Master both sides of the transaction when inventory exceeds demand
Your success in a buyer's market depends entirely on which side of the table you're representing - and many new agents get it wrong on both sides. When inventory exceeds demand and homes sit for 30, 45, 60+ days, buyer agents have leverage to negotiate 10-20% below asking price, extend contingency periods, and secure seller concessions that would be laughed at in a competitive market. But listing agents face the opposite challenge: helping sellers accept reality, price strategically, and compete against every other home sitting on the market.
Here's what we see too often at Getty Group: new agents who represent buyers become so focused on "getting a deal" that they submit insulting lowball offers that kill negotiations before they start. Meanwhile, the same agents representing sellers let clients overprice by 10-15% based on what the neighbor sold for six months ago - then watch the listing go stale while carrying costs pile up.
In Alberta, this dynamic is even more pronounced. Our market swings with oil prices, and when energy sector employment drops, housing demand follows. The 2014 oil crash created buyer's market conditions that lasted years. Understanding these patterns - and having the right scripts for both buyer and seller clients - is what separates agents who close deals from agents who watch them fall apart.
When a listing hits 30 days on market, you have leverage. At 45 days, significant leverage. At 60+ days, you can submit offers 20-25% below asking with data to support it. You'll learn exactly when to push and when you're going too far.
Telling a homeowner their home isn't worth what they think is uncomfortable. But the agents who can do it with data, empathy, and strategic framing are the ones who actually sell homes instead of watching them expire.
Buyer complacency (waiting too long and losing the right property) and seller stubbornness (overpricing and accumulating carrying costs) kill more deals than any other factor. You'll have the scripts to prevent both.
Our economy doesn't move like Toronto or Vancouver. When oil prices drop, we see buyer's markets faster and more dramatically than anywhere else in Canada. You'll learn to read these signals before your competitors do.
Recognize buyer's market indicators and apply negotiation leverage appropriately
Help buyer clients act decisively without overpaying or losing deals to hesitation
Guide seller clients to realistic pricing through data-driven conversations
Use specific scripts for both buyer and seller clients in soft market conditions