If your property is ready to sell, there are lots of ways to do marketing. As you might guess, one of the best methods is to take advantage of all the online opportunities to showcase your home.
But that’s also one of the problems: your listing becomes the equivalent of a speck in the ocean, and is not necessarily being seen by serious buyers.
Many people think that the more exposure the better, and often that’s true. You should be aware, however, that there are now plenty of online services that thrive on selling leads to real estate agents. Your listing can attract anyone who is curious about your type of home, and pass them off as a real prospect. The end result is you get complete overloaded with “tire kickers”.
Although many buyers will be interested in your home, there are also many reasons why those buyers will not take action. Obstacles such as arranging financing, coordinating the sale of an existing home, transitioning kids to new schools and sports teams, and arranging the move can get in the way. You need to cut through the people who aren’t ready yet, and aim for the people who are serious. These people already know their needs, and what shortcomings they can live with in order to fulfill them.
The good news is that you can optimize your listing to target the right buyers.
The Right Pictures
We’ll assume you’ve already done the staging work for your home, and the only furniture you can see shows off the space.
Ideally, get a professional real estate photographer who understands how to display your home to best advantage. That’s what we do here at Paul Rushforth, because a good photographer knows how to make spaces look as large and bright as they truly are. For some high-end homes, we even use a drone to do a flyover of the property.
In fact, average and low quality shots will make even good homes seem worse.
The Right Price
One of the most important tools in your marketing arsenal is the right price. Most home sellers are tempted to price too high, which discourages buyers. In fact, many will not even see your home if your asking price is more than their maximum budget.
There is a fine art to pricing a property correctly, and you can read more about it here.
The Right Details
The goal with your property description is to generate excitement about the hot points of your home. You want potential buyers to take action and inquire.
Focus on the good points of your property, for example, a convenient location. Briefly explain the whys and hows. If your neighbourhood is perfect for families because of nearby schools and parks, mention that. Connect the feature to the benefit for your buyers.
Let people know who would be happy in your home. For example, a smaller home close to amenities might be perfect for downsizers.
Don’t go overboard with your descriptions, however, or play fast and loose with the truth. A clear, thorough and honest online presentation of your property will weed out the casual looker and better attract genuine buyers.
The Right Channels
Online listings are great, but there are also lots of other ways to market a home, especially print. There are several excellent real estate and lifestyle magazines in the Ottawa area. We also use radio ads to help attract people to our site.
Creating Competition and Maximizing Bids
The perfect combination of the right price and effective marketing will create excitement and scarcity. This is how we get homes to sell quickly and get the selling price of a property to its highest possible level at the same time.
Marketing your property can be overwhelming, and it takes time, skill and experience. It takes even more if it works and the emails and calls come flooding in! Figuring out which buyers are serious enough to do a showing, and how to negotiate with those buyers are also important skills needed to sell your home.
Find out more about why our marketing program is so effective, and how we sell homes quickly and for top prices.
