The truth about listing a home
I have said it many times… listing a home is not rocket science. Anyone can do it, and many do. The problem is that many people do it horribly. This is for many reasons, but the main one is a lack of training and experience, but even the most experienced agents can still put out a bad listing online. The key to a good listing is thinking like a buyer as well as a computer. Let me explain. Today’s generation of buyer has likely never seen the magazines or old MLS books that would come out weekly. When I first started, the consumer had no resource to view homes online and these books were the best way to see the inventory, outdated as they might be.
Now, with every bit of information at your finger tips, the process of finding homes has greatly changed. It is critical that your agent change with the times too. We have all seen the listings that appear in MLS or Zillow, and noticed the horrible photos and lack of info. These listings rarely grab the attention of the new buyers. They simply swipe to the left and move on. What you may not know, is that there is a 12 page document that agents are required to fill out and they have every detail about a home on them. Sadly, many agents will fill out the minimum requirement for details and go live in MLS. What they fail to realize is that it works both ways. The same way they input as little as possible, the buyer on the other end is inputting their entire wish list into the search parameters and getting minimal results. Take for example the search criteria of “Master Bedroom Downstairs”, This field is optional in the system so many agents leave it out. What ends up happening is that anyone searching for a home with a master down but would also consider a single story home, would effectively miss that home because the agent failed to notate the master location. Now as a person, we understand that of course the master is down on a single story home, but remember, the computer does not think that way and leaves it out of the search results. The same is true for pricing. We usually have search parameters that end on a 25K range. For example, say you had a home listed for $299,999. Many agents will say “it looks better than 300K”. This is somewhat true, but what they fail to notice is that it limits their search results. Let’s say you want to buy a home in the price range of 300-350. You would MISS the home prior because it is outside the range by $1.00. That is just sad. I have never heard a buyer say they would pay 299K but not 300K. Effective pricing can get you more buyers and exposure. Sadly, not many offices have the time or staff to teach these things. Much of what is learned in real estate is what is passed down from agent to agent. This explains why a lot of things agents do that are dated, keep on happening. Agents hate change. I love it. I thrive on it! Speaking of which, MAJOR change coming up in July. I can’t tell you yet, but it’s HUGE! Just waiting for the ink to dry on the contract J