If you are planning on or currently listing your home for sale in the next several months, you should already know that you will need to play by a different, more self-quarantine-centered, set of rules in order to sell for the price you want. One of the best ways to promote your property even before COVID-19 is to utilize digital tools to create interest and get potential buyers to enter your sales funnel. So, to help you we’re going to review all of the digital tools and promotion methods that you can use to sell your house while buyers are less likely or not able to view the property in-person.
Staging is More Important Now Than Ever
If you thought buyers were fickle before, they will be 10 times as skeptical of a property now. To combat buyers’ lowered motivation to see a property in person, you need to have incredible staging that puts your property in its best light. So, here are some staging tips to follow:
- Now is not the time to go niche, cast a wide net with universally popular furniture and decor
- Go with a very “clean” look – now more than ever folks are concerned with hygiene, so you want your property to showcase a concerted effort toward spotlessness and immaculately neat.
- Focus on natural light – Using minimal window coverings and strategic mirrors, now is the time to lighten the place up, as dim areas will draw an even more negative connotation now (i.e. doom and gloom)
Use an Experienced Professional Photographer
People don’t want to leave their home (or in some locations, they couldn’t if they wanted to) right now – so now is not the time to choose the cheap route on photos. You need photos that are well-thought-out and executed, and you will simply not get that from an amateur with a DSLR. Spend the money on a true, experienced professional and talk to them about the “ultra clean” look you are going for. Any decent photographer will know that they need to time the shoot in accordance with the weather and time of day to give you property maximum natural light and highlight its cleanliness. Maybe even place hand sanitizer throughout the property (if you can get your hands on them) to hammer home to feeling that people will be moving into a sterile environment.
In addition to a top-notch set of pictures, you’re going to need more to satisfy buyers right now – have the photographer do a video walkthrough of the property as well. This gives you a huge promotional asset for emails, social media, YouTube, etc. and give potential buyers even more confidence that they truly understand the property’s flow and space.
If you can afford it, having a Matterport 3-D tour is an excellent idea right now. This gives buyers’ the ability to conduct their own virtual walkthrough of the property and spend more time looking at things that interest them more, and less time looking at areas that are not a big-ticket item for them. If it’s within the budget, consider having this done before and after you stage the property, as some people may want to use this tool when planning out where they can put their own furniture.
Agents Looking to Promote Their Listings Digitally
Right now, real estate agents will need to go the extra mile for interested buyers if they want their listing to sell. One simple way is to offer client-led video walkthroughs of the property (this is especially important when the property doesn’t already have a Matterport 3-D tour available). All you have to do is start a video call with them using a smartphone or a tablet, and walk through the property with the camera pointed forward as the client instructs you which room to enter, where to look, and how long to spend looking at details. This way the client can feel like they are getting a virtual property walkthrough on their own terms – not a video that may not spend time on the features that are important to them.
Promoting a property for sale may be tough right now due to self-quarantining guidelines, but property owners, agents, and investors can utilize a variety of digital tools to prevent their property from sitting stagnant on market. While some areas currently prohibit potential buyers from even visiting a property in person after you have used all of the digital tools mentioned above, these will at least keep the ball rolling and build out your list of “hot” buyers who will be first in the queue once you can hold an in-person walkthrough or open house again. The key is staying proactive now to better the chances of your property selling as soon as possible.