As seen in The Seacoast Scene
May 27, 2007
The secret to selling your home fast!
Ahh... another catchy headline to grab your attention.
If there were one secret, everyone would do it, and then it wouldn't be a secret!
Instead, in a market like this, there are many things you can do to enhance the visibility and desirability of your home. Remember, when there are many more homes for sale than are selling, (a buyer's market), you have to make your home stand out above the crowd.
I have some things that will help, but as our president says.. "It's hard work". Are you up to the challenge?
Pricing: I'll get that point out of the way right off the bat, because I know you're sick of me talking about it. Simple fact in this market: If you overprice with the intention of reducing the price if it doesn't sell or to give yourself negotiating room, be prepared to wait and have your home on the market a long time. You won't even get to the negotiating stage, buyers will ignore your listing.
Marketing: This is where the rubber hits the road. You want to get the most eyeballs seeing your lovely home. In the past, a sign, a newspaper ad and MLS listing got the job done, but times have changed big time! Statistics show that over 80% of home buyers begin their search on the internet, so having a strong visibility there is key to success. Multiple web site exposure increases the chances that someone will see your home. The local MLS on the web and Realtor.com are a good start, but hardly the be all and end all for exposure.
Web Strategy: Realtor.com boasts more "web hits" than any other real estate related web site, so it makes sense to start there. If your home is on the NH MLS, the listing will show up there, but unless your Realtor has an "enhanced" or "showcase" package, (costs more money), your listing shows up with a basic description and no photos. Statistics (there's that word again) show that the listings that get the most views have multiple photos and some sort of video tour. It certainly makes sense then to make sure your home is highlighted or "showcased" then...
Many other websites that you might not think of are great tools for getting the word out on your home, simply for their size and number of "hits". Google, Yahoo, craigslist, Trulia, and AOL are some of those. Also, exposure on the web sites associated with the country's biggest newspapers are a great source of prospective buyers (many are relocating from other areas of the country). The Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Chicago Sun-Times all have great real estate sections that generate interested buyers. If that's the case, your home should be featured there, no?
Great Photos: Be sure that the photos of your property that show up on line enhance the listing. Many sellers have multiple photos, but showing small bedrooms in small fuzzy photos hardly create a "buy me" emotion to the prospective buyer. Multiple high quality, wide angle, large format photos are the key here.
High Definition Video Tours: There was a time when "virtual tours" were all the rage, but there are better options now to show off your home than those spinning claustrophobic tours... After all, they distort the image, the walls bend, and have no perspective. Many Realtors are now using a photo slide show with descriptive text, usually with larger photos. Some use actual video movies of your home, the yard, and maybe the surrounding area and attractions. These movies, widescreen and high definition, really are the coup-de-grace in this area. The catch: they're not cheap if done right, so you don't see a lot of them in use, but they can create a buying emotion stronger than any other photo method.
Home Staging: Ahhh... something you may not be aware of. A relatively new service employed on certain listings to maximize the salability of a home by de-cluttering, rearranging, and perhaps using new pieces as "props" to show your home to it's maximum potential. There are several home stagers in the area that I use to consult or work with interested sellers who want to "pull out all the stops" in the marketing of your home. By all means, check out Staged First Impressions, and tell Sue I asked you to contact her. Here's a staging professional that really "gets it"!
Remember- your home is a product that together we're trying to sell in a slow, or buyer's market. There is no room for the old "list and hope" methods. We have to work hard together to reach your goals. Call your agent today and "kick it up a notch".
Statistics courtesy of New England Real Estate Network, National Association of Realtors, and demographer Peter Francese. Used with permission.
Bill Faulkner is a Realtor® with ERA The Masiello Group in Hampton and can be reached at 603.601.1112 or bill@BillFaulkner.com.
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