Have you noticed lately in your neighborhood area the number of For Sale Signs? Does it seem that the signs stay up longer, the flyer boxes perhaps empty, and yet the home continues to sit on the market? Is this what it means to be in a Buyer's market?
Today, more than ever is a time to discuss with your Realtor creative ways to get the word out on the value of your home. How is your marketing reaching not only the internet user but other Realtors? There is the temptation for Realtors to blame the fact that your home is not selling on the price. It is true there are three basic reasons that a home fails to sell in a reasonable time frame: Exposure, Location & Price.
Often times we first blame the price. Let's first however consider Exposure.
A high percentage of buyers first begin their search for a home on their own - normally on the internet. This is equally true for Realtors who represent most of the home buyers in today's market. Realtors search an area either on their company site or on the local RMLS. Being visual people that we are, we gravitate towards those with plenty of pictures. Do the pictures of your home honestly reflect the your home? How many times have you and I visited a home on the market to be amazed how different the home looks in real life than it did with the pictures? Take the time to capture the true character of your home. Often times a use of a wide-angle lens works much better inside that simply using a standard lens. If either yourself or your agent does not have the skill set of taking good pictures, request that they hire a professional. In almost every market there are professional photographers available who specialize in Real Estate photography. Since the pictures can be used not only on the MLS and other internet sites, but throughout the marketing campaign, it often pays big dividends to both you and your Realtor to take that extra step in acquiring high quality digital photographs.
Since most home buyers are represented by other Realtors, make sure your home is aggressively marketed to other realtors besides the one you've hired. The goal is to get your home to stand out amongst all those properties Realtors look at daily. We are visual people. As a Realtor I know that I can go to the MLS and do a search for the right property for my client. However, if I receive an attractive flyer in my email box in the search area I need, that flyer gets looked at. I for one do not just delete those flyers from my email. Even if I don't have a buyer at the moment, I still look at all those flyers - it gives me a great visual idea of a market area. These email flyers can be purchased for a low marketing cost. Check out a couple sites as an example and request that your Realtor use these valuable marketing tools:
http://www.ezrealestateflyers.com/
Also encourage your Realtor to visit the realtor offices in your local neighborhood area. This provides the Realtor the opportunity to personally network with Realtors outside their own office as well as putting a flyer of your home in front of them. Have I received an email or flyer lately on your For Sale Home?
Now let's go beyond just local Realtors. Where are the buyer's coming from in your local area? If people are moving from say San Francisco, then let's get your home in front of those San Francisco Realtors as well. One way is again the email flyers mentioned above.
Remember, almost 85% of buyers are represented by realtors. A big focus of our exposure of your home needs to focus on other Realtors.
As mentioned earlier, many buyers today do begin their search on the internet. Buyers currently looking for a home do not stop looking on the internet once they have contacted an agent to help them. There have been many times as an experienced Realtor that I am doing my search for my clients when I receive either a call or an email from one of my buyers and they have just discovered the home of their dreams on the internet and they want to arrange an immediate tour. Where did they find their dream home? Often times they have found in not on the MLS, but on perhaps Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.com/) or KiJiJi (http://www.kijiji.com/) or Realtor.com (http://www.realtor.com/). Is your home being found on those sites? Does your Realtor enhance your property on Realtor.com or keep your home fresh on Craigslist or KIJIJI?
Just a side note: Today a client reminded me that I can post their home not just on the local Craigslist or KiJiJI site, but also in that area of the country where people are relocating from for our particular area of the country. Brilliant.
Your comments on the ideas expressed above are welcome and encouraged. We need to work together in today's market to provide the best possible exposure for listings. Watch for other marketing ideas in future posts.
Comments(1)