In Conversation with Real Estate Expert Justin Havre

If you’ve ever listed a home by yourself, you know that selling a house is a lot tougher than it looks. So how do real estate professionals manage to make it look so easy? Here to explain the ins-and-outs of property sales is leading real estate expert Justin Havre.

Justin, how were you able to quickly scale your real estate business?

One thing I’d recommend that independent real estate companies should do is to align themselves with a household name. For example, my company’s name is Justin Havre & Associates, but our license is with RE/MAX First. By associating ourselves with an existing global brand, we were able to grow our business quickly.

How has the pandemic affected real estate?

Like nearly every other industry, real estate has been heavily affected by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. But successful real estate agencies have been able to pivot their business model to accommodate their client’s needs from afar. High quality, 3-dimensional tours is one of  the ways to keep selling homes even amidst a pandemic. People can access the tour from anywhere with the internet, allowing you to sell houses while minimizing the risk of exposure for both buyers and sellers.

What advice do you have for people trying to sell their homes quickly?

Whether you are a homeowner or an agent, having a house sit on the market for a long time is not ideal. There are some tricks I’ve learned over the years for how to keep your houses selling quickly, regardless of what the market is doing. First, make sure you’ve adequately staged and photographed the home. I always use professional-grade photos for my listings. This is likely to be the first thing your potential buyer sees, so it’s essential to make an excellent first impression as I believe that our first showing is online these days. Second, use an MLS (multiple listing service) to get maximum exposure for your home. In addition to the MLS, it is also important that you have a web presence like Calgary.com, we have some of the busiest websites in our marketplace where we give our sellers additional exposure to hundreds of thousands of visitors a month. I also recommend employing social media. Post walk-through tours on your Facebook page, and announce sales and teasers on your Instagram stories.

Buying or selling a home is a difficult task. But according to Justin Havre, it is possible to grow your real estate business, even during a pandemic. You just need to understand the market and know how to use that knowledge to your advantage and connect with your consumers.