Talking Real Estate
Hi folks, Thought I would talk about property ads this week, a popular topic among my colleagues currently as we enter the listing season.
Hi folks,
Thought I would talk about property ads this week, a popular topic among my colleagues currently as we enter the listing season.
Many people feel that real estate ads often exaggerate the features of the properties advertised. Yet agents frequently report that when it’s their turn to sell, many vendors just can’t help wanting to ‘oversell’ their property by insisting that every feature of their home is highlighted in every ad, or by insisting on ‘four bedrooms’ rather than ‘three bedrooms and a study’. But what does a real estate ad really need to achieve?
There’s an important distinction that needs to be made: the ad is not the property. Furthermore it won’t sell the property by itself. A real estate ad has done its job if it makes people want to come and carry out an inspection. Then it’s up to the property to live up to the description if a sale is to be made. If purchasers feel disappointment that the property does not live up to expectation, they are unlikely to make an offer.
As such it is better to claim less for the property rather than more. Underselling works better than overselling. There should be a buildup of desire and excitement that reaches its peak by the time people set foot in the property. Purchasers should be delighted to find that the property is everything the ad said it was – and more. Purchasers are frequently buying a lifestyle and rather than listing all the features of the property, it is more effective to evoke the kind of life they might be able to live as owners of, and dwellers in, this particular home..
Secondly, too much information can actually make people decide not to inspect the property at all. To the inexperienced, this seems an unlikely situation. How could an ad that highlights the property’s desirability actually go against it in the long run? They don’t realise that potential purchasers may decide without seeing the house that it would not suit them. Some vendors think that purchasers who have already made up their minds against their property weren’t ever going to buy the property anyway, so it’s a good job they didn’t waste everyone’s time on an inspection. This approach is a short-sighted one, however, as it overlooks the very real potential for the house to sell to someone who falls in love with it even though it doesn’t outwardly meet all the criteria on their wish list, or had a feature they had decided they didn’t want.
Remember, most purchasers have to compromise on some features, and the home may meet their needs so well in some particular way that is special to them that they overlook the glaring lack or supply of something else they thought they needed.
Is it better to saturate the advertising space or target specific areas?
Hi folks,
I thought I would discuss putting your advertising dollar to work.
In the US, eight out of 10 people (in Australia and New Zealand seven out of 10) make their initial foray into the market via the internet. After all, the net is convenient, inexpensive and wide-ranging and it allows purchasers to be anonymous until they are ready to buy. What do the internet and other technologies mean for the more traditional advertising vehicles and how does a vendor work out how to get the best value for advertising dollar with so much out there to choose from?
Should vendors spend their advertising dollars by concentrating on saturation advertising in a few advertising vehicles or should they spread it more thinly over a wider range? Traditional advertising vehicles (window display, local paper, signboard) are still popular, but the internet is not the only recent advance in real estate marketing.
In the United States and in some parts of Australia and New Zealand, the use of Mobile or SMS marketing is also an option as well as social networking sites. Most professional agents conduct bona fide local research to establish what media work best in their area. Informed vendors would do well to ask if agents have done that research and what the results show, rather than making the assumption that the more widely (thinly!) they spread their advertising dollar, the more successful it is likely to be. While the successful media vary from location to location throughout Australia and New Zealand, the number of media that generate 80% of inquiries is usually no more than four. The main three are usually internet, newspapers and For Sale signs.
Confusion arises because some less professional agents recommend a wide range of advertising vehicles that sound good to the lay consumer even though the statistics about where the purchasers come from don’t actually support them. It is easier for some agents to offer to advertise in a large number of media rather than do the research that isolates where the vendor’s dollar is best spent.
Tech is great, but don't discount the feeling a property gives buyers.
Hi folks,
I thought I would talk about a marketing tool raised at an appraisal this week regarding the internet and the various selling tools it can utilise.
The question raised was about virtual tours. So my question is “should vendors care whether the marketing of their property carries a virtual tour and should they use them?”
Research into the use of virtual tours by intending purchasers is certainly food for thought. Before 2006, virtual tours had a bad reputation. They were slow, clunky (not a computer term but I’m still learning) and they were also capable of causing computers to “freeze”
Since then they have become faster and more efficient, largely due to the massive uptake of broadband both in New Zealand and over the ditch during 2006 and 2007. As a result they have become the first choice to some purchasers wanting a quick and easy way to have a first look at a property.
