The Best Real Estate Marketing Tips For Selling a Property in 2016

If you are like most people, selling your property is probably one of the largest financial transactions you will make in your life, so here are some tips for selling a property in 2016 quickly, in particular, if it is located in the South America region.

There will be other properties in competition with you, so you will need to pull out all the stops to get your property in front of the most qualified buyers both locally and internationally.

The following marketing ideas may be useful to you, helping you reach a wider audience than you normally would and hopefully to ensure that your home sells more quickly and for an above market price than it otherwise would. Industry statistics prove that properties which are professionally marketed proactively sell faster and for more money that ones that are not.

Keep reading for some of my best real estate marketing tips for selling your property. By following this guidance you are bound to be in a much better position for a timely and successful result.

Choose your real estate agent and the company they work for very carefully

Before you ever consider putting your property up for sale, it is best to spend some time choosing the right real estate broker for your needs. You want someone who will do more than just put a sign on the property and a listing up on their website which will compete with the 10’s of millions of other websites on the web of a similar type.

There are a number of ways you can help ensure you get the best salesperson for you:

Interview more than one real estate agency. If you cannot do it in person, do it via Skype or Facetime.

Taking the time to properly interview real estate salespeople is by far one of the best marketing tips when selling a home. You can’t get a good idea of what’s out there without talking to at least two to three real estate agents in your region. Don’t think putting in the effort to choose a real estate agent is a waste of your time. If you live in an international city, make sure you are interviewing international real estate brokers who market and communicate bilingually.

Keep in mind that experienced real estate agents are not easy to find in most locations. Whilst the barriers to entry for the real estate industry are very low, the turnover of failed salespeople is very high. Sadly this allows people to become real estate agents who clearly should be prohibited from doing so. Your property is probably your largest asset, you should treat it like one!

Selecting the right real estate agent could put a significant amount of money in your pocket which you may miss out on with a less skilled agency. Above all else, look out for the agent who will buy your listing by telling you your property is worth way more than it is.  There are plenty of real estate agents who will mislead an owner on their home’s value just to beat other agents for the business. Also ask if their company is licensed to operate in the area that you are wanting to sell in.

What is unique in South American cities is the lack of publicly viewable reliable sales data; for example, the time the property is in the market, the price the vendors paid for it, recent sales in the area and other valuable information. Sadly even if it was available, it could often be incorrect, as historically, many sales have been written down to avoid paying the relevant taxes. Only a very active experienced real estate broker will know the true sales prices and will be able to help you set the correct asking price.

Remember the sale of real estate is a relationship business. A referral from a friend or professional who has used a particular company is invaluable. Just watch out he or she is not referring you just for a personal kickback of the commission.

Another important question to ask is if the company you are looking to use is a franchise of a foreign company. Franchising of real estate companies has grown considerably in the past few years within South America. Some of the best-known names are Colliers, Cushman Wakefield, Remax and Sotheby’s, who are all operating in the region. Some offer excellent service such as Colliers which in Chile has won a number of national awards in Commercial Real Estate. However, others have proven to be boiler houses and you would be best advised to stay clear if you are looking for personal service.

See if the real estate company has a multilingual website

A good South American broker in today’s market will have an exceptional SEO ( search engine optimised ) website, along with a strong web presence in real estate social media. There are too many marketing opportunities online that need to be taken advantage of for a modern broker to not be online bilingually. Over 90% of all buyers find their next home by doing some kind of online search in their country of interest.

Look for a real estate agent who is investing back into their business by adding value to the sales process themselves. Ask if and how  they have been upgrading their sales skills and industry knowledge. Do they do personal marketing or not.

Also look for an agent who gives back to the community they work in. It gives you an idea of their personal ethics.

With the advent of the smartphone, genuine buyers are also on their social media daily. If they are in the market for a property, vendors are likely to use a broker with an App and who is well connected locally online. For example, see how well they are found using ‘Key Words’ on the net. Type in “Real Estate in South America” and see who appears.

