How to Advertise A Property For Sale

[Eric T. Pilgrim]

Selling your home without making use of a realtor is not difficult but as many buyers as possible need to know that your property is for sale if the process is to be a success. The key that will get the message out to buyers is an effective advertising.

Homeowners who thought i would go down the private sale (FSBO) path should look into the advertising tools that traditional realtors use and think the ones would work best for their property. Sellers should also remember how much they are saving in commission and agree to investing part of this in advertising, a rule of thumb is to allow 1% of the property value for promoting the property. Scrimping on advertising is a false economy, if buyers don't know that the property is for sale the property won't be sold and you'll end up having to pay far more in commission to a realtor.

The following methods are often employed by homeowners looking to sell their homes and by professional realtors:

Internet listing

The internet has revolutionised how you buy real estate. Buyers are able to view thousands of potentially suitable properties from the comfort of their own home at any hour. In our housing market an internet listing is an essential part of marketing a property for sale. Good FSBO websites will let you write reveal description and post pictures of your property.

Internet research enables buyers to create a short-list of potentially suitable properties, which will follow up with a visit. If a property is not listed on the web it may not even make it onto a customer's short-list.

For sale sign

Although the internet has made a huge affect the housing market one of the most effective tools used to advertise a property for sale is one of the earliest Property for sale in France. A simple but well-designed sign in top yard lets buyers know that the homeowner is looking to sell.

More than one third of properties are traded to buyers who trained that the property was for sale via a for sale sign. Many buyers drive around a community that they are interested in, learning the needs of the area and looking at for sale signs. If your house is for sale and you don't have an indication you've already omitted 30 % of potential buyers.

Newspaper Classified Advertising campaigns

Despite the rise of the internet newspaper classified ads are still a popular way of advertising a property for sale.

Classified ads are very effective with an internet listing as only the basic details of the property required included in the ad with buyers referred to the internet listing for additional information and photos. As charges for classified ads are usually based on the number of characters or words, referring buyers to the online advertisement can save owner money.

Flyers

Many buyers come from the local area with most moving less than 7km away from their previous home. These buyers can be reached by distributing well-designed flyers that help spread the word about the property for sale.

A letterbox drop in the streets surrounding the property helps spread the word. Posting flyers in letterboxes of smaller properties targets buyers looking to upgrade to a bigger property. Posting flyers in letterboxes of larger properties targets empty nesters looking to proceed to a smaller property. This also creates great word of mouth advertising and may attract buyers looking to move closer to family or friends.

Sellers should think about where their target market goes and make sure that a flyer is displayed conspicuously. Local stores, coffee shops, bookstores or libraries often have notice boards where flyers can be pinned up. Local businesses sometimes have staff looking to buy so sellers should find out if their local hospital, school or large company has an accommodation police officer or notice board to display flyers.

Word of mouth/networks

An often overlooked but very powerful method of advertising a home is with existing networks. Sellers should make sure that all of their friends and family members know that their home is for sale and cause them to pass the details onto their friends.

Here again an internet listing can certainly help the selling process. Some buyers may feel uncomfortable about approaching an in depth friend or relative to find out the price or may not want to risk harmful them if they go to the property to find it is not to their taste. By viewing the property on the web buyers need only proceed if there is a good chance that the property will be of interest.

Landlords should tell their tenants that they are looking to sell and have them if they may wish to buy, after all the doctor has to like the property as they are paying rent to live there. It's amazing how many landlords prepare their home for sale giving the tenants notice to leave when they may have been interested in buying all along.

Any homeowner who is set on selling their home would be well advised to use all of the advertising techniques described above. By spreading the word to as many buyers as possible a seller is more likely to achieve a quick sale at a good price.