Good marketing might not necessarily sell your house but it will make the phone ring, and if buyers don’t call, you won’t sell. I believe that employing strong marketing techniques is just smart business, regardless. Here are some of the ways you can sell your homes fast and easy.
- Photograph the front
Take pictures of the front of the house. Clear pictures of how the house looks like without cars or side walk images. Most home buyers begin a home search online, so good photos are essential. Listings without a photo or with only an exterior shot are often passed over and ignored. Buyers are visual.
- Exterior Photographs
Make good use of your environment. If you own a home or an apartment without a yard, then take pictures of the clubhouse, pool, spa or tennis courts. If you have a yard, however, buyers will want to see it.
- Emphasize space and shoot long.
- Mow the lawn & trim bushes.
- Remove evidence of pets.
- Put away children’s toys.
- Avoid shooting into the sun
- Interior Photographs
Take photographs of every room, the living area, kitchen, bedrooms, washrooms and garages. Even if you suspect the room won’t photograph well, shoot it anyway because the photo quality just might astonish you and be useable.
- Open drapes & blinds
- Turn on lights.
- Focus on interesting details.
- Remove trash cans & close toilet lids in bathrooms.
- Use floral arrangements in kitchens & dining rooms.
- Avoid shooting into mirrors because your image will reflect.
- Signage
Signage encourages home shoppers to immediately call you or your agent. It’s free advertising! A well designed for sale sign will generate phone calls. If your home is a corner lot, put up two signs.
- Try talking to a neighbor whose home is located at the corner of a busy street, asking for permission to put a sign in that yard with an arrow pointing toward yours.
- Agent signs should include the phone number of the closest office, personal phone numbers the type and exact location of the house.
- Open Houses
Not every home is suitable for an open house due to location or other factors, and sometimes the only way to determine that is to try it. If nobody comes, that’s probably a good indication. However, if your home is in a gated community or located near an area where buyers often swarm, then it’s a good candidate.
- Place open house signage throughout the area directing buyers.
- Advertise in the newspaper.
- Invite the neighbors; they might know a friend or a relative who wants to move in close by
- Virtual Tours
Virtual tours aren’t just to showcase million-dollar homes anymore. Every home should have virtual tours, even if it’s only two spins. This form of advertising is new in Ghana but people are catching on quick. Buyers love, love, love virtual tours.
- A good virtual tour will grab a buyer by the hand and lead her from room to room, whether 360 or a video.
- Depending on the tour company, you can add sound, music or an exciting, professionally written description that scrolls with the movement of the tour.
- Virtual tours can also include individual photos available for download or to print.
- Send E-Flyers
Technology has made it very easy to create and send electronic flyers. Thanks to social media platforms, you can send it to as many people as you wish; and also include multiple photographs of your house. Electronic flyers can be distributed on Whatsapp broadcast messages, Twits, Facebook shares and even snap chat. Here are ideas for recipients:
- Real estate agents who sell in your area.
- Friends, family and coworkers.
Some homes cry out for drone photography, especially if the home is situated on waterfront, in the mountains, near a park or on large acreage, anywhere an aerial view would be an important advantage to showcase the surrounding neighborhood. Another interesting element often utilized in luxury home marketing is a night view of the home illuminated by outdoor lighting.