Four ways to make your listing stand out

How can you make your real estate listing stand out among all the others? Let’s have a look at four things real estate agents can do with their listing to get the best possible result for their homeowners:

Great presentation:

We’ve spoken previously about the importance of presenting a home really well, and it’s definitely a key step in making sure your listings stand out.

One real estate agency in Australia surveyed their 50 top-performing agents on the importance of home presentation, and whether they believed that styling a property will achieve a higher sales price. In their survey 98% felt that styling a home the right way can achieve a higther sale price. Furthermore, 92% of agents surveyed said that styling a home could achieve a quicker sale.

So what styling tips do agents recommend?

The most popular one is to declutter, and that involves hiding or removing items in a room so that there is less stuff sitting around a room. When there is too much clutter a room feels smaller, and that’s the opposite of what new home buyers are looking for.

However, sometimes more significant steps are needed, especially when the agent or seller are hoping for a top price. Over at The New York Times they recount a story of one homeowner who put their home on the market after taking steps to declutter, but maintained the owner’s eclectic mix of furniture. The home failed to sell, even after dropping the price from $1.85 million down to $1.65 million. Eventually the selling agent convinced the owners to bring in a professional home stager, and they removed the owner’s furniture and added new contemporary pieces.

The place was “mobbed” at the first open home, and with a crowd of buyers they were able to achieve a successful sale for $1.8 million.

As Jane Saidenberg, the design director of Studio D noted:

“It’s not just about solving a problem now, but much more about presenting a lifestyle to prospective buyers.”

Why are buyers expecting such high standards, especially in the larger cities? It may be due to the abundance of real estate shows on TV where viewers are exposed to high-quality listings that are immaculately presented, and so when they arrive at a home they expect that high standard to be there. If the property is presented in a dated fashion then buyers will either walk out, or expect to pay a lower price than they would for a listing that is presented as a ‘trophy home’.

Be present for the photo shoot:

Some real estate agents never turn up for a photo shoot, or if they are there then they push the photographer to move through as quickly as possible so the agent can ‘move on to more important things’. Agents that treat their listings this way are missing the point.

A well-orchestrated photo shoot, where the agent and photographer work as a team to create compelling images that present the home in the best possible way, will get the best possible result.

The homeowners love to see the agent take a hands-on approach to the photo shoot as well, and with the agent present it allows the photographer to focus on creating great images rather than be distracted by the owner, or pets, or other matters that can make their time more difficult than it needs to be.

Use drone shots … when it’s appropriate to do so:

We’ve spoken previously about the importance of using drone shots, and they certainly can get the attention of buyers.

Got a listing with a great location? Use a drone to show how close it is to a local landmark or the city.

Got a large property with lots of space? Use a drone to show the size of the property.

Got a listing with a lot of trees around it? Use a drone to get a clear view of the home.

Got a small property that’s very close to neighbors? Don’t use a drone.

Got a property with a bad roof? Don’t use a drone.

Just remember that not all drone pilots are created equal. Some drone pilots crash things:

As one writer noted in this article at Inman – Drones in real estate: 3 things to consider before hiring a pilot:

“Make sure you ask for a testimonial, see previous examples of their work, and ask if they carry general liability insurance. The risk is too high to hire a pilot without these qualifications.”

Share the listing on social media:

The majority of buyers in your local area are probably using social media on a daily basis, and so you need to make sure you and your listings are there as well.

However, a lot of agents only post photos or links to their latest listings, and I think that’s a mistake. As this comment from AgentImage notes:

“You have to mix it up and share more content on Facebook that peaks the interest of your followers, not just pitching your latest listing.

While posting high quality photos of your properties can help you to get more shares and likes, you should also create content that is interesting to your demographic that will create a buzz, generate awareness about the community and real estate market, and solicit feedback and interaction.”

In this video Jason Wardrop gives 3 Facebook marketing tips for real estate agents:

His tips for Facebook marketing for real estate agents are:

#1. Create Friends lists in your personal profile and when you share content you can choose to only show it to your buyer and seller connections on Facebook.

#2. Mix business with personal when posting content, whether it’s your personal profile or your business Page.

#3. Commit to your Facebook marketing plan, and make sure you stick at it long-term.