How to Sell New Construction When You’ve Only Sold Resales

By Chris Naatz
Vice President of Sales and Marketing
DR Horton – Chicago

Some agents are a bit hesitant to sell new construction because it’s different from their norm and they’re not used to it. What agents can do, though, is get familiar with the process of selling new construction in advance, which should take away any concerns.

A big thing that will make selling new construction easier is personal relationships with the development sales teams. One of the things we encourage our sales team to do is network with brokers, and I encourage brokers to do the same – get in touch with new home professionals, get the plans for the new property and have the brochures and collateral in advance, so when agents have a customer interested in new construction, they’re ready with a few properties that might fit what their client wants. Some clients are only interested in new construction, and if you already have information from a few new developments, you can give your client all that you already have and then tour what they like in person.

Another advantage to having a relationship with the sales team is that the salespeople and brokers know what’s expected – they can figure out what sales approach works for both of them. Brokers might want to come in and let the sales rep sell the property, or some brokers want to participate in the process more. If they have a relationship in advance, they can get a feel for each other’s working style.

There are plenty of ways to build relationships with a sales team. Look up new construction developments in your area, or in locations where your clients are looking to buy and call up the sales team to introduce yourself and ask if they have any upcoming events you can attend, like open houses, new model preview events or general community events. Agents can also set up one-on-one “interviews,” or stop in and say hello to sales teams in person.

Something that is important for agents to understand is how the builder works – some builders will have quicker deliveries than others. DR Horton has an approach where we make sure we have new homes that are ready as much as possible, and have a large selection of homes at all different phases of construction.

In many instances, agents can tell their clients that one development by a builder has homes that will be ready in six to seven months, another that will deliver in two to three months, and one that is already completed. Finding this information out will present more options to your clients. Builders might also have other resources like preferred mortgage companies that give homebuyers rewards, like special financing incentives, for going through that company for their mortgage.

One last important note about selling new construction is things may differ. If an agent’s client opts to build a home with the developer, there are different processes than in resales – there is a preconstruction orientation where they meet the builder, a drywall inspection, an appointment to choose paint colors and finishes and a final orientation of the home before closing.

In addition, there are different, or other, questions that should be asked when their clients buy a new home, like how it was built. Is the home or are any appliances energy-certified? What were the construction methods in the building of this home? By understanding some of the things that make new homes unique, selling new construction is a very streamlined process, and any sales team would be happy to help agents learn and embrace it.