Your Real Estate Listing Needs to Stand Out

In many real estate markets, there are plenty of homes for sale. The challenge for a real estate agent is to make sure their listings get noticed.

If no one has told you yet, your real estate listing needs to stand out. Oh, heard that before? In many real estate markets, there are plenty of homes for sale. The challenge for a real estate agent is to make sure their listings get noticed. We'll offer you the top ways to market a listing in real estate.

The following tips will help a REALTOR® accomplish exactly that—getting their listings noticed. Some of the tips pertain to things you’re almost certainly doing already, but will ensure you’re doing them to maximum effect. Other tips will suggest methods you might not have considered but will be useful additions to your REALTOR® bag of tricks.

Real Estate Listing Tip #1: Make Sure Your Listings Provide Plenty of Information

In the old days, it might’ve been sufficient for a listing to simply cover the basics; how many bedrooms, how many baths… now, that’s not enough. People browsing listings want to know a lot more (the location of the property in relation to nearby amenities, as an example), and they want to see a lot of professional-quality photos—even video. By utilizing a drone with a camera, video can even incorporate aerial views. Make sure you give them what they’re looking for.

Real Estate Tip #2: Know the Area You Sell In

You can’t provide information about an area unless you know the area. You need expertise. Spend the time necessary to do the research to find out about schools, churches, shopping 

areas, and maybe even some local history to add appropriate commentary to your listing description. You can also create collections of resources and links to provide to your clients to help them research the area themselves.

Along the way, be sure to spend enough time to complete a quality market analysis of the subject property and surrounding market area. Be certain to know property values so you can tell homeowners how much they can expect to get when they sell their home, and how many houses sold in the last six months. Having this knowledge will help you get listings in the first place, and is essential for a successful career in real estate.

Top Ways to Market a Listing in Real Estate Your Real Estate Listing Needs to Stand Out

Along the way, be sure to spend enough time to complete a quality market analysis of the subject property and surrounding market area.  Be certain to know property values so you can tell homeowners how much they can expect to get when they sell their home, and how many houses sold in the last six months. Having this knowledge will help you get listings in the first place, and is essential for a successful career in real estate.

Real Estate Listing Tip #3: Disseminate the Listing as Widely as Possible

Creating a great listing is only the first step. Most of the work you put into it will be for naught if nobody ever sees it. You need to disseminate it as widely as possible—and we don't mean just the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the sites they provide data feeds to via IDX (Internet Data Exchange) MLS automatically sends your listing to.

This requires utilizing every marketing tool available to you. One of the most effective (and therefore powerful) is the use of content marketing via blogging. If you have your own website and blog, write there frequently. If you don’t have a blog, seeking opportunities to guest write on other blogs and websites is another option. Blogging will establish your reputation as a real estate expert, and in no time, those who have read your blog will turn to you for your services and find that informative and professional listing.

It’s also a good idea if your website has a standalone page for each home you’re offering for sale. Naturally, this should include all the pertinent information (get detailed), still images (high definition or HDR is the best), and video! Be sure to always reflect impeccable professionalism. You should also be certain to market to your database, send the listing to your past clients, sphere of influence and leads through your email marketing campaign with Happy Grasshopper.

In this era of technology and electronics, it’s vital to focus your marketing via web pages, social media, and the like. You may be tempted to ignore older forms of real estate marketing, but don’t—there’s still an advantage to be gained from methods like postcard marketing campaigns. Flyers, phone calls, open houses, and even block parties are other low-tech but potentially powerful techniques to increase exposure and lead generation.

The traditional methods will reach people who aren’t plugged into the cyber world (there are still quite a few). Those methods also have the added advantage of impressing people with the effort you put into marketing your listings to sell. They’ll think of you first when they, too, are ready to list with a REALTOR®.

The following tips will help a REALTOR® accomplish precisely that—getting their listings noticed.

Real Estate Listing Tip #4: The Tour

Anyone can describe an area where a listed home is located, even showing pictures and video, but—again, that’s not the same as actually experiencing the house and location in person. Why not offer a potential buyer a real live tour of the area? Services like Uber and OpenTable can provide the prospect with a vivid, memorable experience that will, with luck, make him or her fall in love with the neighborhood.

Real Estate Listing Tip #5: Open Up the Property for Events and Pop-Up Shops

You can open the property up to potential new buyers by using services like EventUp and StoreFront. The consumers (and hopefully a few potential buyers) who show up for an event, or to shop in the pop-up, will see the property is also for sale. There’s always a chance one of them may be interested in purchasing, or know other people who would be. An additional value: Your client could collect a portion of the proceeds from the sale and any fee to use the space.

Real Estate Listing Tip #6: The “Advance” Look-feeling Premiere VIP Open House

A real estate agent’s first move is often to put a property on the MLS. That’s great but, if available, utilize the “coming soon” option. Then premiere the property with an “exclusive” invitation-only VIP open house the first day of showings. Of course, invite your clients, as well as those of other REALTORS® who you have worked with. It’s courteous to do this and will get more buyers through the door. Be sure to let the agents know you are protecting their relationship with their client because you simply want to sell your listing, not poach their client. Bonus! You can get feedback from those attendees on the condition and price ahead of the game.

Real Estate Listing Tip #7: Find the Buyer Who Isn’t Looking Yet

As a REALTOR®, it never hurts to be proactive with your listings! You can connect with buyers who will want to move into an area at some point in the future via your database. I am sure you have one, right? Then use Happy Grasshopper to keep in touch and build that relationship for those not ready to pull the trigger on a home purchase yet.

Consider reaching out to local companies who may have new employees relocating to the area, or existing employees headed to new locations. These are known as “arrivals and departures” in human resources and the relocation niche. These companies may be willing to forward your listing to their employees for consideration, as well as your resume. Another possibility—their relocation department may even be interested in purchasing your listing directly to use for executive corporate housing.

Real Estate Listing Tip #8: High End Staging

It goes without question, you want the home to look nice when potential buyers walk-through on appointments. That’s where staging is useful! You are not limited to the current owner’s furniture and decor. It’s practical and helps drive results to bring in different, or even high-end, furnishings to stage the property for photos and showings.

Furniture sellers and designers are sometimes willing to loan their wares and services for free in exchange for the exposure. Another option is to ask a local interior decorator if they would like to stage the property as a showcase of their work for marketing purposes. That’s a great way to co-market and you reach their clientele as well.

About the Author Maya Paveza

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