Property Collective
11 min read
Selling real estate in a buyers market? Here's 5 top tips to get you started
The property market is cyclical, and in a ‘downturn’, it’s known as a buyer’s market. That’s because there is typically more housing stock for sale, and means those looking to buy can usually take their time to shop around. There just isn’t that urgency to make offers or go to auctions when property isn’t selling quickly.
But while the ‘days on market’ may be longer, and selling prices are not what they were a year ago - houses still need to be bought and sold. So how can you make sure the listings you have are the ones that don’t languish too long in window displays and online?
Before signing the listing and starting your marketing campaign you need to be honest with your vendors about:
This will ensure they will go into the house selling process with the right frame of mind, and be open to the advice you provide them. (Of course you can lessen the blow by reminding them that they will benefit from the market when they become the buyer!)
It’s best that their home is sold as quickly as possible (stale listings can be hard to revive, especially in a buyer’s market), and aside from understanding that if they price too high they may not sell, there will also be a few things you will need their cooperation for.
And make sure you keep up-to-date with all the sales results from your local area, so you can be providing your vendors with the right information to help with their decision making.
Remember how we mentioned above you need the vendors to get on board to help out? Well that comes with doing all the extra things required to make their home stand out, for all the right reasons.
Investing in staging is always helpful, but if they aren’t able to put their furniture and belongings in storage, bringing in a designer to refresh their interior (and work with what they have) is a great idea too. You also want to hire a professional photographer who understands design, light and layout to ensure the photos are eye-catching and will entice buyers to get in touch.
Don’t forget the outside either - street appeal is absolutely crucial. But it doesn’t have to be labour intensive. Things like a splash of paint on the letterbox and front door, trimming bushes/trees, waterblasting the driveway, planting some flowers and popping a new door mat down can mean all the difference. You want people to be wowed by their first impression of the property, because if that doesn’t happen, it can be a hard sell from there.
You also need the owners to keep the house in tip top condition, for drive bys, viewings and open homes.
‘Sneak peeks’ and ‘coming soon’ are a great way to build anticipation for a property coming on the market. And these work especially well on social media.
You could get followers to guess where the location is by showing a photo of the view, or describe the best features of the house before launching the full listing. This will allow potential buyers to get excited, and follow along to see if it is just what they are looking for.
Creating engagement on your social media is always a win - not only for house listings but for your real estate agent brand too.
When a listing has been online for a while, people will likely skip past it if it hasn’t captured their attention the first time round. However, you can continue to get fresh sets of eyes on the home if you continually refresh which image you have on the front page, as some people might be enticed by kitchens, or the view, or the living space.
And switch up the property’s stand out features to appeal to the various list of needs and wants that buyers are after. Maybe they are keen on a particular school zone, or a ‘work from home’ space. Sometimes you have to be incredibly clear and direct to make people realise that you’ve got what they are looking for!
When your listing is sitting amongst many others that look much the same, you need to make it look ‘different’. And that could be about getting creative with the copy, or making some other bold statement to get eyes on the home.
Of course you don’t want to be silly, that can put people off and may not appeal to your vendors, but in a buyer’s market, you need to think outside the box when it comes to marketing a property.
You could create a website that is just for the home itself (which makes for a pretty memorable domain name too), ask the vendors what they have loved about living in the home and share that in the listing, or create a striking video tour to showcase online and social media.
Selling in a buyer’s market can be hard for a number of reasons, but it can be done - and many real estate agents are testament to that, having weathered many of the ups and downs we’ve experienced in the property industry over the past 15+ years.
But while the ‘days on market’ may be longer, and selling prices are not what they were a year ago - houses still need to be bought and sold. So how can you make sure the listings you have are the ones that don’t languish too long in window displays and online?
Be open and honest with your vendors
Before signing the listing and starting your marketing campaign you need to be honest with your vendors about:
- How the state of the market may not be as favourable for them as it has been in the past and,
- They need to be realistic with their price expectations
This will ensure they will go into the house selling process with the right frame of mind, and be open to the advice you provide them. (Of course you can lessen the blow by reminding them that they will benefit from the market when they become the buyer!)
It’s best that their home is sold as quickly as possible (stale listings can be hard to revive, especially in a buyer’s market), and aside from understanding that if they price too high they may not sell, there will also be a few things you will need their cooperation for.
And make sure you keep up-to-date with all the sales results from your local area, so you can be providing your vendors with the right information to help with their decision making.
Consider the extra trimmings
Remember how we mentioned above you need the vendors to get on board to help out? Well that comes with doing all the extra things required to make their home stand out, for all the right reasons.
Investing in staging is always helpful, but if they aren’t able to put their furniture and belongings in storage, bringing in a designer to refresh their interior (and work with what they have) is a great idea too. You also want to hire a professional photographer who understands design, light and layout to ensure the photos are eye-catching and will entice buyers to get in touch.
Don’t forget the outside either - street appeal is absolutely crucial. But it doesn’t have to be labour intensive. Things like a splash of paint on the letterbox and front door, trimming bushes/trees, waterblasting the driveway, planting some flowers and popping a new door mat down can mean all the difference. You want people to be wowed by their first impression of the property, because if that doesn’t happen, it can be a hard sell from there.
You also need the owners to keep the house in tip top condition, for drive bys, viewings and open homes.
Build anticipation with your marketing
‘Sneak peeks’ and ‘coming soon’ are a great way to build anticipation for a property coming on the market. And these work especially well on social media.
You could get followers to guess where the location is by showing a photo of the view, or describe the best features of the house before launching the full listing. This will allow potential buyers to get excited, and follow along to see if it is just what they are looking for.
Creating engagement on your social media is always a win - not only for house listings but for your real estate agent brand too.
Refresh the online listings regularly
When a listing has been online for a while, people will likely skip past it if it hasn’t captured their attention the first time round. However, you can continue to get fresh sets of eyes on the home if you continually refresh which image you have on the front page, as some people might be enticed by kitchens, or the view, or the living space.
And switch up the property’s stand out features to appeal to the various list of needs and wants that buyers are after. Maybe they are keen on a particular school zone, or a ‘work from home’ space. Sometimes you have to be incredibly clear and direct to make people realise that you’ve got what they are looking for!
Get creative - not crazy, but different
When your listing is sitting amongst many others that look much the same, you need to make it look ‘different’. And that could be about getting creative with the copy, or making some other bold statement to get eyes on the home.
Of course you don’t want to be silly, that can put people off and may not appeal to your vendors, but in a buyer’s market, you need to think outside the box when it comes to marketing a property.
You could create a website that is just for the home itself (which makes for a pretty memorable domain name too), ask the vendors what they have loved about living in the home and share that in the listing, or create a striking video tour to showcase online and social media.
Selling in a buyer’s market can be hard for a number of reasons, but it can be done - and many real estate agents are testament to that, having weathered many of the ups and downs we’ve experienced in the property industry over the past 15+ years.
