Search this site

How to Market Your Home to Attract the Right Buyers

The Six Factors That Determine How Quickly Your Home Will Sell
 
 Price - The price you ask
Condition - How well the property shows
Terms - What terms you will accept

These 3 factors YOU control
 
Timing - The season or market conditions
Competition - Other homes on the market

These 2 factors NEITHER OF US Controls

Promotion - Advertising and marketing
This is MY AREA OF EXPERTISE - I will share my plan with you.
 
Lots of articles offer advice on what you should look for in an agent. I prefer to give you a sample of my marketing plan so you can form your own opinion. I am honest, frank, and firm about what needs to be done to a home before putting it on the market. Realizing that most sellers aren’t prepared to do major remodeling on a house to get it sold and would rather conserve cash for their new home, I make an effort to emphasize small improvements that add a lot of appeal for a buyer. New paint and carpet can dramatically change the appearance of a home. I also address items that might come up in a home inspection to alert sellers about what might need to be done after the home is under contract.

Once the home is ready for the market, I will have a professional team come in to photograph and draw floor plans to be used in my marketing materials. A Broker’s Luncheon will be held on the first Tuesday that the home is listed inviting more than 200 brokers from the community to view the home for potential clients as well as to offer feedback on the listing. It always helps to have another set of eyes, and 50-75 sets offering feedback can reassure you that the pricing and presentation of your home is appropriate for the current market.

Because more than 85% of buyers start their home search online, Internet advertising is an absolute must to get the exposure that your home needs to attract buyers. I advertise on more than 20 websites viewed by buyers nationwide. Some of these include MRIS.com, Weichert.com, Realtor.com, Yahoo.com, MSN.com, AOL.com, Washingtonpost.com, homesdatabase.com, homes.com, uniquehomes.com, realestate.com, redfin.com, zilow.com, wallstreetjournal.com, and frontdoor.com (HGTV’s Home Search Site).

In addition to online marketing, your home will be featured in numerous print publications on a local and national basis to reach our relocation buyers. With more than 100 agents in my office and 18,000 agents Company-wide, a large percentage of my business is closed using our successful referral network. Your home will be front and center on our "referral radar."

As a result of my experience and knowledge of past transaction statistics, exposing your home to the correct group of buyers is also mandatory in my mail marketing campaigns. I can use my database to determine where past buyers have come from based on a number of criteria and apply the results to the marketing materials that I prepare for your home.

Open Houses are key to getting your home shown. Yes, they are free invitations for your neighbors to quench their curiosity of what your home looks like, but they can also be the only opportunity for your home to be seen by buyers who are not working with an agent. Internet sites heavily advertise and map out open houses for these buyers.
A constant line of open communication with my sellers is also a key to a successful transaction. I provide weekly updates with reports on traffic and comments so that we can sit down and review our current plan to see whetherchanges should be made.

If you would like to set up an appointment to learn more, please contact me.