Property Marketing

With over 86% of buyers starting their search for a new home online, it would be natural to assume that signage is a little old hat when it comes to marketing a property for sale.  It may well be an old-fashioned tactic, but it’s one that still has legs, apparently.  The US Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that 40% of all new visits to businesses can be tracked to signage.  And that, even with Yelp, Craig’s List, Realtor.com, etc.! 

The SBA and the US Dept of Commerce both acknowledge signage as vital and effective forms of advertising.  For those us marketing property, those signs can be at the property; directional signage leading to the property, outdoor signage using billboards, signage at local sports teams, signage at nearby schools, and signage using other venues around the neighborhoods surrounding your property. The more prominent, clearer, and simpler the signs are for your property the better.

Did you know that very often your local Department of Transportation will have traffic information for bigger roads, such that you can assess which corner is the better one for a sign.  Similarly, the folks selling billboard advertising will have traffic counts for wherever their billboards are located.

Another point about signage is that while the coloring may speak to your company’s logo, the size of the sign and the material it’s printed on can illustrate a level of luxury or economy such that many inquiring phone calls can be avoided.  Equally, a well-designed sign can set the tone for a building or neighborhood, adding one more arrow in your marketing quiver.

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“I am planning to market my condo for rent myself. I would like to know how do agents find their contacts and get potential tenants?”

Here’s a good beginning answer from “Newlywed“: The primary way agents locate potential properties is through the MLS. Unfortunately, because you’re not an agent, you don’t have that ability. You can try Craigslist, local newspapers (local ones are generally more effective than big regional ones), fliers, posters, postcards, and notices. Word of mouth is also effective.

To which we would add, in many markets you can list your property on the local MLS for a fee.  In our market, that fee is $450.  Each MLS runs independently and vary quite considerably.

And then the following social media sites:-

• Facebook
• Squidoo
• Twitter
• Trulia
• Zillow

in that order… and then you might use Slideshare to make a moving slide show of your home and post that to various video sides like YouTube and Vimeo.

Lots of options to get the word out, when marketing your property yourself.  And then you might offer a commission of some sort to the buyer’s agent… because they will be doing a ton of work for you in terms of getting paperwork processed in a timely manner so that their buyer actually gets the home!

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Property marketing has changed, thanks to the internet.  Because anyone can research houses for sale, with or without a realtor, the way properties look becomes of the most important factor.  Therefore, to successfully market property, it must be conditioned (prepared), styled (primped) and placed online artfully, copiously, everywhere (promoted.)

In the old days, a property was listened in the local MLS and an ad was placed in the newspaper to announce an open house.  If the home was in good condition, the ad said so.  If it was not, that fact was silently reflected in the price.  Those days have gone.

Now, as soon as a house is for sale, it is posted online… with photos.  Those photos are carefully scanned by buyers and agents alike, to assess whether the property is worth taking a look at in real life.

 Just as important as the photos is the data fields:  all need to be filled out since internet searches all work via criteria.  The number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage – all vital so that your property comes up in as many search results as possible.

The best way to ace the online promotion piece of marketing property is to get the thing into really good condition.  Finish all the little to-dos that have been hanging around.  Make sure edges and corners are clean and well-defined.  Then style the home that it looks inviting in all of the photos.

This is the case whether you are selling your house by yourself as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) or whether you’re using an agent.  In either case, the home that is presented best wins the buyer and a higher selling price.

It takes more time to prepare a home to sell in this environment, but the rewards are great.

I encourage you to stop by often for tips, timesavers and best information available from someone in the field of property marketing 24-7.

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