Marketing A House That's For Sale

The key to top-sales is a solid marketing plan – this means identifying your target market, understanding their needs, creating an impactful marketing message, and presenting a quality product. You need to make the sale all about the person that you are trying to sell to.

So, what does this mean for selling your home?

Everything…

Home staging is an effective marketing technique that integrates decorating with marketing and creates an experience for home buyers. It’s about more than just furnishing a home – it’s about selling a lifestyle! In order to present a “product” that your potential buyers will want, invest in a home staging consultation, and if needed, hire a home stager for additional services, including furniture, artwork, and accessory rental, to complete the look. By working with a home stager, you can identify and address all buyer perceptions, positive or negative, and ensure the most positive experience possible.

Home staging alone is not what sells a house, though it is certainly a contributing factor! Regardless of how great the home shows to buyers, listing the home for the correct price for the market, the neighbourhood, and the quality of home is key to a successful sale. This will allow you to draw in buyers from the right target market, and get the best value out of your home. A qualified real estate agent is your best resource for pricing your home appropriately – avoid making a common mistake that many homeowners make when choosing an agent. Do not choose the agent solely based on providing you with the highest list price, or the lowest commission – a qualified agent will price your house based on what they feel will net the largest return, without discouraging buyers. As well, you want your agent to work hard for you. This means putting in the time and marketing efforts necessary to ensure a successful and profitable sale, and top agents will charge a fair commission based on industry standards.

Select an agent that will ensure your home receives the greatest amount of exposure to home buyers, and is marketed to showcase the best selling features of the home. Your qualified agent will also help to advise you on the best offers to consider, and ensure that you net the highest amount of money possible for your home while also working to get you the terms that you need. In choosing the right real estate agent for you, consider the following: 

• How well do they understand the current market and trends? 
• Ask around – if you know of someone that has recently sold a home, ask them about their experience and ask for recommendations. 
• What type of negotiation skills do they have? 
• What value-added services do they offer to ensure that you will receive top-dollar for your home? This may include a pre-listing home inspection, professional photography, home staging, and more. 

Review their marketing plan – what will they do to provide you and your home with the maximum exposure that it needs to ensure that you attract all potential buyers?

Once your home is staged and ready for market, and you have selected the real estate agent that will work to get your home sold, it’s time for you to share your home with the world. It’s time to make an impression, and that impression is first made through the photos that you show of your home online. This is where the skills and expertise of a professional photographer come in. With ever-changing technology, no matter how great of a photo your cell phone might take, it cannot compare to the tools, and the talent, that a professional photographer will bring to the table. To prove our point, we have taken some great photos with our iPhone 6S, and compared to those of our photographer, Ross Bennett at 3SixtyVideo.

So when it’s time to sell your home, remember to put all of your best marketing tools to work for you, and you will see the results in a quick sale, and maximum profit.

Artwork On A Budget - BTSH Around The House Tip of the Week

There are lots of ways to add some colour and inspiration to a home, without breaking the budget. When you are listing a home for sale, remember that it is a good idea to “depersonalize” your home. This means removing all personal photos, religious items, souvenirs, and other knick-knacks. This will often mean that you will have blank walls to fill. Here are some suggestions for filling that blank canvas.

Scenic Photos
We all take way too many scenic pictures when we travel, and often with the landscaping as our muse, even the most amateur photographer can turn out some amazing shots. Yet we seldom actually get around to printing them out. Why not have your favourite scenic shot enlarged, matted and framed. You can also have it custom mounted for a sleek, contemporary look.

Decorative Collage
The easiest way to replace your family photos is to reuse the frames and simply depersonalize the images in it. You can do this by simply replacing the personal photos with scenic ones, or you can make a decorative collage. The photo shown here uses scrapbooking papers and wrapping paper in complimentary colours to brighten a little girl’s room. Take a look at what you already have around your house and get inspired. By re-using the same frames, you can hang them on the same picture hooks, and don’t have to worry about filling and painting the unsightly holes in the wall.

Renting Artwork
Check with your local gallery to find out who your up and coming local artists are, or simply Google it. Most artists will rent their works to you for a nominal monthly fee. This provides you with wonderfully original artwork, as well as allow the artist a little extra exposure. Be sure to put a plug in for the artist to anyone inquiring about the art.

Childish Inspiration
Has your child ever produced a masterpiece that you think truly belongs in a museum? Instead of hanging it on the fridge (which by the way is a big no-no when selling your home), frame it and hang it! The first image below shows my 3 year old niece’s handiwork, which also turned out to be the inspiration for my office. The other 3 were dollar store canvases I picked up while looking after my friend’s children (ages 7-10). I covered the table with a plastic tablecloth, set out several paints and brushes, and left the little artists to their own devices. It was amazing what they turned out! The paints were also purchased from the dollar store, but you can also buy them at any craft store. To save money remember, if you buy primary colours, then you can make all the other ones you’ll need.



Written by Shauna Lynn, Beyond The Stage Homes
www.beyondthestagehomes.com