We get it — you don’t need us to tell you the lack of motivated sellers is a roadblock to more real estate sales. With nearly 9 in 10 homeowners sitting on a mortgage rate below 6% according to a new report by Redfin, it’s understandable why it may take a more traditional life event for a past client to engage with you on helping them buy or sell a new home.

But what do you do in the interim — how can you add value to your clients even if you aren’t helping them buy or sell at this moment? While you can provide many areas of expertise and guidance, one of the easiest is helping leverage the equity position they have in their home(s). 

As recent as the start of 2024, the average mortgage-holding homeowner in the U.S. has almost $300,000 of untapped equity. That’s up from $274,000 in 2022 and even higher since the beginning of the pandemic which stood at $182,000 (source: ICE Mortgage Monitor and CoreLogic’s Homeowner Equity Insights).

At the same time, consumer and household debt has risen with credit card debt leading the way up to $1.129 trillion at the end of the 4th quarter of 2023. That’s the highest level since the New York Fed began tracking in 1999. Additionally, home equity lines of credit, which typically carry an interest rate above where a fixed mortgage rate sits, have been on the rise since 2022. It’s possible that some hoped rates would come down soon and they would be able to refinance these lines of credit away, but this did not happen.

With all this is mind, let’s share a few ways you can help a client engage in a conversation that they didn’t even know was important to them:

• Be prepared to share their potential equity position. We know that you’re asking general questions that might uncover an upcoming life event, but you should also address their equity position. It’s not just about how much their home is worth, but how much equity they have based on their current mortgage balance.

• Ask if they have any thoughts or plans to update or renovate. A client’s equity position could play a major role in whether or not they will renovate. You can also provide insight into equity creation based on what they do

• Ask if they have had a home financial review. This should be part of every real estate review but not delivered by you — that’s where your network of top-notch professionals comes in! Leveraging your Key Mortgage partner can allow that consultation to take place to see if there is any opportunity to accomplish financial or real estate goals through various financing scenarios.

We believe we can all agree that the agent who can provide real, tangible value in between the needs of a client to buy or sell a home is the one who not only gets that next opportunity, but will be more likely to receive referrals from friends and family.

Engaging in a real estate review is a key piece to not only staying front and center of and relevant, but also having a tangible benefit to offer your client. It’s a real value-add that keeps you top of mind when it matters — and our Key Mortgage loan officers are uniquely qualified to make that a reality. Reach out to a Key Mortgage loan officer today!