7 Steps to a Successful Property Sale
Marketing and advertising your home has changed quite a bit from when I started in the business. In the old days, Tuesday was a big day for agents. We spent the morning touring homes and our afternoons were spent writing ads to meet the deadline for the newspapers. Getting the right message out about YOUR home is vital. If the buyers don’t know about it and reasons to buy it, I can guarantee you it won’t sell.
- understand current market condititions
- assess the current value of your home
- set the right price
- calculate the bottom line
- prepare the home for sale
- create an advertising and marketing strategy
- review contracts and common sales practices for your marketplace
According to the National Association of Realtors, research on the 2014 profile of home buyers indicates that 92% of buyers used the internet in some form to search for a home.
Underscoring the value of the internet are the actions that home buyers take after an internet home search. Buyers are increasingly taking the next step such as driving by or viewing a home (76%) or walking through a home they viewed online (64%). With the change in the way buyers look for homes, marketing and advertising strategies have had to change. There is very little print advertising. The agent Tuesday Tour is a little less important because we have access to so many pictures of each home and we take a look at the street on google maps.
The pictures of your home are one of your most important marketing tools. If the buyer isn’t captured by the presentation of the pictures of your home, your home will be on the cutting room floor and won’t be looked at. Agents (87% of buyers buy through an agent) want to see pictures. Buying a home is with the heart but in order to get a buyer to “heart” your house you need to get them inside. Descriptions of your property paint an emotional tug on the buyer’s heart; but the pictures show the backyard, the garage, the kitchen cabinets and etcetera etcetera etcetera. Your home should have a minimum of 15 pictures.
Agents and buyers number one place to look for your homes is through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This is a service that is used by all agents who belong to the St Louis Association of Realtors. You have access to this information through the IDX that I provide for you at BarbaraHeise.remaxagent.com. By clicking on the Search button you are able to do fairly filter searches for homes around your current home and/or where you are moving. This search is more accurate than other sites because it is provided by the MLS and is “vetted”.
Direct marketing to other agents is now usually accomplished through the internet also. An excellent way to do this is with eye catching emails that are interactive. I write a blog about each one of my listings. (Sample blog) This blog is sent to anyone who calls in about your home. It is also sent to agents before they show your home so that they can answer a few more questions for a prospective buyer.
Another method that still works but not quite as effectively is the public and agent open houses. With internet advertising, the best use of time for real estate agents may not be holding an open house. In the “old days” the agent open house was a crucial part of marketing but not so much any more with the advent of the internet. Discuss this strategy with your agent.
Marketing your home is impacted sharply by supply and demand and value/affordability. In a report released by the Bipartisan Policy Center, the baby boomers and the echo boom generation will significantly impact trends in the housing market for the next 20 years. These demographics present challenges to marketing your home: seniors demand housing but also contribute to the housing supply and echo boomers (born roughly between 1981 and 1995) are numerous and generally well educated but have been hit hard by the recession. Knowledge of the demographics of your buyer is integral to the marketing strategy.
The most important aspect of marketing and advertising your home today is the internet. It is available 24/7 and it is global. Through the RE/MAX Listing System your property is fed to more than 350 online search engines and available on the RE/MAX Results website and Web network of more than 76000 sites. It is also featured on BarbHeise.com.
An agent who has effective and innovative internet marketing is essential to your success.
Contact Barbara Heise by phone or text 314-503-4856.
Good Service comes from the heart
Highlights of NAR 2014 Homebuyers and Sellers
Bipartisan Policy Center Report
