The sky-high home prices and mortgage rates have kept a lot of aspiring homeowners from out of the market. Only a few homebuyers who can afford the high prices in the market are actively looking for homes currently.
This situation has put a lot of stress on home sellers and even more on the agents of a real estate brokerage. These real estate professionals have to literally bend over backwards trying to ensure that their listings stand apart from the competition and attract more attention. However, even after putting a lot of effort into marketing the listings, most of them sit on the market forever, receive lowball offers, or get little to no attention from buyers.
If you’re going through this same situation or want to avoid such instances with your listings, you need to read this blog till the end. Here, we will unveil six common errors made by listing agents that prevent them from selling a property successfully.
Overpricing a Property Because the Client Wants So
Many times, the agents of a real estate brokerage in Mississauga have to comply with the unrealistic demands of their clients. For instance - the agent may do a proper analysis of a property and find out that the accurate value of a property is around $900K-$1M. However, the home seller may hold tight to the demand that the listing price of their property should be $2M.
If the agent decide to go ahead with the client’s demand, they may surely keep the client satisfied. But such a high price tag can deter away potential buyers and keep the property sitting on the market for long.
This is why instead of agreeing to every unrealistic demand of your home-selling client, try to educate the client. Explain to them the market analysis data that support the $900K-$1M valuation and why a higher listing price may backfire on the home seller.
Downplaying the Importance of Staging the Property
Real estate agents fail to realise that staging isn’t just important for an open house. But this is a crucial step to create an attractive online listing too. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), staged homes sell 88% faster than unstaged homes. A well-staged property looks much more attractive in photos and compels a buyer to book a private showing & tour the house in person.
Stuffing Your Listing with Excessive Text
The next grave mistake agents of a real estate brokerage make is overcrowding their online listings with too much text. Instead, always aim to keep the property listing descriptions short and relevant, mentioning only the most unique and attention-grabbing details that homebuyers would like or love to know.
Choosing Not to Hire Professionals for Listing Photos
This is a big mistake listing agents make that end up costing them a lot. If you want to get the best ROI from marketing your property listings, then you need to essentially hire a professional photographer. Here are two key reasons why your listing photos must be clicked only by professionals -
Listings with professional photos close faster and for more money
Listings with professional photos sell 32% faster and receive 61% more views than those without. Professional photography can also lead to listings to earn a 47% higher asking price per square foot.
Professionally shot listing pictures are great for your brand promotion
Think about some of the common things a potential home-selling client asks to you when you pitch them to sell their home with you. Most definitely they’ll ask to look at the marketing materials of your previous listings. They would want to know how your real estate brokerage would promote their property in the Mississauga housing market.
This means the money you spend on a professional photographer won’t just make your listing sell faster and for money but can help you get more listings in the future too. Quite a great investment, right?
Overdoing It with Pictures or Detail Shots
The odds that this particular mistake made by real estate agents annoys potential homebuyers is 100%. After all, no one wants to look at ten pictures of the same fireplace from different angles and only have to scroll through another ten photos of the kitchen counter.
Instead, try to include one photo of each room, of the front and back yard, and if possible a drone shot of the enter property. If your listing has a unique feature like a gourmet kitchen or a spa-like bathroom, you can certainly include around 2 pictures of it. But make sure not to overdo it and leave a little mystery so that the homebuyer will schedule a private showing.
Not Effectively Promoting the Listing
Another mistake that the agents of a real estate brokerage in Mississauga can make with listings is not effectively promoting it. Maybe you’re promoting the listing on every social media platform but not holding any open house. By doing this, you won’t be able to reach that section of homebuyers who aren’t tech-savvy and use social media.
So, make sure to try every marketing strategy for your property listing - from social media and email marketing to hosting open houses and print ads. Especially with fewer buyers on the market currently, it’s important to get the word about your property listing as much as possible.
Many real estate agents overlook many aspects of a property listing while trying to grab buyer’s attention. They fail to realise that even a seemingly tiny detail can lead to big and expensive errors and delays later on. Whether it’s a decluttered home that makes a property look unappealing in listing photos or a property description with a lot of text and photos, making these mistakes may delay the home sale process and reduce profits both for you and the seller.
Therefore, to gain profits and success from your property listings, pay close attention to every aspect of the listings. Ensuring that even the smallest details are carefully considered and optimized can make a big difference in attracting buyers and achieving successful sales.