Studies show that current intending purchasers in both New Zealand and Australia click on listings with virtual tours before clicking on those without and they stay on that listing for 4 times as long.
There are certainly some positives to them but I wouldn’t want you to think I was sitting on the fence on this issue. I understand the need to change and evolve in business, I’m certainly not a luddite but I have to tell you, I’m not a fan!
"But why, Steve?", did I hear you ask? “These tours show the property so the purchaser can make an informed decision without leaving the comfort of their own home, it must be a good thing”
Nope, not really in my opinion. I have sold property in two different cities since 1995 and one thing I have learned is that a lot of buyers have bought emotionally. They have walked into a property, had a “feeling” and have bought on the spot. With a virtual tour buyers can dismiss it immediately without entering the home itself. A vendor wants to see people walk through the door, I need people to physically go into a home and see the potential, “feel” how the current owners and their family live and make an informed decision from there. Too many times have I sold a home to people who initially said "no" for whatever reason and have proved to be happy when they move in. As technology advances and more Generation Y ers buy my opinion may change but right now I will stick with the old fashioned way of actually walking someone through a house.
If you're going to advertise your property on an agent's site, make sure the site has these basic features.
Hi folks,
Listing your property on an agent’s website is an inexpensive way of getting wide exposure. But if you are counting on internet exposure to sell your home, you need to feel confident that purchasers wanting to purchase in your area will be using the site as a source of property information. How can the layperson determine whether an agent’s website will direct inspections to the property?
Put the agent’s site to the test yourself. Is it user-friendly or can it only be accessed through a slow portal site? The home page should download in 10 seconds and all subsequent pages within 20. Is the information on it up to-date?
Purchasers want lots of information and photographs.
- there should be at least 10 photos,
- the total floor area should be indicated in square metres so purchasers can make comparisons at a glance; purchasers on the net are in a hurry.
- Icons indicating the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and car spaces enable purchasers to quickly assess the suitability of a property before reading on.
- Does your agent present all information in bullet form without flowery language? Purchasers report that they like to get the complete address of advertised properties and the sales consultant’s direct contact details online.
- They also say that they like at least a ball park indication of price –there is no point wasting time reading a lot of information if the property is out of their reach.
- The website should also have a list of properties open for inspection – Opens change weekly and purchasers will have to keep coming back to the site to see what they can look at this weekend. If the information is out-of-date, purchasers are unlikely to visit on a regular basis.
- the Open for Inspection list should also provide a direct link to each property listing so that the full details of any property they are interested in are just a click away.
Purchasers using the internet also want anonymity until they are ready to make contact with the agent and carry out inspections. The time for purchasers to make their details known to the agent is when they want to start inspecting real bricks and mortar.
Websites requiring purchasers to give their details before providing information are unlikely to get repeat visits.
Hi folks, As I have a couple of empty properties to sell I thought I might offer some thoughts.
Hi folks,
As I have a couple of empty properties to sell I thought I might offer some thoughts. It’s well known that empty houses usually take twice as long to sell and often sell for less. But why?
It’s hard for an empty house to ooze charm or vitality. And few prospective buyers are good at visualising a house’s charm potential. After all, people don’t buy houses they buy homes. In other words, when they walk into a property for sale, while their heads are looking at features and benefits, their hearts are engaged only when the atmosphere makes them feel at home. If their hearts aren’t engaged, the fact that the features of the property add up on paper rarely makes a sale happen.
Empty houses also make it hard for people to do decide whether their furniture will work. Without chairs or sofas to indicate size and scale, how can they make the translation from their current living room to the one they are looking at? If there are, say, two two-seater sofas, buyers can quickly make comparisons with their own living room without resorting to time-consuming measurements when they are simply trying to form their early impressions.
Uncertainty makes people lose interest, especially if the house isn’t sending out lifestyle vibes that engage their emotions. Above all, when the house is empty, prospective buyers tend to focus on negative details. It is easy to see chips or cracks when there are no paintings, furniture or window coverings to take their attention and camouflage imperfections.
If you have to move out, it’s worth contacting a home styling company whose services include moving in furniture and accessories to make a house look like a home. The costs will be worth it in the long run, as the house will sell faster for a better price. You can even choose colours, furniture and fabrics that target the demographic that is likely to buy your house.Even if you’re just interested in improving the look of your home to enhance its selling potential, styling companies can help you tweak the presentation for maximum impact.
Gauging how much to actually say in an ad is very important.
