Does it make a difference who you hire to sell your home? In a market where many homes are receiving multiple offers and sellers have the upper hand, does proper marketing and negotiations even make a difference at all? If your house will likely sell no matter what… why not save some money and hire a discount broker, someone who lowers their commission drastically to drum up business. Aren’t all real estate agents the same?
First I want to start off by saying I respect and appreciate my fellow agents. Some people may say that real estate agents are a dime a dozen, and in some cases that can be true. I can appreciate why some people would think that. In fact, it’s very easy to get your real estate license. In California it takes 1,600 hours of pre-licensing to get your cosmetology license, 600 hours to get your esthetician license, but only 135 hours of pre-licensing prior to taking the real estate exam. So yes, many agents lack the experience, training and education. But, does it make a difference in who you hire to sell your home? Well, it certainly can.
Let’s take marketing for example. When someone says that marketing doesn’t matter because homes are practically selling themselves, is that correct? Let me ask you, would you want just one offer on your home or would you like multiple offers to choose from? Think about it… even the world’s most popular candy bar brands put in a huge amount of resources into their marketing. They make sure they have the best photos and videos of their candy bars and then they make sure those photos and videos are seen by massive amounts of people who might be wanting a candy bar very soon. They don’t want people to just want any candy bar, they want people to want their specific candy bar long before they even get to the store where they’ll have 25 to 50 other candy bars to choose from. They want that person to know before they even get to the store what candy bar they want…. And how do they do that? They do that by making sure their candy bar is exposed to the masses by using an intentional and strategic marketing and advertising campaign.
When done right their candy bar customer already made a decision to buy that candy bar before ever setting foot into a store. The strategy for marketing your home should be no different. You want your home to stand out. You want to make sure buyers looking for a home just like yours won’t pass on seeing it in person because it wasn’t properly marketed. You want them to see the photos, to watch a virtual tour, to know before they ever set foot inside that it’s exactly the house they’ve been looking for. Don’t just take a chance and hope the one cover photo on a listing site placed alongside every other home for sale is enough to capture their attention. That’s not the best way to sell a candy bar and it’s not the best way to sell your house either.
I take my education and my business seriously and am always on the cutting edge of innovation and technology to make sure every qualified buyer looking for a home just like yours in your neighborhood is aware of your home when you decide to sell. Give me a call if you’re thinking about selling or just looking for some advice, I’m always here to help. I’m Maria D’Aura with eXp Realty.