Marketing Your Home
You've cleaned, decluttered, repaired and prepared your home to put it on the market and now it's time for your REALTOR® to do their thing.
The Marketing Tools:
The "For Sale" Sign:
Despite all our leaps in technology the "For Sale" sign continues to be an extremely effective way to advertise. You want to be sure that the sign installed is visible, professional looking and effective. Anybody responding to your sign is a good lead because they've seen the home and its location and are interested enough to phone.
If someone is bold enough to knock on your door and ask for a "quick peak" thank them for their interest but politely request they book a proper showing appointment through your REALTOR®. There are a number of reasons for doing this:
- You deserve the opportunity to prepare your home for a showing so that it's at its best.
- Your safety is important. You wouldn't let strangers into your home without good reason any other time and this is no different. Requesting they be accompanied by a REALTOR will not deter a serious Buyer.
- The Buyer is likely to ask questions which you may or may not handle effectively. These may not be about the home itself but possibly about your reasons for moving or personal situation which, if answered with too much revealed, may affect your negotiating power later.
- Your privacy is constantly interrupted when your home is on the market and you've hired a professional to help you filter this activity and professionally respond to Buyer inquiries. If someone is REALLY serious about buying your home they will go through the appropriate channels and make a proper appointment.
Traditional Media:
Although the internet may have taken over as the main information source today there are still other, more traditional ways to advertise your home for sale that can assist your REALTOR® in selling your home. Print advertising in the newspaper or real estate publications can still provide additional exposure. The Stacer Team has maintained the most prominent and consistent page in the classified section of the local papers (The Salmon Arm Observer and Market) for the last 8 years to be able to offer their customers the best opportunity for this type of marketing in the Shuswap.
The MLS:
Your REALTOR® should place your home on the Multiple Listing Service ensuring maximum exposure to all REALTORS® as well as the public through MLS.ca and REALTOR.ca. In the Shuswap this also involves regular advertising in the MLS Review, a catalogue of all MLS listings in the area that is reprinted every 2 weeks and dispensed through real estate offices and various public locations.
The Internet:
With at least 85% of Buyers these days using the internet as an information source while searching for a new home it's imperative that you have professional exposure for your property on the internet. Sure, it has to look good and contain lots of information and pictures of your home but most importantly people have to be able to find it. There is no point having a fancy website with all sorts of bells and whistles on it if no one can find your home when they use their favourite search engine.
You're here so you know people can find our site. That's because we hire professionals to design our site and to insure that it ranks well with search engines guaranteeing you the best exposure online that is possible. We also market all our listings on MLS.ca/REALTOR.ca as well as at least 2 other websites, continuously update all of them and promptly respond to email inquiries.