MAKE BUYING OR SELLING YOUR NEXT HOME A FUN EXPERIENCE (Series Part 4) IN BRAMPTON ONTARIO
We have done a series of articles on "Make Buying or Selling Your Next Home a Fun Experience" and for your convenience you may follow the links below:
Make Buying or Selling Your Next Home a Fun Experience (Part 1) Make Buying or Selling Your Next Home a Fun Experience (Part 6) Make Buying or Selling Your Next Home a Fun Experience (Part 7)
Make Buying or Selling Your Next Home a Fun Experience (Part 2)
Make Buying or Selling Your Next Home a Fun Experience (Part 3)
Make Buying or Selling Your Next Home a Fun Experience (Part 4)
Make Buying or Selling Your Next Home a Fun Experience (Part 5)
Your Property's On The Market, What's Next?
The first couple of weeks on the market are very important weeks. This is when there is a lot of excitement about the ‘new' listing. You and your Agent will want to make sure you capitalize on this attention. This is the time to get everything in full motion right now, quickly! This is not the time for a laid back attitude. This is the time to move it, move it, move it and get things done without any delays!
Hopefully, the Agent you selected is one of those in the 11% category we previously talked about (remember 11% of Agents sell 89% of properties) and has your marketing plan in full motion. You should be seeing newspaper ads, flyers, internet exposure, Agent contact, Buyer contact and open houses, along with all the exposure from the Multiple Listing Service that we discussed. You should be getting constant feedback from your Agent as to the progress that is being made.
Maybe we should take a look at a few of those marketing mediums.
Local newspaper advertising is a great way to attract attention from your City residents. People put down roots in a particular City, they join social groups and sports teams, the children go to school there and they generally just feel comfortable knowing their way around town. So people tend to move up or down in the same locale. Your property may be just what they are looking for, will they see it in your local paper?
Flyers are another source of attention, especially if they are sent out to ‘target' areas. What we mean by this is that the flyers are distributed to areas where a Buyer for your property may come from. We usually look at school zones, (so the family can move without the children changing schools) or properties that are in a neighbourhood that is approximately fifty thousand to seventy five thousand dollars less than your property (this makes a comfortable ‘move up' for someone). It's best if these flyers are sent out through the postal system as opposed to door to door delivery, where they may or may not reach the targeted destination or inside the newspaper where they become one of a hundred other flyers that go directly into the recycle bin! Something in the mail usually at least gets a minutes review.
Internet exposure, we can't say enough here. This is one of the means you do not want to be excluded from. It is a proven statistic that people are now browsing the World Wide Web for a new home, before they even contact an agent. In addition to Realtor.com and Realtor.ca, they are searching any one of the many websites that offer 'houses for sale' such as Craigslist, Point2Homes, base.google, vast, oodle and lots of others. Is your property on these websites? You want to be part of their research, you want to be found! Make sure your Agent has a good presence there.
POINT TO PONDER - We are told by the majority of people we talk to, and that's a lot of people let us tell you, that if there are not any pictures available and a good selection of pictures, they do not consider that property. The public feels if there are no interior pictures, then there is something wrong with the property.
Agent Contact- Most likely your Agent has had a property listed that has recently sold, that was similar to yours. To get a jump start on the exposure, it is a good idea for your Agent to contact those Agents right away that showed that previous listing either by phone, e-mail or special flyer outlining the highlights of your property to them. Who knows they may still be working with their Buyers and your property may be perfect for them.
Buyer Contact - this is similar to the Agent contact but this time your Agent will be contacting those potential Buyers that may have called them on the previous listing we just spoke of. Again, your Agent will contact those prospects either by phone, e-mail or letter, advising them of your property. You just need one perfect Buyer, the Agent just has to find them and match you two up, like a dating service!
MLS exposure - Again we must stress the importance of pictures of your propertyand on the MLS service it is of the utmost importance. Use as many here as the real estate board allows and for the same reason pictures are important on the other internet sites. On the MLS service however, you are actually advertising to two groups. First it is an ad to the real estate Agents and to the public via Realtor.com and Realtor.ca. Most agents now use the pictures on the MLS service to select the properties they wish to show their clients. They also have admitted that if there are no pictures available, they too, skip over that listing.
The there is always the old stand by:
Open houses - If prepared for properly, this could be a good medium to attract buyers. What we are suggesting is, to be successful, an open house needs lots of signage in prominent areas, it needs to be advertised ahead of time by way of flyers to the immediate neighbours and/or in an area where potential Buyers may come from for your property, ads in the newspapers as well as an open house rider on top of the for sale sign during the week ahead of the open house for example. On the day of the open house, the Agent needs to ‘stage' the property with all the lights on, soft music, fireplace on if a cool day, and have lots of feature sheets on hand. Keep in mind however, that the statistics for selling the actual property from an open house are low. It is a good source of Buyers for the Agent though.
Make sure at the very least all of this is under way then you should be see a high level of activity on your property that will produce an offer on the property for you to review shortly!
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