With the advent of social media, the rise of King Mobile, and the emergence of new ground-breaking technologies, the real estate market for sellers has changed dramatically over the last few years. This article reviews both the “basic” fundamentals of selling a home, quickly and for top dollar, as well as new tips for selling your home fast that have grown out of the new, digital, social world. So without further ado, here are our top 6 tips for selling your home fast:
1. Find the Right Real Estate Agent
To find the best agent in today’s market, you need to fully vet the agent’s digital and online marketing. 92% of homebuyers start their house hunt online: they will never even get in the car to see a home if the listing’s online presence isn’t compelling. In addition to LakesSothebys.com and other top broker sites, property listings also need to appear on Zillow, Trulia,
Realtor.com, and on all social media platforms. Sellers should ask their real estate agent to advertise the listing and open houses on Facebook and Instagram. There is an incredible amount of people on Facebook (1.2B per month). Today, Facebook advertising is one of the most advanced and powerful social marketing platforms. You can advertise a real estate listing in a way that targets the exact type of audience you’re interested in. Your advertisement can include photos (or even a video!) and will be placed right in a user’s newsfeed. In other words, your advertisement will look organic (not paid for). Edina Realty has been advertising open houses on Facebook in the relevant zip codes, with great traffic results for agents. This type of social media advertising is integral now, given the drop in organic reach on Facebook, which means many people will never see your non-paid-for post. The agent you select should know this, and be familiar with paid-organic advertising options. Here are some other questions you’ll want to ask when auditing a potential agent’s online marketing:
- Is the agent on social media?
- What size and type of following does the agent have on each channel?
- Does the agent post consistently on social media? Do they post about property listings in compelling ways?
- Does the agent post valuable information with no expectation of getting anything in return on social media?
- Does the agent have a website (other than the generic one provided by the broker)?
- Is the website visually appealing and easy to navigate?
- Can you find information about the agent’s background, services, and results?
- Does it showcase property listings in visually stunning ways, with a variety of media (video, virtuals, etc)?
- Does the agent have a real estate blog?
- Are there any blog posts that provide value and engage the social audience?
- Are there posts about current property listings?
- Any posts on important topics related to the industry?
- Does the agent have good online reviews, both on the web and social media?
Most real estate agents aren’t doing even half of these things. If you want to be successful in selling your house in today’s market, you need to find an agent who is (way) ahead of the curve.
2. Price it Right
Many sellers believe they should price their home “high” to leave room for negotiation and lower it if it doesn’t sell. This often results in a very slow sale, and with more time on the market, sellers usually have less leverage for negotiating the final sales price. This chart (courtesy of Northstar MLS) shows the effect of market time on the final sales price and the
stigma associated with longer market times that leads to lowball offers: after week 4 final sales price is 4% less than the list price on average; after 12+ weeks, the final sales price is 6% less than the list price; and so on. In sum, the first 4 weeks are the most essential time during the listing, with a favorable market reception often allowing sellers to get the price AND terms they want. If you err on the side of being slightly under market value, and you’re in a high-demand market, the market can correct upwards, with potential multiple offers driving the price up. If you price over market value, nothing happens. Buyers come and go, time passes, and ultimately people wonder what is “wrong” with the listing. So, you need to be aware that within the given price range for a home, your choices about pricing and strategy can affect the outcome.
3. Make a Great First Impression
First impressions can make or break the sale of your home. Even before walking through your door, buyers have already judged your house from the curb. So tips to selling your home fast include making the home look right. Your home should be welcoming and set a positive, meticulous tone the moment someone sees your house. Paint the front door, replace the old storm door with a full glass version, trim the trees, mow and
edge the lawn, clean all the windows, add colorful flowers and beautiful landscaping, and set down a crisp, clean, neutral doormat. This is your chance to capture the heart of the buyer, don’t miss it!
4. Be Ready to Show at All Times
Selling a home is tough work and you have to have the right tips to sell your home fast! You have to keep the home clean, re-arrange your schedule at the drop of a dime, and keep the family bobbing and weaving during the listing term to accommodate showings that are often last minute. However, the more accommodating you can be, the better. I see sellers who are ready, willing, and able buyers (relocation buyers, for instance) all the time because they would not grant a showing request on short notice, or could not even be reached because they set up “most notify” on their listings and then left town for the weekend, with “no cell reception at Gull Lake.” Ouch. You need to remember that your buyer, the one you’ve been waiting for, can come through at any time. The more liberal your showing instructions, and the easier you can make it for buyers to get into your home, the better chances you have of selling your home quickly. Finally, remember that your home needs to be prepped at all times: dishes need to be washed and put away, clothes need to be in drawers, the cat litter box needs to be cleaned and hidden, and the bathrooms need to be cleaned. This can be a giant pain, but the effort you put in will pay off when the offer comes.
5. Have Killer Photos
Most home buyers start their search online, and if your agent is doing it right, your listing date should feed to thousands of sites, from broker sites to large consumer sites, to micro-buying sites, plus social media. With that many eyeballs on your property, the photos need to be of
the highest quality possible. What I like to say is they need to be “architectural,” communicating the full scope and size of rooms, with great light, color, and balance. In addition, the photo gallery should be arranged intuitively, in a way that walks people through the home the same way they’d do it in person: front exterior, foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen; bedrooms (usually on upper level) with associated baths; lower level finished spaces; then outdoor spaces, backyard, and back of the home; and finally any street shots or aerial shots. In addition to stills, interactive virtual tours, video fly-throughs, and color PDF brochures that include updates and disclosures are all highly valued by online customers shopping for homes. Remember, you have about 4 seconds to capture a buyer’s imagination!
6. Create Great Videos
Videos are one of the most effective tips to selling your home fast, given the power of YouTube in our lives, and the viral nature of video content on social media. Today’s sellers, especially in the upper bracket, need to have videos that tell the story of their home, that show the lifestyle associated with the home and location, and that create an emotional connection with potential buyers. The home video should include stunning shots of both the property and the community. Remember, homebuyers don’t just look at the house, they drive around, and think about, the neighborhood and the broader setting. The video should also include music or narration that creates a positive vibe for the listing. Here is an example of a great lifestyle video that we shot for a luxury listing at 3248 Dupont Ave S in Minneapolis, Minnesota:
For homes that don’t have as much story to tell on the inside, because they are smaller or more modest homes, you can still do a captivating video to sell the location and the lot of the listing. We have done this successfully for both luxury listings and listings at other price points, with a lot of hits for the property websites being generated by these short, compelling drone videos that tell the location story of a home. Here is an example of this type of aerial video shot for 4800 Sunnyside Rd in Edina, Minnesota, in the Country Club neighborhood:
Keep in mind, if you do work correctly in step 1, and choose the right agent, all the other things above will follow. What tips to selling your home fast? Please join the conversation on our Facebook Page!
