By Mike Bodeen · 12 September 2016
The world of the internet has changed the way real estate business is done by Buyers and Realtors. Buyers want information and photography at their fingertips — now! Many photos, more information. If they like what they see, they will call their Realtor or, if they don’t have one, they may call the agent connected to the listing online to go see the home or get more info.
So, if this is true, what should a qualified professional Realtor bring to the table for their seller? I can think of 5 things:
1) Professional grade photography: This is not best accomplished with the agent’s smart phone, as smart as it may be. I have a smart phone. I also have a 35 mm wide angle lens camera. I have some experience, BUT I am not a professional photographer. A professional real estate photographer understands lighting and angles and the company we hire, at our expense to do our shoots specialize in real estate photography.
2) Staging Expertise: I also have some experience in house staging, but we hire a staging consultant, at our expense, to give us their expertise. We see a dramatic difference in how the home buying public positively responds to our listings, both online and at the home itself.
3) Compelling Verbiage: I say to prospective sellers that the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is a seller’s single most important advertisement. The real estate buying world sees this ad via a direct feed by their Realtor or through a commercial portal such as Realtor.com or Zillow. The “Remarks” section of the MLS listing composes up to 800 characters or more that the Realtor composes. Besides the basic facts of the listing, such as age or square footage of the home, the remarks section is what the buyer will see. Good writing in the remarks section can draw buyers to want to read more. To be honest, good writing is challenging. It’s hard. We want to tell the story of the home in a way that draws buyers in without misrepresenting the property.
4) Pricing Strategy: The list price matters. A seller needs an agent who isn’t going to wing it, or just go by their gut feeling. Both my son and I spend a great deal of our time researching the market and constantly updating ourselves real time as it changes. A good agent will know where to go for the best information and know how to ascertain the real value of a property. Incorrectly pricing a home upfront can and often does cost a seller time and money.
5) Last and never least, experience and integrity: Though these words may seem like shop-worn marketing they are an integral part of the Seller / Client relationship. It takes years to develop but if a seller trusts their agent, it will go a long way towards giving the client a peace of mind that’s hard to find.