyers, today I show four and sell. It's much easier for me today. This period also made customers know more, understand more interest rates, understand what they need to get to a deal. Today I work easier and feel that at the end of the month I close more deals. Maybe it's because of my specific area and specialization."
Meaning it's easier for you because of the price of assets?
"Many times, mainly because of interest rates and mortgages, people are undecided about the higher amounts, for example over NIS 2.6 million. But I don't see that, because in my area most of the transactions are around a million shekels. By the way, we also encounter people who sell apartments in the center of the country because they took out large mortgages, and with the money they have left after cleaning the mortgage, they buy an investment property in the north. They didn't completely leave the real estate market, but because of rising interest rates, they changed their mindset: buy where you can and live where you want."
- money
Tags
- Real Estate
- Brokerage
- Intermediaries
- Apartment brokers