Introduction to Real Estate Closing Gifts Many times, we give people stuff to show our appreciation oftheir work, association, or companionship. The same principleapplies in real estate as well. If you are in real estate,closing gifts are the best way to close out a deal. So what arereal estate closing gifts? These are basically gifts that you,as a real estate agent, would present to a buyer of a propertyas a goodwill gesture. They are also referred to asclient/resident retention gifts. The goodwill gesture is a mark of appreciation of the fact thatthe buyer chose to do business with you. While a real estateclosing gift may not have too high monetary value, its value asan instrument to foster loyalty and induce the buyer to referfriends to you is undeniable. Everyone loves appreciation and agood gesture, and your effort of presenting the customer with areal estate closing gift remains in the mind of the customer. Such a gesture is what makes a customer come back to you, andalso refer friends to you for their real estate needs. Are Real Estate Closing Gifts Mandatory? It is not compulsory for you, as a real estate agent, topresent a customer who has become a buyer with a closing gift.While there are some that offer housewarming gift baskets,there are others who offer mere housewarming best wishes. Infact, there are many agents who do not buy closing gifts fortheir buyers. The logic behind this is simple – they are fromthat school of thought that believes that the quality of theirwork is proof enough of their commitment to the buyer and thepremium value they place on their customers. Some givehousewarming gift baskets, while others offer just housewarmingwishes. However, a survey has shown that most real agents prefer aclosing gift option to close out a real estate deal. A surveydone by the REALTOR® magazine places the number of real estate agents who opt for closing gifts at a huge 80 percent of the total number of agents surveyed. Keys to Presenting Good Closing Gifts There are a few things you must keep in mind while thinkingabout real estate closing gifts. The first thing is the costfactor, obviously. You have to ensure that your gift is not toolow-priced, as it might end up offending the customer andbackfire on you. On the other hand, the gift should not be so generous as toleave a big hole in your pocket. Also, it should not make thecustomer feel awkward; there should be no feeling ofinappropriateness, especially since it is the time when you areclosing out on the deal. The same survey by REALTOR® showed that only a minority (3%) of real estate agents spend over $200 on closing gifts. A little over 20% (23%, to be precise) spend less than $25 on a closing gift. The number of people in the next range, i.e. people who spend between $25 and $49 is close to 50% (44%, to be precise), while the number of people who spend over $50 stands at approximately 33%. Good Real Estate Closing Gifts So what would make a good real estate closing gift? There is nosuch thing as a universally accepted good closing gift. Theideal closing gift for a customer usually depends on quite afew things; like how much the agent is willing to spend –remember the legal issues involved with realtors giving gifts.You’ll also take into account how useful you think the giftwill be to the customer, or its decorative value, etc. You haveto be able to select the right gift, the one that is just rightin terms of not just pricing, but also style andappropriateness based on your relationship. Different real estate agents opt for different gifts, mostlydepending on what they feel would work best for the customer.So while you might give flowers to one customer, you could givechampagne to another, though it might also be a good idea togive both together. If your customer loves interiors, you couldpresent them with wall hangings or other such decorativematerial. There are a number of things you could present your customerswith, from housewarming gifts like a ‘Welcome Home’ plaque tounique items like hand-crafted photo albums, depending on yourassessment of the client. But always remember, there’s always agood reason to give a gift.

About The Author: Michael Stuart is owner ofhttp://MyGiftBasketIdeas.com and writes on a variety of giftsubjects. To learn more about this topic Michael recommends youvisit the following link:http://www.mygiftbasketideas.com/Housewarming-Gift-Baskets.html

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