You’ve finally made up your mind that it’s time to put your home up for sale — and you’ve hired a realtor to help you do it.
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But choosing a realtor is only half the battle. Just as you’d do your due diligence when hiring any professional handling one of your major financial milestones, you need to make sure your agent is following through with a strong marketing strategy.
Otherwise, your home could languish on the market until you’ve got tumbleweeds blowing through the living room and you’re forced to slash your asking price by thousands.
Here are the marketing essentials your realtor should be delivering. If they’re missing any of these, it may be time to move on.
1. Ensuring Your Home Is Show-Ready
As a realtor and brokerage owner at Great Colorado Homes, Andrew Fortune knows a thing or two about getting a house in tip-top shape for sale. He believes good marketing starts with ensuring the home is in show condition, ready for its close-up in pictures, videos and in-person visitors. Depending on the price point, condition of your home, and level of competition in the area, your realtor may even recommend staging.
“Staging a home requires a lot of decluttering, fixing broken items, controlling lighting, and creating open spaces that feel easy to live in,” he said. “If a listing agent is not helping a client prepare their home by doing these things, the seller is likely to have a less desirable experience.”
2. Hiring Professional Photographers and Videographers
Your realtor may have the latest and greatest smartphone with nifty camera features, but they are not a trained photographer, capable of capturing the hidden — or not-so-hidden — beauty in your home. Any marketing plan worth its salt is going to include professional photography, and often videography too.
3. Maximizing Online Exposure Across Platforms
Once you’ve got a beautifully staged home and photography that shows off its best features, Fortune says your realtor should be pushing your listing far and wide. While most realtors start with the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) — a database that real estate agents and brokers use to share property information — that’s just the beginning.
“Once the content is created for the home, the listing agent should have more than just the MLS to get the property out there. They should activate their MLS account on all major online platforms to ensure it’s available everywhere online,” he said. “They should then have social media channels to expand the listing’s reach further.”
4. Writing a Compelling Property Description
Exposure is critical, and a smart realtor will build on that reach by writing a compelling listing that hooks buyers’ attention and drives them to schedule a showing. According to Fred Loguidice, realtor and founder of Sell My House Fast Delaware, a strong digital presence and a compelling listing description are non-negotiables for home marketing.
“Your agent must ensure your property has a strong presence across all relevant platforms, including the local MLS, Zillow, Realtor.com, and other popular real estate websites,” he said. “The listing description needs to be well-written, highlight key selling points, and include all necessary details.”
5. Communicating Regularly With You
A strong marketing strategy should come with equally strong communication. As your agent works on your behalf, they should be keeping you in the loop with regular updates on what they’re doing to market your home, how buyers are responding, and what’s happening in the local market.
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“A good agent must be proactive in communicating with the seller, providing regular updates on showings, feedback, and market conditions,” said Loguidice. “They should be easily accessible and responsive to questions and concerns.”
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Sources:
- Andrew Fortune, realtor and brokerage owner at Great Colorado Homes
- Fred Loguidice, realtor and founder of Sell My House Fast Delaware
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: If Your Realtor Isn’t Doing These 5 Things To Market Your Home, You Need a New Realtor
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
