“Back in the day, selling a home used to be so much easier. You basically just posted the listing and waited for people to call you,” says Tyler Whitman, real estate agent and founder of the Whitman Team at Triplemint. Nowadays, selling a home comes with so many more challenges. In this guide, Tyler explains why and gives some interesting insights into the marketing strategies he uses to target the right audience and sell a home fast.
The Price is Right
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In order to be able to make the sale of a home as smooth and easy as possible, make sure to put the right price tag on it from the beginning. It’s not as easy as taking part in The Price Is Right! Luckily, Triplemint Agent Jim Moorehead has got you covered. “If you’re working with a broker, they’ll be able to determine the pricing for you. At Triplemint, we use a software to identify the property and run a comparative market analysis. The question is, what’s been sold in the last six months that is similar?” he explains.
However, other factors to consider when pricing a home include details like exposures, the floor it’s on, if any renovations need to be made, and the view. “Pricing a home is more of an art than a science. I make sure to talk to my clients to get an idea of what they think their property is worth as well,” states Jim. That being said, it’s essential that you have an expert help you with this important first step.
Times are Changing
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“In the past, putting a home on the market meant posting a listing online, sitting back and relaxing, and waiting for potential buyers to call,” says Tyler. Now, there’s so much more technology involved, he tells us. “The tools and marketing techniques I use to promote a home properly to a specific audience have become way more expensive. I have to use a lot of money to bring the right eyes to the property,” says the experienced agent.
Instead of waiting for buyers to contact him, Tyler directs buyers to his seller. Furthermore, expectations of buyers and sellers have increased dramatically, using technology has become the norm. One of his favorite techniques is to produce a video of the property.
Tech Helpers
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“Video marketing has become huge for us. People love listing videos,” explains Tyler. A listing video gives you an idea of the flow of a home, whereas images and a floorplan make you piece your potential home together.
Watching a video almost feels like being there in person and makes it way easier to digest your impression of the space. “Especially for people who want to move from out of state, videos are very useful. They help buyers to decide if it’s worth it to fly in and look at the property in person,” states Tyler. Smart consumers in New York are also learning that pictures can be taken from a certain angle to depict a different image of an apartment, so a video can be more authentic and real than a carefully positioned photo.
Tyler doesn’t mess around when producing a listing video. He hires a professional camera crew who spend several hours filming one video to ensure it’s beautifully produced. Determining the right budget and criteria for a marketing move like that is part of Tyler’s responsibilities.
Using Social Media
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“I really go all out for my sellers and use all technical tools at my hands to market their apartment the right way. For example, we use Facebook as a platform to get the word out about the sale,” explains Tyler.
When asked about his relationship to sellers, Tyler tells us that sometimes it’s hard for his sellers to let go of their home. “It’s happened before that I’ve made suggestions like staging the home or getting rid of certain features and my sellers wouldn’t be convinced in the beginning. It was hard for them to see their former home as a product on the market that needs to appeal to a large audience,” he points out. “But the majority of my sellers are hiring me for just that, I can take all the work out of their hands and I know what serves the property best.”
House Party
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Another tool that Tyler offers to his sellers are customized events and printed invites. He likes to distribute these to people who live in the same building and might be looking to up or down grade, as well as buyers he’s sourced that could be interested in the property.
“These people are already fans of the building, they feel comfortable in the neighborhood, and have developed a certain lifestyle there. Sometimes I throw parties at my listings and invite tenants from the building. They have the chance to experience the home at its best and to see what it can offer. Maybe they even tell their friends about it. I actually have a lot of success stories with targeting people from the same building.”
Quick and Easy Selling
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Tyler knows how to do it, and the numbers prove him right. “If we priced and marketed the home correctly and depending on the market conditions, we can get an apartment into contract within 30 to 60 days.”
