Home Selling Strategies

Whether real estate markets are good for sellers and buyers are tough to come by, there is one constant selling strategy that stays consistent, regardless of the market:

All selling strategies need to be filtered through this undeniable truth. If the strategy will help get the home noticed by more potential buyers, it is a good strategy. If it limits the number of potential buyers who might be interested in checking things out, it is a bad strategy.

Listing Gimmicks And Give-Aways

At the time of this writing, real estate values have declined in many parts of the country, loan programs have become restricted, preventing many potential buyers from obtaining the necessary financing to buy, and many buyers are afraid of the uncertainty presented by a shaky economy. Therefore, sellers are having to resort to unusual measures to get their listings noticed.

Freebies and incentives are increasing – in value and in creativity. “Buy this home and we’ll throw in a new Porsche!” “ Free yard maintenance for a year!” “Tour our home and get a free bottle of fine wine!” These are just a few of the listing gimmicks you can find out there.

Do These Gimmicks Work?

It depends on what you mean by “Do they work?” If you offer a give away incentive and the home doesn’t sell, does that mean the gimmick failed? Not necessarily. Yes, we’d like the free bottle of wine to sell our home for us, but that is not what the gimmick is intended to do.

Your listing gimmick can only help you get the home noticed by potential buyers. It cannot sell the home for you. Nobody is going to buy the home because you give them a bottle of wine or free tickets to a great concert. But it’s possible that someone who likes wine or concerts will become interested in buying your home – and they maybe wouldn’t have ever have even considered viewing your home unless you had offered the give-away.

So, if you try using a listing gimmick, the measure of it’s success or failure is, Did More People Notice The Home? If your open house was better attended because you offered free pony rides for the kids – then that was a success. Just because the home didn’t sell doesn’t make it less of a success.

Why Do People Buy One House Over Another?

Someone will buy your home when they believe it offers them the best value for their money – based on their individual needs. You cannot dictate what their needs are – that is beyond your control. The only things you can control as a seller is making sure your home’s selling offering is competitive with other offerings in your area AND reaching out to as many potential buyers as possible.

Again, the more potential buyers you can get to consider your home, the better your chances are. And then it will be up to the buyer to determine if your home meets their needs. Your pricing and the condition of your home will play a big role in their decision, but they wouldn’t ever have that decision to make if they had never considered your home in the first place.

Get them to consider it – that’s the ONLY way to have a shot at selling them your home.