Closing gifts have the profound effect of communicating gratitude and making your clients feel appreciated. Jimmy Burgess’ 10 real estate closing gifts ideas will help you stay top-of-mind with your clients at the end of a transaction and into the future. 

This post was last updated: Nov. 28, 2022.

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Want to make an impact that will last? Give your client a gift they will never forget!

The way we show gratitude after a deal closes sets the tone for how the relationship will go long after the transaction, and the closing gift can significantly impact your relationship-building momentum.

How do you keep the relationship momentum going after the ink has dried on the closing papers? How do you turn happy customers into raving fans and clients for life? This is where saying thank you in a memorable way is so powerful.

Closing gifts have the profound effect of communicating gratitude and making your clients feel appreciated. The following 10 real estate closing gifts will help you stay top-of-mind with your clients at the end of a transaction and into the future. 

1. Donate to a charity your client is passionate about

Donating to a charity that your client passionately supports is a great way to say thank you. It lets them know that you listened to what was important to them.

When you make the donation in your client’s name, you can usually ask that a letter be sent to your client notifying them of the gift you made in their honor. The letter won’t typically include the donation amount, so use your discretion when deciding how much to give.

The gift will let your clients know that you listened to their values and that you share those values, as well.

2. Give a personalized mug

The more personalized the gift, the more impactful. Sites like Mamigon.com allow you to pull photos of your clients’ posts on social media and place them on these mugs. 

I got one of these from Alicia Cop with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties in St. Louis, Missouri, and the personalization of the gift was amazing. 

She found photos of my family on my Facebook page, and because she knows how much I value family, she created a personalized coffee mug for me that included images that were special to me.

Whether it be photos of their home or family photos, personalizing these mugs makes you memorable.

3. Host a party for your buyers or sellers

Your clients who are selling properties might be moving away from friends and other people who make up their sphere of influence, so you can host a going-away party for the sellers at their house, clubhouse or another venue. 

This event will establish you as an agent who is also a great friend, and your clients will have a chance to tell their friends how happy they are with the service you’ve provided.

For buyers, host a housewarming party, and allow them to invite people they know in the area and their new neighbors. This option takes the “just sold” postcard to another level by notifying nearby homeowners that you’ve closed this deal. 

Go door-to-door with a flier, and invite the neighbors to meet your clients and connect with other people in the neighborhood. This strategy is especially effective in your farm area because it allows homeowners to ask questions about this sale or the current market. 

In both cases, make the event easy for your client by taking care of the food and drinks, and you can even offer to send the invitations so that you can add the guests to your database.

4. Create a personalized jigsaw puzzle

Garib “G” Haji of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Woodmont Realty in Nashville, Tennessee, uses a photo of the client or the client’s home to create a personalized jigsaw puzzle. Ideally, he uses a photo of the family standing in front of the new house, and he uses a platform like Shutterfly.com to generate the puzzle. You can even incorporate a small version of your logo on the image.

The puzzle won’t cost much money or take much time, but it’s a personal touch that will help your clients remember the transaction and you as their agent. 

5. Provide a landscaper or housekeeper for a day 

Moving into a new home is a long process, and you can take the pressure off of your clients by helping them manage some of the workload. I usually phrase the offer this way:

“I know getting settled can take a while, so I’d love to provide a housekeeper to help you get your house really clean before you move in or once you’re unpacked. I’ve coordinated with someone who will clean your house whenever you’re ready, and everything has been taken care of, so all you have to do is call and coordinate the visit.”

If your client’s new home could use some freshening up of the landscaping, coordinate a landscaper who will make it happen without the stress falling on your new buyer.

When you identify the stress point for your particular client and then help solve that problem, you’ll stand out as someone who goes above and beyond to make sure their homebuying or selling process is as stress-free as possible. 

6. Buy gift cards to your favorite restaurants

I give gift cards to my clients quarterly after closing as a way to stay top-of-mind and to introduce them to restaurants that I love. I give the first gift card at closing, and I let my clients know that I’ll be sending a new gift card about every three months over the next year. 

I make a note on my calendar to send them over the course of the year. The sending of the cards each quarter makes sure that you continue to stay at the forefront of their memory.

Your clients will remember you when they receive the gift card and then again when they use it, compounding the effect of these gifts.

7. Bring a cake to the final closing

Glennda Baker from Atlanta noticed that most of our special occasions, like birthdays and weddings, involve a cake of some kind. With that in mind, she started the practice of having closing cakes made. She uses a picture of the home along with her standing by a sold sign out front for the top of the cake, and she presents it to them at the closing.

It’s a great way to celebrate the occasion and position yourself as more than just a one-time agent. There’s also a pretty good chance your clients will post a picture of the cake on their social media platforms, compounding your exposure for going above and beyond their expectations.

8. Systemizing your handwritten notes and personalized follow-up gifts 

Sierra Reed of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties out of St. Louis watches for clients who post great photos on their social media. She then uses those to generate a personalized note card with a handwritten note to the client.

The platform SendOutCards allows you to submit your handwriting for use on personalized mailers to your audience, and it lets you change the photo on the front of the card so you can personalize it to your client. 

She’ll include a note like this: 

“I saw this amazing picture, and it is too good not to be printed.”

She sends these randomly throughout the year, and it keeps her connected to her clients.

You can also systemize your SendOutCards account so that a personalized card will be sent to your client each year on the anniversary of their closing date, and you can include one of the additional gifts that the company offers to really stand out. This follow-up hack is a great way to set up automated annual touches with your past clients.

9. Share tickets for local events

Give your clients tickets to the biggest events in your area, like concerts, football games, races or movie festivals. The beauty of giving tickets is that not everyone will be able to make it to the event. But by simply offering, you’ve touched base with a personal gift (keeping you top-of-mind) and you earn that same relationship recognition whether they use them or not (brownie points).

I would make a list of the clients I wanted to deepen my relationship with, and I would call the client and say something along these lines:

“I have two extra tickets to the Songwriters Festival in two weeks. I would love to give these two tickets to you and your spouse if you are free that weekend and would like to attend. If those dates aren’t of interest to you, I’ll definitely keep you in mind for future events.”

In the busyness of life these days, many people will not be able to attend. This gives you the ability to offer the tickets to multiple people before finding the people who will value them the most.

Like the gift cards, you’ll be top-of-mind when they receive the gift — and then again when they use it.

10. Give a gift personalized to your market

Because I’m in a coastal market, I give my clients a beach bag filled with personalized items that relate to our area. I include things like a trucker hat for him, beach towels, local magazines, insulated tumblers, T-shirts from the area, and stickers for their cars.

This gift can be expensive, but I’m providing a memorable gift that will make them more likely to remember me in the future and to recommend me to other people later on. 

We’re in the relationship business, and our ability to be memorable will strengthen those bonds and earn trust with our clients. Give gifts that will help you stay top-of-mind for your clients, and you’ll go from being a one-time agent to a lifetime agent.

Jimmy Burgess is the CEO for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida in Northwest Florida. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.

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