As we officially close the book on the real estate selling and buying season, many people trying to sell their homes are at a loss as to why their home went the entire prime selling season without being sold. Never fear, that’s why we are here. Paige Slyman is an expert in assessing what his clients have been doing wrong and helping steer them in a new direction that will lead you to home selling success.
Even small changes in your selling approach can yield huge results. For example, did you know that it is imperative that you should update your marketing materials and/or MLS photos according to what the current season? Applying this one simple tactic could very easily cut the time your home is on the market in half.
We recently wrote a blog that discussed the below tips just before the end of the summer real estate selling season, however, because we feel they are so important, we felt that we should incorporate them in a second blog.
Below are some very simple, yet extremely effective tips could make the difference between your home sitting on the market or you getting to say word that anyone selling their home longs to hear, “Sold.”
Maximize MSL Photos, Maximize MSL SEO
MLS listings have the ability to have SEO capabilities. Did you know that MLS puts listings with the maximum number of photos (40 photos to be exact) at the top of all MLS searches. MLS then puts listings in order according to how
many photos are in each listing. For example, if you have 40 photos in your listing you will be at the top of a person’s MLS search results, however, if you have 10 photos you will be closer to the bottom of the search results, and also less likely to be viewed by home buyers.
A picture is worth a 1000 words … or a home that well sell quickly
The most important photo you can have in your marketing materials for selling your home is the picture of the front of the house being sold. With so many homes being placed in the metro Atlanta market, this is crucial in capturing initial interest of prospective home buyers. The internet savvy buyer will only click on “see more photos” if the initial photo is a good one. If you do not catch their attention in the first photo, research shows that often times buyers will pass you by.
The market has spoken…Re-evaluate your asking price
It may be time for you to evaluate your asking price if you have gone the entire season without selling your home. A very wise and almost philosophic approach to this dilemma is a tried and true real estate saying that Paige Slyman has learned to live by, “The market has spoken.” Basically, this means that current market conditions are telling you that your current price needs to be re-evaluated if your home is not selling at the price you currently have it listed as. Paige Slyman is experienced in advising and guiding clients on what home sellers should be asking for considering current real estate market conditions.
Ensure directions, map book and page number is correct
It is essential that you ensure that your directions, map book and page number in your MLS listing or any other marketing materials you have are correct, accurate and clear. It is imperative that you make it as easy as possible for real estate agents to get the information they need to show your home. If you don’t, it is quite possible they will move on and show homes being sold by someone that took the time to make it simple and straight forward. It is also important for your real estate professional to remove negative comments such as “if the listing again shows the home the buyer’s agent will not get full commission.” This is unnecessary and often times angers real estate professionals and turns off potential buyers.
Ensure showing instructions are not appointment only.
It is very important to make sure that your home is not being shown with appointment only. This may be a bit of an inconvenience for you, but in the long run, it will work out to your benefit. Real estate professionals show their clients several perspective homes and if your “appointment” times do not match the schedules of both the real estate professional and their clients, more than likely your home will not get shown.
Use specific verbiage, not general jargon and fluff descriptive words
Most home buyers are savvy, and using words such as “great home” or “wonderfully decorated” is often ignored and viewed as biased fluff. When describing your home, get to the point and give key aspects you know home buyers will find as buying points.
In closing, often times selling your homes requires you to step back and put yourself in the position of both the real estate professionals showing your home and the potential buyers you are looking to entice to choose your home as opposed to the thousands of other homes on the market in the metro Atlanta area. If your home has gone the entire real estate selling season and your home has still not sold, contact Paige Slyman to begin the process of implementing higher level tactics to ensure that your home will sell.
For more information about leasing one of these outstanding office suites, please contact Paige Slyman directly at 770.405.0100 x 2 or email us at paige@paigeslyman.com