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Developing a Property Marketing Plan
Listing and Marketing Checklist
Marketing Media To Consider
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Property Advertising Techniques
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Advanced: Getting the Most from Your Advertising Dollars
Online Property Marketing
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Conducting Open Houses
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Alternative Selling Options
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Complying with Fair Housing
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Property Disclosure
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Common Property Hazards
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Property Marketing Quiz
Bright Ideas: Property Marketing
More Resources: Property Marketing
Code of Ethics: Property Marketing
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Selling homes doesn't happen by magic, routine, or accident. It happens because of a comprehensive marketing plan. Creating a complete, well thought-out plan to market a property and then carrying out that plan in a timely way are the keys to successful property marketing.
Developing a Property Marketing Plan
10 Ways to Ensure a Great Marketing Plan:
1. Compare the home to comparable ones on the market and identify its unique and most desirable features. Why would a buyer want this home more than other homes in the same price range?
2. Take snapshots of the home’s best features, and use them as a starting point for your marketing approach.
3. Find out why the sellers purchased the home, and use that information to help you focus on potential buyers. From “Learn the Ad Writing Secrets Used by All the Pros,” Mary Ellen Randall and Jamie Edwards, Real Estate Professional, May/June 1998.
4. Research the demographics of homeowners in the home’s neighborhood. Prospects with similar demographics will probably be the best market for the home.
5. Review the audience demographics of various media, and use those that best match the likely demographics of potential buyers for the home.
6. Start early. Don’t wait until a week before the listing expires to get the word out.
7. Write a brief property-marketing plan that includes specific objectives, a description of the home, a description of the target buyers for the home, and appropriate marketing media.
8. Make a schedule for the property marketing activities throughout the listing period.
9. Set a reasonable budget based on the activities detailed in the plan. The more costly the home, the more expensive it will be to market because a high-priced home demands top-of-the-line marketing materials.
10. Set up systems to track the “pull” of your various property-marketing efforts. One simple method is to ask those who call or view the home how they found out about it.
Customize Your Property Marketing
You can’t change the basic property, but you can emphasize the features that will appeal to your target market.
- Use the demographic profile and the analysis of the home’s features to determine the types of buyers who are most likely to be interested in the home.
- Then adapt your marketing presentation to emphasize factors that are probably of importance to your target buyers. For example, entry-level homes might emphasize low downpayments and neighborhoods with good resale value. Luxury homebuyers may be more concerned about privacy and quiet in the neighborhood.
- Emphasize services and assistance you can provide that will be of special benefit to your target group. Move-up buyers might appreciate assistance with locating a moving company or recreational activities for their children.
Entry-Level Home (First-Time Buyers)
- Include information about possible financing scenarios, such as sample downpayments and monthly mortgage payments, and first-time buyer financing programs.
- Emphasize the tax advantages of homeownership and the opportunity to build equity, instead of paying rent.
- Advertise the home in local restaurants or entertainment magazines.
Move-Up Home (More experienced buyers, probably with families)
- Highlight such features as a large lot or backyard; a fourth or fifth bedroom; or a bonus room suitable for a den, a home-entertainment room, or a home office.
- Provide information about local schools, day care centers, or parks.
- Advertise the home at day care centers, nursery schools, and local shopping districts.
Luxury Home (More experienced buyers, perhaps empty nesters)
- Hire a professional designer to create a high-quality, four-color brochure that showcases the home’s best features. Include professional photographs or a professional artist’s sketch or drawing of the home.
- Emphasize the home’s special features, luxury amenities, and desirable location.
- Advertise the home in luxury lifestyle magazines.
Listing and Marketing Checklist, next page > | |
Keep It Ethical
Remember that your first obligation is to act in the best interest of your client. Don’t mislead a client about the potential sales price of a house just to secure a listing. Link to Article 1 and Standard of Practice 1-3
Keep It Ethical
Do not discriminate against any person in your real estate practices. Be careful not to volunteer information on the racial, religious, or ethnic composition of a neighborhood. Link to Article 10 and Standard of Practice 10-1
Keep It Ethical
Be careful not to volunteer information on the racial, religious, or ethnic composition of a neighborhood. Link to Standard of Practice 10-1
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