(Adult) Kids Who Recommend Their Realtor to Their Parents
As Millennials become more active in the housing market (yay!), their Realtors (myself included) are enjoying a fringe benefit: a leg up marketing to their Baby Boomer parents.
I see two reasons why “the kids’ Realtor” has the inside track landing their parents’ business — often, the sale of a long-time family home, followed (or sometimes preceded) by the purchase of a smaller townhome or condo nearby.
(Note: if the buyer is a couple, sometimes there are two sets of parents involved — and potentially four related deals).
Two-for-One . . . x 2 (or 3!!)
One. There’s no “incumbent” Realtor, because the parents haven’t bought or sold a home in decades.
They may get Realtors’ postcards in the mail, or know one (or more) socially, but they haven’t worked with one in a long time.
Except, of course, the agent who just helped their son and daughter-in-law buy their first home (see next).
Two. Familiarity.
Some parents help out with their children’s first down payment or earnest money check.
Others will tag along during their kid’s home search, to help vet the finalists, give their input on a 2nd showing, or just provide emotional support.
When the parents need their own Realtor a year or two later, all that interaction with their children’s agent is tantamount to an extended job interview.**
P.S.: In my experience, the vast majority of the time, parental input is welcome and constructive during a child’s home search.
What’s critical is that the 20-something (or 30-something!) “child,” not the parent, be the decision maker.
**In a microcosm, the same rationale applies to Realtors hosting Sunday open houses.
That is, Buyers checking out open houses aren’t just learning the market, they’re also interviewing for an agent to sell their home.
