The time has come to sell your house. You may be wondering what are the safest and most efficient ways to market your house during a global pandemic? Marketing your home to sell fast while navigating safety precautions is a challenge—a big one. If your home isn’t located in one of the top real estate markets, you could face other roadblocks when it comes to getting offers on your home. The good news? There are several things you can do to help make your home more visible online and potentially reduce the stress of making a sale.
Depending on the status of your home—whether you’re currently living in it, have already moved out or are using it as rental property—may determine some of the marketing tools you can use to sell your home. Selling a rental home that’s currently occupied will face challenges that are different from the former two options. The strategies below offer options to home sellers to help better market their home and, hopefully, close on a sale.
Host a virtual open house
A virtual open house is a great way to meet with potential buyers, walk them through the home, show them your favorite features or details about the house and answer any questions they may have, all while staying socially distant. According to the home valuation company Ownerly, a major benefit of a virtual open house is the flexibility for prospective buyers who can’t or won’t attend in person, which means you may have a bigger pool of prospective buyers interested in making offers.
Virtual open houses can also provide a stress-free experience for both the buyer and seller. As time and tours are more flexible, both the buyer and seller can work the event into their schedules.
Use the power of social media
Social media is more powerful now than ever in how it connects users to breaking news, entertainment and friends near and far. The pandemic has only increased social media scrolling. Making sure your listing is being shared, talked about and commented on can help your listing stay on the feeds of those you want to see it. Have your friends and family share your listing as well—this can help expand your reach by leveraging their connections.
Focus on what your listing says
Imagine you stumble upon a house that you like, but the listing agent or seller hasn’t taken the time to share any information about the home. Is it an intentional oversight or a red flag? When information is lacking, you’ll often send a potential buyer looking elsewhere or to another listing that shares the information they are looking for. To keep the buyer intrigued, make sure that your property copywriting is up to snuff and spell out all the details someone would need to know about the upsides of buying your home.
Email your prospects
Whether you’re working with a real estate agent to help sell your home or selling independently, you should be sure to email your prospective buyers with updates on the home like price drops or increases, if the home is under contract or is pending. Sending sales messages can be a bit tricky, especially if you don’t have a seed list of prospective buyers to start with. Have potential buyers opt in for receiving emails on your website, social media or listing page to receive updates on your property.
Hire a photographer
Instagram has fooled us all into thinking we’re one ‘gram away from being a professional photographer. But the reality is many social influencers or other industry leaders use professional photographers. Hiring an experienced real estate photographer can prove extremely valuable when it comes to selling your home and getting offers. Their experience in capturing natural light, space and other details around a home can help you avoid photos that make your home appear dark, cramped or small when that isn’t the case.
Create a video
Videos are a fantastic way to showcase your home in ways that photographs may not be able to. A video home tour can highlight the flow of your home or even special features, such as how much storage space is really in the attic. Video can and should be used alongside property photography to highlight the details and attributes of your listing. If a photographer offers both a photo and video package, this could be a way to save on hiring two separate companies.
As the delta variant continues to spread through communities nationwide, it’s important for both the buyer and seller to remain vigilant in strategies to avoid unnecessary close social interactions. These tips may help you gain ground in a cold market and get your listing the attention it deserves.