Ask about his/her personal track record

You also want a real estate agent that has a steady record of home sales, including sales in the past year. You also want someone who is good at pricing properties, so you need to look at what the original listing price was of their listings vs the actual sale price. There should not be a big gap between the two. ( a sign of over pricing )

You want a real estate agent that can price a property well from the start. Keep this in mind – you are going to see some great real estate marketing ideas below. The best marketing in the world however, will not sell an overpriced property!  The price you set for your property is more than 75% of the marketing.

Don’t make the mistake that some owners do by avoiding a real estate agent who seems very busy. You want someone who has a successful track record. Successful people are busy people! Would you hire the dentist that nobody else wants to use because you will get more one on one attention? I hope not! It works the same way with real estate. Choose a salesperson with a track record of success.

Get company and personal references

A good salesperson should have recent references that can tell you how good they are. Without references, there is no way to know if what the salesperson says about themselves is true. Ask for at least two to three recent clients that you can talk to. Check out their profile on Linkedin and Facebook.

Better yet look up a couple of listings the agent has and call the owners out of the blue. You will get a far better handle on how an agent is performing this way than getting a hand selected list from the agent. Do you think the agent is going to give you a list of people who will say negative things? Fat chance!

Pick someone you have a strong empathy with

Selling a home is stressful and can sometimes take longer than anticipated. The real estate agent’s track record and abilities are extremely important, but so too is being able to get along with them. You may be spending an extended amount of time together and you will almost certainly be dealing with some stressful situations.

Selling a property isn’t just about procuring the buyer but managing the transaction after the contract has been signed. There are a number of things for a listing agent to represent a seller as well as attending property inspections and communicating weekly as any issues arise, which they will.

Never underestimate the importance of having a problem solver in your corner. The ideal agent is having someone you like who is also a closer. Remember this is a business transaction. If you are going to choose between liking someone and business skills, always go with business acumen first!

Ask how they market properties and what options are available to you

The marketing tips that are coming up are good indicators of how serious a salesperson is about selling properties. When you interview your real estate agent, consider taking this list with you and ask the interviewee if he or she uses these different marketing ideas.

Better yet go out and check them out for yourself. Jump online and do your own research

Be Creative – Ideas For Marketing Your Property

OK, now for our best marketing ideas for selling a property. No matter the real estate agent you choose, all of these ideas can come in handy when you get serious about selling.

Use Powerful listing descriptions using Key Words

The web listing is the first place most buyers will see your home. You want to make sure your listing speaks of all the best things about your property. Your agent should be writing property descriptions that sell. For example, there is no point is saying the home has 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms in the listing description when a buyer already can see that in the features. With limited copy space to write, make sure the words used are memorable, the focus should be on standout features and that it includes great images to back these descriptions up. Check the salesperson is familiar with the use of SEO ( search engine optimisation ) Key Words when writing selling scripts and content marketing posts.

Make sure the photography and video is of exceptional quality

Buyers in 2016 are finding homes online so this is where photos and videos can make all the difference. You want your photos to really stand out and to demonstrate the best qualities of your home. Your agent may be great at taking photos, but if they are not, consider bringing in a professional photographer instead. Getting your photos looking sensational is one of the most important parts of real estate marketing.

Provide beautiful professional video tours

One of our favourite marketing tips for selling a home is having a spectacular video presentation. Video presentations are the latest development in smart real estate marketing. People love videos, and for good reason. They can give a much better feel for what the home is really like, before buyers ever walk through the door. With more and more internet users choosing videos over plain text and photos, it is quickly becoming a necessity to include video in real estate marketing.

Video can be more expensive to produce, but it can be worth it if you really want to stand out. Here is an example of a video tour for a home we recently marketed in Palermo, Buenos Aires. There are some real estate salespeople who would never consider spending  money on marketing one of their listings. For us it is essential.

However, the best thing about video media is that you can leverage your presentations to Youtube and Vimeo. When someone does a Google search for the address of one of our listings they will almost always find our presentations on the first page, along with our website. Here is an example of a home that is listed in Buenos Aires.  The presentation works well with music playing in the background. Buyers can get a good idea what the home has to offer.

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