Selling In Tough Times

When you work with sellers trying to help them get their home sold, it can be a tough task sometimes.  Right now, the homes that are selling are typically the bank owned properties, short sales (if the banks will get in gear), and sellers that have enough “equity” in their home to be able to drop their price.  If your home is properly marketed, the main reason it may not be selling is the price.

Stage Your Home: Make More Money

How many times have you walked onto a property that a client has just enlisted you to sell only to find the yard riddled with children’s toys, old bicycles, and/or a hibachi sitting on the front stoop? Then, when you walked into the home you are greeted with sights of chaos, grime, and decorating styles reminiscent of early yard sale specials. While this example may seem extreme, the reality is that properties that look rough command 10-15 percent lower sales value then comparable properties that have had some cosmetic work to make them more appealing.

The problem for the real estate agent who is listing the disheveled property is how to tell the client that they need to put some work into the property if they hope to attain the highest value possible. After all, the clients probably do not see the chaos of their property and in fact probably see what others may deem as a dump as being a gold mine.

Because a Realtor relies so heavily on referrals, and could quite conceivably have these clients for much longer than the average client, offending the owner at such an early stage might not be the best approach. However, there is a profession that deals specifically with this part of a real estate – they are professionals who stage homes. In the past, these professionals tended to be limited to wealthy individuals who could afford these services as well as reside some place else while their property was listed. However, today’s average citizen is savvier to the real estate market and has higher aspirations to make money from the transaction. The unfortunate truth with many average citizens is that while they understand the concept of making a profit, most individuals lack the “decorating gene.” These people know what appeals to them, but do not know how to go about achieving that look. This is where a professional in home staging becomes appealing.

Home staging is a psychological art. A good stager will be savvy to the psychological desires of humans, will understand the cultural preferences of the likely buyer, and can transform an undesirable piece of real-estate into one that is more desirable. What I mean by psychological desires for example, is that most humans have innate desires for open spaces, lot’s of light, and not too much stimulus in a home. But, some of these psychological norms are influenced by culture.

For example, many Asian cultures prize concrete with very little greenery in the form of trees or grass. To many Asians with strong cultural beliefs, concrete is considered cleaner. Thus, a good home stager will not only look to the interior of a home, but will also analyze the neighborhood to identify any cultural norms, review the exterior since this is what a prospective buyer will see first, and will assess the interior for modifications. As an active participant in the transformation, a good stager will work with the owners and may be even sub contractors to ensure the best outcome.

It is more than likely that a client will not want to enlist the services of one who stages homes. The most likely reason will be because of the initial sticker shock of the service. At an average cost of $1,000.00 for the service and another $500.00 for supplies, the thought of a stranger coming in and transforming a home that one may have prided oneself on assembling can be belittling and possibly offensive.

This is why the listing agent must use caution and preface the recommendation with a statement like, “It’s amazing how much of you I see in your home, you have truly been successful in incorporating your personality in the overall feel of your home. However, I must be honest and tell you that most people do not like to buy homes that appear to be someone else’s. Houses that sell the quickest and for the highest price are those homes that do not look as though they are someone else, instead they almost look like a store display.”

This is when you can tell the client that you work with someone who will help make their home more appealing to prospective buyers. The key is not to insult the client!

For some sellers, the concept of paying a professional for these services seems incomprehensible. After all, they have never enlisted the services of home staging before, and they have been able to sell their homes without any trouble. While this maybe true, unless it was a seller’s market they probably accepted much less then would have been able to command had the home been staged. There is an old adage which goes, “money begets money.” This means that if you spend $100 you can anticipate getting $150-$200 in return. Property that sells for a higher price is quite appealing because the salesperson’s commission is higher, the seller leaves thinking that they got the best deal, and the property values in the area all increase which makes the buyer feel confident in their purchase.

Home staging has been traditionally a privilege of the wealthy, but today more and more of the average population is enlisting the services of home staging because they can see the intrinsic value of not only increasing the value of property, but also reducing the time a property stays on the market.

However, while I recommend that Realtors work with a good home stager, when working with the average population the Realtor must be careful to ensure that the professional that they choose to work with has much more knowledge then simply decorating a home. They should screen any home staging professional that they refer business to for interpersonal decorum so that the seller is not insulted, cultural norms so that the property appeals to the desired buying population, and psychological knowledge to know what has mass appeal versus secular appeal. If a real estate agent is successful in their screening of professionals and successful in convincing their client to enlist the services of these professionals then one can be pretty much assured of getting a higher price for the property and having the property on the market for a shorter period of time.

How Long To Sell House? 21 Days With A Good Strategy!

Powerful 7-Stage Marketing Plan

Marketing That Works in Boise

Marketing a home requires a specialized approach because each home is unique, the marketplace is always in flux, interest rates frequently change and new buyers search for homes each day.

In such a dynamic marketplace, you can get best sales results by working with a REALTOR® who can craft marketing plans tailored for individual homes, market conditions and buyers. Experienced REALTORS® base their marketing efforts on extensive training, what has proven successful in previous transactions and ongoing research into industry best practices.
How REALTORS® Can Help You Market Your Home

Selling can entail a variety of marketing strategies. REALTORS® can assist in marketing your home to potential buyers in several ways:

Preparation: Before being placed on the market, homes must be in “show” condition. REALTORS® can explain what repairs and upgrades are required and that are most likely to produce the best results and give the best return on investment.

Pricing: REALTORS® do more than price homes for sale, they also construct sale terms designed to hasten the selling process. It may be, for example, that a home priced at $150,000 with a 2 percent seller credit to the buyer at closing will be far more attractive to purchasers than a home priced at $147,000. Why? That 2 percent credit is worth $3,000 to the purchaser at closing – the time when buyers are most likely strapped for cash.

Marketing: REALTORS® will execute strategies and programs to get the home sold. Typically this includes placement on the local MLS and real estate Web sites, as well as related marketing, advertising and networking. Open houses, office tours, agent access to the home via the use of a lock box and networking with both local and out-of-town agents are also common.

Much of an agent’s work will be quiet and unseen – yet important. The telephone calls, the work with contacts, the follow-ups with open-house visitors, conversations with ad respondents, the Web postings and other outreach efforts are all part of the process required to sell homes.
Open Houses

There are no universal marketing standards for real estate because marketplaces are localized. For instance, open houses may be common in some communities but rarely used in others.

A REALTOR® holding an open house typically advertises that the home will be open for a given period (e.g., 2-5 p.m. on Sunday). During the open period, the REALTOR® hosts the home while the owners leave for a few hours so that buyers will feel comfortable having a good look around the property and asking questions.

The REALTOR® will provide literature, maintain a visitor log and answer questions. By interacting with visitors, the REALTOR® will seek feedback regarding the home and opportunities to follow up with prospective purchasers.
Marketing Your Home on the Internet

Your REALTOR® should advertise your home online. The Internet is a vital marketing tool for home sellers and has two important roles in the real estate selling process.

First, it is a “place” to view real estate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and all from the comfort of home or office. There are many real estate sites, including individual agent sites, real estate franchise and brokerage sites, and also industry sites.

Second, and equally as important, the Internet offers immediate communication via e-mail and instant messaging and gives REALTORS® and consumers more opportunities to keep in touch.

Marketing your home works best using a combination of marketing strategies, knowing the local market conditions and having contact with buyers and other agents. Working with an experienced REALTOR® gives you valuable expertise in all areas related to marketing your home to buyers.