20 steps to weaponize your real estate listing

Think about listing your home like a job interview.  You have a very short time to make a great impression.  If you don’t full advantage of the opportunity to impress you may never get a second chance.

It’s amazing to see properties hit the market with incomplete or incorrect information.  And if a picture says a thousand words when did dimly lit cell phone shots become acceptable?

Follow these 3 steps to weaponize your listing to make a lasting first impression:

The Value of Awesome Pictures

Buyers are viewing new listings on their smartphones or computers as soon as they hit the market. The photos of your property are the first thing buyers see. Does that picture sell potential buyers? Or is your home hidden behind trees and bushes? Would you look twice at the home if you were in the market to buy?

Drone photography has come of age.  And if the front and back of your house are difficult to photograph you need to hire a professional photographer (preferably one with access to a drone).  Once you capture attention with exterior photos it’s time to concentrate on the inside photos.  No agent or photographer should be responsible for cleaning your house for pictures.

Staging and decluttering is critical before taking any photos.  Clean and shine everything!  Sometimes it’s helpful if you actually shoot your own pictures and review on smartphone and computer screen.  Be a critic and fix or rearrange before the final photo shoot.

Drones, videos, and well lit, staged photos are all part of today’s real estate weaponizing tools.

Detailed Listing Information

The Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati (CincyMLS) requires agents to input “data” or information about each listing –  MLS Residential Worksheet – Cincy   Many agents and buyers filter searches with different criteria such as subdivision, school district, garage size and maybe lot size.

Blank fields may leave a property off a filtered search.  For example in my subdivision CincyMls shows 17 active listings but there are really 18.  Number 18 is missing the information about the subdivision.  It may seem like a small detail but every detail counts as an opportunity to appear in buyer’s or agent’ search.  Take a few minutes to review and correct the MLS information with your Realtor®.

Listing Price

Sellers cannot put the genie back into the lantern!  An overpriced listing misses the first rush of interested buyers.  They have been circling your neighboorhood or area looking for a home.  All the listing prices are available online and sold prices can be found on county auditor sites.  In short, most buyers are well informed about home prices.

Overpriced listings only have one way to go.  Down↓.  Proper pricing is an art.  Your agent will review comprehensive details about current real estate listings and sales.  Take time to discuss starting list prices versus actual selling prices on recent sales.  The information will give a bird’s eye view of which sellers had to reduce their prices in order to catch a buyer.

Weaponizing your real estate listing before it hits the market maximizes impact on buyers.

Don’t wait 2, 3 or 4 weeks into the listing on MLS to fix pictures, update information or lower the price.  Aim for a bullseye on the first day.

For more ways to weaponize your listing.