Preparing for the ‘squeeze-flation’ summer: 3 strategies to brighten a sour market

Working in residential construction is not for everyone, especially in uncertain economic times. There are strategies for surviving the fast-paced markets with multiple listings and markets where it can take months to sell your latest listing.

It won’t be a Barbie or Brat summer. Thanks to the war in Iran, this year will be the summer of “‘squeeze-flation’, which means that we will have to squeeze out everything we can get in the coming months. We will be strained financially and mentally as we actively try to keep our businesses and personal households on track.

Here are three ways my team is adapting lead management, consumer conversations, and even our social media presence as daytime temperatures and geopolitical tensions rise.

1. Switching to sandbagging strategies

When we use our CRM tool, we approach with less urgency to close as quickly as possible, and instead try to spread out the closings and generate a predictable income target. It’s an old-fashioned “customer sandbagging” tactic that your real estate coach or boiler room sales manager will probably hate.

Instead of forcing ten customers to close in one month, we’re slowing down the timelines so that we will hopefully close seven customers every month for the next three months.

This simple mindset shift takes thoughtful planning, and it’s less about competition and more about spreading the work and reducing stress on your team, your customers, and your sanity during tough times.

Takeaway meals: Instead of worrying about not getting enough business, or what next month’s business will look like. Start focusing on spreading out your activities to reduce stress and create more regular closures. Why try to juggle six closes at the end of the month when with a little planning you can have three at the end of the month and three to start the next month strong?

2. Nurturing leads from one day to the next steps

I have noticed that the outlook has been quiet, a bit more cautious and certainly more conservative in terms of their budgets. It’s less about the ideal space and more about making sure the space they need is functional within their current and future budget.

This means this market calls for a repositioning of the sales pitch. First, if they have concerns about long-term financial planning and short-term monthly budgets, we dive deeper into gathering information.

This can go as far as figuring out current monthly expenses and talking about what the positives and negatives are of their current situation, and weighing that against the potential cost increases or savings over a new housing footprint.

For many clients, predictability equals safety. If they feel like they’re barely scraping by now, and your listing is above their budget, it’s your job to convince them to consider alternatives and not just give up.

Since my team is already slowing the pace, that “extra time” goes toward more discoveries to convert lukewarm customers into leads with a scheduled close date in the future. It’s a two-step process: educate and offer the next step.

Here’s an example:

To raise

I know the cost of oil heating is a major concern for your personal budget, and the house you originally fell in love with has an oil heating system. I did some research on how much it would cost to upgrade that old system, and I found a similar home without an oil heating system nearby that we could take a look at together.

The next step

Are you available on Saturday to view the other home, or would you like me to send you the quote I found?

Takeaway: Consumers are overwhelmed and thinking about the summer holidays seems much more fun than putting down a deposit on a house that may not be their dream home. Taking more time to research and discover their story can help you figure out what their next step is, rather than just letting them cruise through the summer without a plan.

They reached out because something has changed and moving might help. Simplify the process and remove barriers that stand in their way.

3. Social undermining

I’ve slowed down our reporting… all the way down. What? Why? Once again, consumers are inundated with media. I only post the best of the best. When I take a moment of their time, I want it to add value.

That means sharing the best photos, the best stories, the best events, stages and spaces that are magazine-worthy (and a few virtually staged ones too). I share blogs and reflective language that are less about driving sales and more about education and culture.

I’ve been through all kinds of market swings, I’ve seen amazing viral posts, sloppy terrible posts, posts that break my heart, posts that shoot through my body, and right now it feels important not to publish content for the sake of following a prescribed schedule for views, likes, etc.

We also explore how ChatGPT and other major AI language models scroll through social media, digital content, and reviews to create “recommendations” for their user base. This is a slow process as it is developing right before our eyes this spring and will certainly play a role in how we develop marketing strategies for 2027.

Takeaway: I no longer follow a post X times a week, a month, trying to “hack” the system or win free leads. We run carefully planned campaigns anchored with blog posts, fewer videos, and more meaningful, curated photos. We want our marketing to be a breath of fresh air, not a loud sensory overload to distract or attract someone’s attention.

Squeezing out results with less

I don’t think there’s a single person in our industry, from top to bottom, who doesn’t feel pinched from multiple sides at once. How can we leverage the results when everyone’s focus seems to be paycheck to paycheck?

As sales professionals, which problem do we tackle first?

• Number of leads?
• Willingness?
• Reliability?
• Rising costs of every type of insurance?
• Increase in utilities?
• What is the right thing to say to a client who is concerned about all of these things?

By slowing down the pressure, we give ourselves more time to carefully resolve problems and concerns. Real estate agents and housing professionals whose top skill is emotional intelligence will shine this summer, as they will stand out from the crowd because they know that pressuring or extorting a sale under these circumstances is a disaster waiting to happen.

Slow down, take a deep breath, and explore what potential is lurking in your email, text messages, social media posts, past calendar events, and maybe even that long-forgotten list of anniversary celebrations. Your next referral is not unknown; you just haven’t figured out their next steps yet.

Rachael Hite is a senior housing consultant, writer and thought leader on real estate and aging. Follow her work Instagram And LinkedIn.