Founded in 1983, Howard Hanna Financial Services provides consumers with mortgage, title, insurance, and escrow services. For many real estate firms, these services provide home buyers and sellers with a one-stop shop solution that delivers a tremendous amount of convenience. We have seen these packages of affiliated services propel many real estate firms to heightened levels of success by delivering compelling and differentiated services. Companies like Weichert, Long and Foster, Hunt Real Estate, Fox and Roach, Crye-Leike, Real Estate One, and others experience a tremendous market advantage when the consumer understands the benefits of accessing all of the services needed for a real estate transaction from a single conglomerate.
One of the most successful programs offered by Howard Hanna Financial Services is the Buy Before You Sell Program. WAV Group studies the effectiveness of these services for many of the Realty Alliance firms, and Hanna Financial has seen enormous growth in this particular program. Duffy Hanna, President of Howard Hanna Financial Services expressed that they have seen this particular program double in popularity from 2017 to 2018.
Driving the popularity of this service is the scarcity of inventory available to home buyers. In a highly competitive buyer market, home buyers find themselves at a disadvantage when buying a home if they need to submit a home sale contingency. Sellers prefer and accept offers without contingencies more readily. The Buy Before You Sell Program is essentially bridge loan on a buyer’s existing home that allows that buyer to buy their next home before selling their current home. There is no payment due for the first 3 months and then interest only for the next 3 months or until the home is sold.
This program is driven by an understanding of market metrics. Real Estate companies and mortgage companies understand the number of days that a home is likely to be on the market before it is sold. Duffy Hanna reports that the average loan term for the Buy Before You Sell Program is 70 days from inception to close. Across the seven states where Hanna Financial provides this program, they have originated about 11,144 loans totaling over $2 Billion.
Helen Hanna Casey, President of Hanna Holdings provided some insights on the success that this program has had in converting buyer and seller leads. Many consumers want the certainty of knowing where they are going to move before they close on the sale of their home. It creates a tricky situation whereby the real estate salesperson is often challenged to synchronize a home purchase with a home sale at the same time. Often this puts the seller in a position whereby they feel compelled to accept lower offers on the sale of their existing home in order to secure the home they want to buy. With the Buy Before You Sell Program, home sellers have more latitude to allow the market to work for them by strengthening their buyer offer while not putting discounting pressure on selling their existing home. This program is a keynote of the listing presentations of Howard Hanna sales associates.
As you can imagine, Howard Hanna not only leverages these creative programs to benefit consumers but also articulates the strategic advantage of these programs in their agent recruiting and retention efforts. Howard Hanna agents who clearly articulate these programs to their clients convert more buyers and sellers. One stop shopping is a powerful offering. The execution of great strategy is the key reason why Howard Hanna and other Realty Alliance firms continue to profitable expansion in an increasingly competitive industry.
The terms of that bridge are very attractive. I don’t know of any bank in my area, Nashville TN, offering anything like that.
You may want to check with Crye-Leike Mortgage
Smart companies, like Howard Hanna, do smart things for the consumer. If the real estate experience is going to be improved, brokers need to step up and solve problems that consumers have with creative consumer-focused solutions.
Good work Hobie and Helen. This program really serves to significantly “move the consumer experience needle” for the consumer and the broker. This program will serve to put real meat around the value of your brand.
Very smart.