Over the years I’ve written a couple of posts about how to promote stale listings.
One was published by Inman News in 2014:
16 things you can do right now to maximize your listing's exposure
And then I updated it last year with a piece for Realtor.com Pro:
20 Strategies for Stale Listings
Having been through a few market ups + downs, I’ve learned that the key to successfully marketing a listing sometimes requires a quick pivot - and this time that we are experiencing right now is of course like no other.
Real Estate professionals, and their clients, are on a pretty crazy roller coaster ride…with changes to stay-at-home orders, guidelines, mandates, and directives being published, announced and changed on an almost daily basis, it’s pretty tough to come up with a Marketing Strategy and hope that all of the pieces will come together into a successful closed transaction…but all we can do is keep on trying!
I’ve been asked by agents both in my own Company, West + Main Homes, as well as agents across North America, how to best create a presence for listings in our current, ever-changing environment.
There are a few things that are absolutely necessary at this point…and if there is any little bright side to these boundaries, there are also some really creative and innovative actions and strategies that are helping folks that NEED to buy and sell right now do so.
The game has changed, and instead of getting as many people through the door as possible, it’s all about getting the right eyeballs on your property, online, and in a perfect scenario you will have a sight-unseen offer that leads to a smooth transaction thanks to your amazing marketing.
Let’s start with the obvious.
Properly set your Seller’s expectations from the very beginning.
With Real Estate activity being greatly reduced across the country, keeping up with the data and creating a flexible strategy is more important than ever. For example, my rule of thumb in a Seller’s Market used to be, 20 showings or 2 weekends on the market - and if we haven’t received a viable offer, then we need to drop the price. What is that rule now? It depends on the inventory in your listing’s area and price point, on the constraint on showings/stay-at-home orders, and on the overall activity in the marketplace which is unfortunately in constant flux.
Listing Your Property During Stay-at-Home Orders - What You Need to Know
Really great photos.
In most areas, photographers are still allowed to fulfill photo orders. If there are details about the home that should be captured, make sure to ask for those - and also ask for photos of areas that don’t typically get photographed…the HVAC system, the garage, and unfinished storage rooms are all things that serious Buyers are going to want to see.
When you are uploading photos to the MLS, try to put them in the order that a person would walk through the home - this is new advice from me, as I used to recommend that you put the photos in the MLS with the best photos first, but when folks can’t go out and see every home they are even slightly interested in, I think it’s important to create a “tour the home online” experience in every place possible. Homebuyers might also have a little more time to flip through all of the photos, so hopefully they will.
If you’re in a situation where your Seller needs to take the photos, provide as much guidance as possible and help them present their home in its best light - tucking away clutter, using the widest angle available, and making sure that they are seeing their home through a buyer’s critical eye.
At least one video tour…preferably several.
This is an absolute must at this point…and there are several different ways to create a showing experience for homebuyers who are doing most of their search - and possibly even writing an offer before touring a home.
3D Tours
These types of tours have been around for a while, but the technology has improved so much over the years, and now they can provide a really great way for buyers to take a thorough look around a property, check out the layout and details, and really get a feel for how the home might work for them. Many photographers offer this as part of their service, and to avoid having to use several different vendors, it’s a good idea to find someone who can do it all in one stop.
Traditional Video
It’s the expected user experience - press play and let the camera take the viewer on a tour through the property, usually set to music. Sometimes a photo slide show is done instead. To really make the property feel “alive” and to hopefully present a more life-like tour of the property, video is the better option…but do what you have to do. If a videographer isn’t available, there are tools that you can use to create your own slideshow video using the property photos, and any video is better than no video.
An Agent-Narrated and Filmed Video Tour
If you’ve never experimented with video or jumped into creating collateral for your listings, now is the time. You don’t necessarily need to be IN the video, but presenting the property from the listing agent’s point of view is a really personal and effective way to make a homebuyer feel informed and comfortable.
An Updated + Appropriate Listing Description
We’re living in weird times…but let’s not ignore the big fat elephant in the room by trying to market listings “as usual.” Your listing description will be more relatable, and frankly attention-grabbing and interesting if you just go for it. If, when we are finally allowed to leave our homes on an unlimited basis, your listing is still on the market, you can always re-write it…and you should.
Floor Plans
Another absolute must-have in your listing toolbox right now…and it’s always a good idea. If your MLS allows, upload the floor plans as jpgs right into the listing photos instead of adding them as a PDF supplement, which many buyers do not know how or care to access, depending where they are viewing the property online.
OK, so now that you have all of the expected assets to market your listing, what can you do with it all in order to make sure that your property is viewed online by as many potential homebuyers as possible?
Virtual Showings + Open Houses
Because in-person showings are absolutely out of the question in some areas, and are just not a safe way of conducting business anywhere during Stay-at-Home orders, Showing Time has now added the ability to schedule a “Virtual Showing.” The logistics around these video showings are a bit all over the place, with some Sellers doing a 4-way Facetime walkthrough session with the Buyer, the Buyer’s Agent and the Listing Agent…and other times with a Buyer’s Agent conducting the showing, in order to answer their Buyers’ questions and show them parts of the home that they might feel the need to see before writing a “Sight Unseen” offer.
Same thing with Virtual Open Houses - we have seen these evolve over the past few weeks, but it seems the most typical Virtual Open House involves the Listing Agent scheduling an event and promoting it, so that potential Buyers can view online, asking questions and requesting to see different parts of the property. Again, you need to follow your area’s guidelines and decide if these types of activities are allowed.
Reach Out to Your Reverse Prospecting List
Your MLS likely has a list that you can access of agents who have clients set up for an automated property search that matches your listing. These agents are now your new best friends.
Pick up the phone and call those agents. Text them. Email them.
Tutorial: How to Create a Reverse Prospect Email Campaign for Your Listing.
Ask them if they happened to see your property listing and if they still have a buyer that might be interested. Send them the property tour, ask them if they would like more information. Cooperation has never been more important, so take a step out of your comfort zone and start a conversation!
Also, ask them for feedback - if they have decided not to send the property to their client, what is it about your listing that they feel won’t work for their clients? This is valuable information that you can share with your Sellers, especially if there is a common thread, like “the bathrooms look too outdated” or “it seems overpriced.”
Rotate Your Listing Photos Every Day
By putting a new Cover Photo in the MLS every day, you might catch a homebuyer’s interest with the kitchen or living room, or even the backyard, who didn’t really love the front exterior shot. Of course, follow your MLS guidelines - but get creative, too!
Consider Virtual Staging
If your property is either completely vacant or could use some staging, virtual staging is another technology that has come so far since the early days of awkwardly sized furniture getting photoshopped onto a picture of an empty room. It’s also surprisingly affordable! Did you know that they can also create “twilight photos” green up the landscaping and bring your property photos to life so that homebuyers can better imagine creating a life for themselves in the home!
I know that this is a really hard time to sell Real Estate, but by doing absolutely everything you can from the safety of your sofa, you are literally saving lives. You’re also filling up your toolbox with new skills, platforms and ideas that will serve your clients not only now but in the future.
Hang in there, and let us know if there is anything that we can do for you!
Special thanks to Anna Domenico and Brandi Wolff for use of their wonderful marketing materials.