Hi folks,
Many purchasers report that they feel that real estate ads often exaggerate the features of properties for sale.
Yet agents frequently report that when it’s their turn to sell, many proud home owners just can’t help wanting to ‘oversell’ their property by insisting that every feature of their home is highlighted in every ad, or by describing their home as having ‘four bedrooms’ rather than ‘three bedrooms and a study’. But what does a real estate ad really need to achieve?
No matter how superlative the advertising language is, the day of reckoning comes when purchasers arrive and match up their expectations with the reality. If the ad has done its job, purchasers will feel excited when they see the real thing. If an ad overstates the features of the property, purchasers often feel deflated or even worse - conned. A real estate ad has done its initial job if makes people feel desire and curiosity – sufficient to make them come and carry out an inspection. Disappointed purchasers are unlikely to make offers.
The property ad is not there to inform prospective purchasers about every aspect of the property. Too much information can actually make people decide not to inspect the property at all. To the inexperienced, this seems an unlikely situation. How could an ad that highlights the property’s desirability actually go against it in the long run?
Many home sellers don’t realise that potential purchasers may decide without seeing the house that it would not suit them. Some sellers think that purchasers who have already made up their minds against their property weren’t ever going to buy the property anyway, so it’s a good job they didn’t waste everyone’s time on an inspection.
This approach is a short-sighted one, however, as it overlooks the very real potential for the house to sell to someone who falls in love with it even though it doesn’t outwardly meet all the criteria on their wish list, or had a feature they had decided they didn’t want. Remember, most purchasers have to compromise on some features, and the home may meet their needs so well in some particular way that is special to them that they overlook the glaring lack of something else they thought they needed.
Hi folks, Hi folks, I was asked this week, and not for the first time, about marketing and advertising.
Hi folks,
Hi folks, I was asked this week, and not for the first time, about marketing and advertising. The costs, the different places to advertise, why we do it and how does a vendor decide which advertising vehicles are worth the money.
Immediately, I would suggest the predominant reason as to why we do it is simply that no agent has every buyer on their books. It doesn’t happen, we may have a lot of buyers but we can’t have them all.
Re: places to market, these days it is fair to say that most professional agents conduct bona fide local research to establish what media work best in their area. Informed vendors would do well to ask if agents have done that research and what the results show, rather than making the assumption that the more widely (thinly!) they spread their advertising dollar, the more successful it is likely to be. While the successful media vary from location to location, the number of media that is supported by statistics is usually no more than four.
Confusion arises because some less professional agents recommend a wide range of advertising vehicles that sound good to a vendor even though the statistics about where the purchasers come from don’t actually support them. It is easier for some agents to offer to advertise in a large number of media rather than do the research that isolates where the vendor’s dollar is best spent.
While most of the traditional advertising vehicles (window display, local paper, signboard) are still as popular as they were in pre-internet days, statistics show that the internet has modified the way most people make their first approach to the property search. In the US, eight out of ten people (in Australia and New Zealand seven out of ten) make their initial foray into the market via the Internet. After all, the net is convenient, inexpensive and wide-ranging and it allows purchasers to be anonymous until they are ready to buy.
Only you know the secret charms of your property. Share them with your real estate agent to produce the perfect ad.
Hi folks,
It takes a certain expertise to write a good property advertisement, but as a home owner, you know your house better than anyone else. So give some thought to the benefits of living in your particular corner of the world. Some of the attributes that could help sell your home might actually surprise even you.
Your agents might be able to write a better ad than you, the home owner, but they can’t write an ad that speaks to the hearts of potential buyers without the benefit of your intimate connection with the property. What sort of things might the agent want to know?
Not that we have many of these in Upper Hutt but if you are in an apartment in Wellington you might mention the bus at the door that has lots of great cafe stops on its route, or that you feel safe to let your teenagers catch it at night because they don’t have to walk home in a dark street. You might even mention how much you enjoy the fact that there is a rubbish chute that saves you going to the ground floor with your rubbish.
If you are in Trentham it might be a back gate leading to a track to TMP where your kids can play without having to walk there by the road, or the number of bird attracting plants in your garden.
These are things your agent might not know, so make sure you jot down these benefits as they occur to you and let the agent use it as a basis for writing the best ad. Don’t expect the agent to use all the material you give them, let them be the judge of which benefits will best appeal to local buyers, and when too much information is counter-productive. The important thing is that the personality of your house shines through in the detail that is revealed, not that no detail is left out.