It’s always frustrating when your listings stay on market longer than expected and you can’t seem to match the right homebuyer and seller together. That’s why Homes.com works feverishly to offer thought-provoking articles, interesting blog posts and informative webinars that are designed to help you and your real estate company soar and make your listings shine.
The first step you should take is to complete your Homes.com profile, so you and your listings can take advantage of all it has to offer. Once you do this and specify your coverage area, it will help get you and your listings in front of consumers targeting your local area.
There was a time when creating a listing was nothing more than uploading photos, adding a description and including all the relevant information a buyer would want to know. Today’s savvy real estate professional knows that a listing needs to be so much more.
When it comes to listings, don’t be afraid to change them up every few days. Adding new photos or videos can offer a new perspective that may appeal to someone who passed over the listing the first time. Highlight different things on different days—for instance, maybe show the beautiful landscaped yard one day and showcase the master bath the next. You never know when you will hit on that one thing that will attract the perfect person to the house.
Speaking of photos, make sure that they are bright, crisp and professional looking. In today’s age of digital cameras on phones providing wide angles and apps to correct any mistakes, you should never post a photo that’s blurry, dark or offers just a partial view.
With video, don’t just do a boring pan across each room, post it and call it a day. Spruce up your listings’ videos with pleasing music and capture everything in the room—including the views out the window. Add short evergreen videos about the local area, focusing on people having fun and enjoying the restaurants, parks and community events.
For listings that undergo price reductions, make sure that the information isn’t just mentioned in a small font on the top—blast it out there. There’s nothing people like better than the feeling they are getting a bargain, so even if it’s a slight decrease in price, alert your network of the change, highlight it on your social media sites and add an eye-catching “Price Reduced” stamp right to the listing itself. Homes.com also offers a dedicated space for homes that were reduced, allowing even more exposure to the listing.
An important way to get your listings looked at again and again is to keep traffic coming back to your website by posting new blog stories and highlighting different listings. The more people come to your site, the more inclined they will be to look at what’s available.
Another goal related to keeping people looking at listings longer is to keep visitors exploring your site, which is why adding great visuals (photos and videos) is so important. Adding any of the Homes.com widgets including a commute time calculator, mortgage calculator, social media widgets and more will not only retain prospective clients for longer visits but add value to the the user’s experience.
When people do respond to your listing, don’t take forever to get back to them. People live in a me-now world and will want and expect a returned email, text or call promptly. Make sure you are constantly monitoring your communication devices and are ready to provide further information when needed.
Remember, the more effectively you market your listings, the quicker your properties may sell. Once you’re seen as the dominant real estate pro in your area, it will have a domino affect with more listings coming your way.
Patty McNease is the Director of Marketing for Homes.com.
