There are several marketing strategies to follow when putting your house on the market. Finding an excellent real estate agent is a big part, but without a well-thought-out and strategic marketing plan, you may be disappointed when you don’t receive many offers. Here are seven ways to make your house the center of buyers’ attention as soon as it hits the market.
1. Pricing
It doesn’t matter what your marketing plan is when you decide to sell your home; pricing is the most critical factor when you want to bring in the most offers. You can have a fantastic house in the perfect neighborhood, but if you don’t price it correctly, you risk turning buyers away whether the price is too high or too low.
First, determine the value of your home. Study the comparables, or comps, of properties similar to yours that have sold in the area.
You also must consider the current real estate market and an appropriate price range. Is it a seller’s market with few competing properties in high-demand neighborhoods or a buyer’s market with multiple listings nearby without many buyers looking? The time of year you’re selling, and the competing properties in the area will also help determine the price range.
You can narrow the final list price by looking at value and appropriate price range. Remember, pricing your house on the lower end of that price range will spark the most buyer interest and bring in more offers, especially if you are hoping to sell a house fast.
2. Create anticipation
Before you put your house on the market, put a 'Coming Soon' sign in your yard. You can also ask your real estate agent to post a picture of your house with a ‘Coming Soon’ caption on their website or in their newsletter so buyers will anticipate another house to choose from on the market.
3. Talk to your neighbors
You may be surprised how much interest you can attract to your home by knocking on some doors around the neighborhood. Let your neighbors know you’re getting ready to list your house and ask them if they have any friends or family considering moving into the area. Sometimes, in the age of social media, we need to remember how effective it is to talk to people face-to-face.
If you do have a neighbor or two with a friend or family member who may be interested, offer to give them an ‘exclusive’ pre-listing showing of your house. Make sure your home’s appearance is in perfect, show-ready condition when people come over for the preview.
4. Staging
Hiring a professional home stager is the best way to get ready to show. Having a stager come in with a discerning eye will help eliminate the clutter you may not even notice anymore. The stager will also rearrange furniture to make rooms look larger and more spacious.
The stager may also remove personal items in your home, like family photos, magazines, and children’s artwork hanging on the refrigerator. A stager may also add small, decorative things like a bowl of fruit in the kitchen or an attractive soap dish in the bathroom.
5. Professional photographs
First impressions are everything when listing a home, and professional photographs are an essential marketing tool. Buyers will likely find your home on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) website or another real estate site. High-quality, professional photographs of your home that highlight all the elements will have buyers lining up to see your house in person as soon as they see it.
6. A detailed MLS description
Never underestimate the power of the MLS description; it is a perfect opportunity to highlight your home's unique features. If your master bathroom has a jacuzzi or your entertainment room has reclining theater seats and a giant viewing screen, include that in the description. No need to list basic information like how many bedrooms and bathrooms there are since the realtor will have those listed on their website. Focus on what makes your house different than everyone else’s.
Another thing to remember is that you can include up to 35 photographs in the MLS description. If you have 35 professional pictures, don’t leave them out!
7. Be flexible with showing
Once you list your home on the market and buyers see the incredible photos of your beautifully staged home, there will be a lot of requests to view your home, especially in the first two or three days after the listing goes live.
It’s imperative to make your house available for realtors to show their clients upon request. Ideally, at least for the first few days, try to be flexible enough to agree to let realtors show your house between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, whether on a weekday or the weekend.
Twelve hours a day seems excessive, but it should be only for the first few days after listing the house. It will get more traffic, and there’s an excellent chance you’ll get multiple offers in those first two or three days, so the inconvenience of having buyers coming through all day will be well worth it.
Your real estate agent will have even more ways to market your home to sell it quickly and with multiple offers.
Bret Crino and his associates at The Sails Team know the most effective strategies to sell a house quickly for the highest return on investment. Bret can help determine the value of your home and even find ways to increase it so that when it comes time to list, you know your home is going on the market at the right price to receive multiple offers. Reach out to The Sails Team today so he can assess your home and get it on the market for a quick and profitable sale.
