To many times homes that are priced right in this market do not sell for one reason or another. One factor I found recently when I got a lsiting on an expired home is telling a story about the house. Yes, I beleive that you need to take a lot of good qualitiy photos. However; photos only tell half the story. You need to be able to write about a house telling about it and the wonderful features the home has.
We all like to visualize things in our head. That is why some of the greatest writers of our time are who they are. Who has not read Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and not envisoned themselves standing on the raft going down the Mississippi river reading it? Well it is the same thing with a house. You do not have to be a world class author or writer to tell a good story. You just need to be honest, sincere and most importantly detailed.
I personally feel that a story with pictures has more of a grab factor with people than just a good story or good photos. Why do one without the other? We are in a very competitve market today. People have many choices and are overwhelmed when they go online to view the vast amount of homes that are out there. For example, I had a client search in a specific zip code for homes in a $100,000 to $110,000 price range. After narrowing their criteria down to exactly what they wanted in the home they still had to search through 56 lsitings. That is a lot of homes to search through to see what you like and do not like. Most people are glancing at the photos and the first few lines of what is written and if they do not see or read anything they like they are moving on to the next home.
So, you need to have eye catching photos and catch words in yoru dsescription that tell a story about the house. You want people to envison themselves in the home with their furniture and belongings. You want to make them feel as if they already know the home before they get there. I took a listing that I just did that for. The house had been on the market for over a year prior with another agent. The photos were good; but there was a story to be told with the house and they did not tell the story. I did. In less than one month I sold the home.....
if you have your home on the market or are thinking of putting yoru home on the market tell a story about the home....who knows it may help you sell the home sooner rather than later.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/broker
www.davedicecco.com
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Home Been On Market Long? Have Realtor Take New Photos
The other day I had a client that had asked me to send them listings in a specific area and with certain guidelines. As I am browsing through the list to make sure the homes meet all their criteria; I came across what I felt was a lazy agent. Here in Charlotte, NC. if we get snow it is one day and most likely melted the next day. I viewed a main image of a house that had snow on the ground. The trees were all barren and it looked dark and gloomy outside. As I scrolled through the photos I noticed all the exterior shots were that way. Now, in fairness the interior photos of the home were very warm and friendly.
In a competitive market such as this one is, proper photos are vital to help with a home sale. There is an old adage that rings true "a photo is worth a thousand words". Last year I had a listing I received in the summer. When fall came and all the trees had the beautful leaves that changed colors I took the pictures looking out at the wonderous view and all the colors of the trees were breathtaking. Two weeks later the house was sold. The buyer mentioned at the closing that the view of the fall leaves different colors enticed him to view the property. Did it sell the home? No, but it brought a buyer who might not have otherwise came to the home.
Also, when you have photos from another season, the buyer will instantly think what is wrong with this house? Why has it been on the market for such a long time. You could be drivng away people who would otherwise view the home and possibly purchase it by the pictures. In fact, for me that was the first thing that came to my mind when I looked at the pictures of the house with snow. There are too many choices out there not to refresh the photos with the seasons and bring the home out in it's best light.
We are in a very competitive market and you the seller need any and all advantages you can get to help sell your home today.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
In a competitive market such as this one is, proper photos are vital to help with a home sale. There is an old adage that rings true "a photo is worth a thousand words". Last year I had a listing I received in the summer. When fall came and all the trees had the beautful leaves that changed colors I took the pictures looking out at the wonderous view and all the colors of the trees were breathtaking. Two weeks later the house was sold. The buyer mentioned at the closing that the view of the fall leaves different colors enticed him to view the property. Did it sell the home? No, but it brought a buyer who might not have otherwise came to the home.
Also, when you have photos from another season, the buyer will instantly think what is wrong with this house? Why has it been on the market for such a long time. You could be drivng away people who would otherwise view the home and possibly purchase it by the pictures. In fact, for me that was the first thing that came to my mind when I looked at the pictures of the house with snow. There are too many choices out there not to refresh the photos with the seasons and bring the home out in it's best light.
We are in a very competitive market and you the seller need any and all advantages you can get to help sell your home today.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
Friday, August 27, 2010
Selling Your Home....De-Clutter It
If you have a home on the market or are thinking of putting your home on the market you want it to show in it's best light. One thing you want to emphasize, and sometimes with furniture placement make look larger, is the space in your home. An article I read today mentioned that the average home is getting smaller. People are starting to realize bigger is not necessarily better. With this transformation comes utilization of space. We still have furniture and belongings we need to have room for.
When a prospective buyer walks into your home one of the things they are doing mentally is measuring the home for their furniture. Will it all fit in this house? Is the living room large enough? Is the dining area going to accomadate their table and chairs? Are the bedrooms spacious enough?
As they ask themselves these questions and look aound your home; you want to ensure the home has that spacious feeling in it. Ideally you want little to no furniture in a house. But, everyone knows that is not reasonable. So, what do you do? De-clutter the house. The less things you have out the better.
For one it will make the rooms look larger than they are with all your things in there. It will also allow the buyer to envison their belongings in the room without any distractions. They also will not be tripping over things as they walk through the house. Imagine how it felt to walk through two identical homes. One had minimal furniture in it and he rooms looked large and spacious. The other had children's toys scattered throughout it and felt it was like walking through a maze in the house. Which one would you be more enticed to consider? Which one would you tend to forget?
The point is that in this market you need to do everything you can to help your home sell. Sometimes that includes putting things in the garage you do not use everyday or boxing and hiding things when you have a showing. You need to make sure your home is open and has the look of spaciousness when someone enters it.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
When a prospective buyer walks into your home one of the things they are doing mentally is measuring the home for their furniture. Will it all fit in this house? Is the living room large enough? Is the dining area going to accomadate their table and chairs? Are the bedrooms spacious enough?
As they ask themselves these questions and look aound your home; you want to ensure the home has that spacious feeling in it. Ideally you want little to no furniture in a house. But, everyone knows that is not reasonable. So, what do you do? De-clutter the house. The less things you have out the better.
For one it will make the rooms look larger than they are with all your things in there. It will also allow the buyer to envison their belongings in the room without any distractions. They also will not be tripping over things as they walk through the house. Imagine how it felt to walk through two identical homes. One had minimal furniture in it and he rooms looked large and spacious. The other had children's toys scattered throughout it and felt it was like walking through a maze in the house. Which one would you be more enticed to consider? Which one would you tend to forget?
The point is that in this market you need to do everything you can to help your home sell. Sometimes that includes putting things in the garage you do not use everyday or boxing and hiding things when you have a showing. You need to make sure your home is open and has the look of spaciousness when someone enters it.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
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