Insist on these 5 Features in Your Home Listing
Let’s face it. Some sellers and their agents have not taken advantage of new technology to advertise their homes.
Slapping a few canned exterior photos and a computer-generated list of project amenities onto a digital listing does not count as good marketing. Every property portal already offers automation of photos, maps, and amenities, so doing nothing more to a listing is a sure sign of apathetic marketing.
The fact is that many buyers and renters are frustrated about having to navigate through a sea of duplicated and undifferentiated listings on some property portals.
While I understand that sometimes it is difficult for owners to differentiate their homes, the fact is that if you boil down any home in the world, it is a collections of boxes put together. Every unit, whether it is an apartment or a landed house, is a wooden or concrete box until you make it a home.
If you don’t differentiate your unit when you sell it, you are selling a box. A box is worth much less than a home.
If you plan on selling your home, whether the market is hot or flat as a board, insist on five features in your home listing. If your agent doesn’t give them to you, find another agent.
Feature #1: Promote your home’s unique selling point.
If you want to maximize your sale price, you need to tell people why your home is worth more than its X-Value.
Buyers (or renters) don’t know anything about your home except for what you show and tell them.
Basic marketing tells you that you need to differentiate your home from the competition.
What makes your box a home? What is special about your home? Does it have a great view? Interesting interior design? An awesome kitchen? A high tech living room? An interesting neighborhood? Unique charm? A good track record of price appreciation? Good rental yield? A great location? A good price (if you are selling below X-Value)?
If you and your agent can’t come up with a unique selling point, then you have two choices: renovate until you have a unique selling proposition or sell your unit at box prices.
Feature #2: Photos are so yesterday.
Yes, still include exterior and interior photos that accentuate the positives of your home. The Internet and mobile technology give you plenty of space to promote your home with photos.
However, photos are now second fiddle to virtual videos. Virtual video tours, like those found on SRX.com.sg/virtual-360-tour, tell buyers and renters so much more about a home.
First, V360 video allows them to take a virtual tour of their home. It gives them a better feel for it than regular photos do because they can navigate from one room to another. A buyer who calls for an appointment after taking a virtual tour is most likely a serious buyer.
Second, a V360 video means you and your agent are serious about selling your home. You have opened up your home to the V360 video crew. This tells buyers and renters that you mean business.
Third, a V360 video tells consumers that your agent has invested in marketing your home. Everyone knows one has to spend money to make money. Therefore, if your agent is unwilling to spend the time and money to put a video together, find an agent who will. Don’t waste your time with an agent who is not doing everything possible to put your home in the best light.
In fact, our research shows that V360 videos generate five times more click-through views than conventional photo listings. More views means more serious buyers and improves your chances of getting the right price.
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Feature #3: Promote your home in Straits Times Classified.
Advertising in the Straits Times is like the good housekeeping seal of approval. Buyers and renters know that an agent buys a Classified and links it to SRX.com.sg (via an SRX Classified code) when he or she is serious about promoting a property.
Classified, combined with a quality listing on SRX.com.sg and STProperty.sg, gets results.
Purchasing a Classified (and a V360 video) are relatively inexpensive. If your agent doesn’t include a Classified buy when he pitches his marketing strategy to you, find another agent.
Feature #4: Mark your listing as exclusive.
If you give your agent an exclusive, you benefit in three ways.
First, an exclusive vests authority in your agent. This translates to more thoughtful pricing, marketing, and negotiating. More importantly, it puts your agent on notice that he or she needs to deliver to reward your faith and trust.
Second, it helps move your listing closer to the top (if not the top) of the listing pages on SRX.com.sg and STProperty.sg.
Third, your listing is designated as exclusive. This signals that you and your agent have a strong relationship. Buyers and renters want to deal with agents who are authorized to represent their agents. It cuts down on the nonsense of transacting a home.
Feature #5: Achieve 5-Star rating from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX).
Your agent will know how to earn a 5-star quality rating for a listing on SRX.com.sg and STProperty. Both these property portals are subsidiaries of Singapore’s leading media company, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). If your agent isn’t creating a 5-star listing on these platforms, he or she is doing you a disservice.
At a minimum, your agent should build a 5-star listing; promote your home using V360 video, unique selling points and descriptions; and then advertise your home as an exclusive on Classified, SRX.com.sg and STProperty.sg.
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But…putting together a quality listing is just the beginning of what it takes to sell a box as a home.
In the next Ask Home Prof column, we show you how smart agents are taking advantage of Singapore’s digital property network to sell homes fast and at the right price.