NAR Pushing ‘Awareness’ Campaign
Jan 17, 2010 Marketing
The advertisement you see above is one that the National Association of Realtors in putting in a number of publications lately. Their intent is to make sure that people are aware that now is a good time for them to out house hunting.
I don’t have a problem with their intent but I believe their execution is very disappointing. As a real estate professional, I know the many reasons that now truly is a good time for certain consumers to be house shopping. Chief among them are, 1) the historically low interest rates, 2) the never before seen tax credits from the government, 3) the reduced home prices, and 4) the large house inventories across the country.
But it seems that NAR is only focusing on the tax credit portion. Check out this commercial.
Nothing really wrong with this spot but I believe there is so much more they could have done. With interest rates expected to rise in 2010 along with the other variables I just mentioned, I would have thought a more comprehensive message would have served better. But because you read Louisville Homes Blog, you’re getting the entire picture.
Tags: home values, house inventories, interest rates, NAR, tax credit
Louisville Neighborhood Map with Homes For Sale
Dec 11, 2009 Marketing, Residential
Just a quick post to let you know that we’re up to 39 of Louisville’s best neighborhoods over on my real estate Web site. When I add another one next week, that will make 40 neighborhoods spotlighted in 3 years.
I’m not always the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but building Best Louisville Neighborhoods was a very good idea. I receive more compliments on it than anything else that I’ve built online. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well!
Interview: Louisville’s Center Stage Homes
Aug 9, 2008 Marketing, Residential
In an effort to keep Louisville home sellers on the leading edge of national real estate trends, I was happy to meet with Melissa Marshbanks of Center Stage Homes to talk about home staging and how it can be used to help homeowners better market their property and get a leg up on the competition.
For starters, could you give us a quick overview of staging and what it entails?
Home staging can take on many different forms. It can be as simplistic as removing clutter and reorganizing a home before it goes on the market or it can be as involved as bringing in furniture from an outside source to add dimension to the home. And, of course, it can take the form of anything and everything in between such as painting, landscaping, etc.
When did this kind of service begin in the United States? How about here in Louisville?
Home staging started in the U.S. in the 1980’s however it only gained momentum over the last ten years or so. We began our marketing a year and half ago and found that most of our clients did not know the service existed in the Louisville area. With the housing market being as flooded as it is home staging is becoming a necessity in order to set a home apart and make it memorable to the buyers. We were recently told by a Realtor in Nashville that she does not list a home until it is staged and that is becoming the standard in her area and we believe that philosophy is coming to the Louisville area.
What are the most common questions you receive from people asking about staging?
“Why should I hire a home stager and not an interior designer?”
Interior designers are experienced in making a house a home. Their job is to customize a home with things that make the owners happy such as favorite colors and things that bring out the owners personality. Home staging is the exact opposite. The goal of home staging is to turn a home back into a house that can be marketed to a wide variety of people. The wider net of potential buyers home staging can cast the quicker the home will sell!“If I hire Center Stage Homes are you just going to tell me to paint everything off white to make it ‘neutral’?”
I tell them, “No!” While a home has to have colors in it that will appeal to most buyers it also has to be modern and up to date. Also there is much more to home staging than just repainting.“I have read on the internet about how to stage so why should I hire a professional?”
As the seller you are too emotionally attached to the home. You need an objective eye that is going to tell you how the public is going to perceive your home. A professional can look at the whole picture, everything from the perception upon pulling into the driveway, to walking in the front door, etc. Other aspects may also include things such as odors, something that is you live there day to day may never be noticeable to you. Remember potential buyers are only in your home 15 minutes or less, so first impressions are critical!“What type of success have you had in Louisville?”
We are proud to say we have had much success. A recent success story is for a developer of a community. He asked us to stage some of his model homes including the unit they were having the most trouble selling. We staged it and have since sold 4 of that particular model in the past 3 and a half months.“Are there different ’stages’ I can purchase?”
We can do a consultation were we give you a list of suggested changes and the seller is in charge of completing those changes or we can do all the work for you.
So, is staging right for every homeowner who’s looking to sell their home?
Staging is for every seller… it does not matter if you are selling your home for $100,000.00 or a million dollars, one year old or fifty years old, there are things we can do make your home stand out!
How long does it usually take to complete your work?
The length of time depends on what you want or need done. If we bring in furniture from an outside source that is going to take a few days to get it to you and set everything up. If the home only needs to be de-cluttered and organized then we can typically do that much faster. However we try to do what we can to meet the clients needs. We once had clients ask us to completely stage a home, including furnishings, for an open house that was five days away and we were able to meet their timeline.
What separates Center Stage Homes from other staging companies?
Several things set Center Stage Homes apart. For starters we are a Louisville based company so we have a vested interest in the community. The most exciting difference is that we have an exclusive partnership with Burforf’s Furnishings and Flooring. This is exciting for us because we are able to offer our clients a much higher quality of furniture at a better price! In addition, our partnership has made us able to offer much more flexible contracts to our clients, again resulting in a better price, than others can. Others who do not have partnerships may ask you to either buy the furniture or rent from a rental company. Another fantastic advantage of Center Homes Staging is that we do not charge by the hour!
Last but not least, do homes that are professionally staged really sell for more money? If so, does that increase cover the cost to hire your company?
There are several statistics that prove home staging to be nothing but a benefit to the clients. One that I always like to point to is soundmoneytips.com. It states home staging will result in a 251% return on investment. I like this statistic because it comes from a source that is independent of home staging, therefore it does not have a bias.
The best thing about home staging it pays for itself and then some! Staged homes typically sell for more than homes that are not staged. Estimates on how much more can range anywhere from 3% to 12%. For example, a $300,000 home would net $9,000 from home staging using the low end at 3%. This will leave the client with a net profit after the cost of home staging.
There are other ways that home staging weighs into profit. Staged homes make buyers look at the overall picture of the home and make the home appear to be in “move in condition.” Buyers are willing to pay more of the asking price for a house that is in move in condition. If a home is not in what the public perceives as move in condition buyers cannot visualize themselves moving in. Thus the home will stay on the market longer causing the seller to pay more months of the mortgage which plays into the overall profit if the seller has already moved to a new house. And homes that are not in move in condition are way more likely to receive a low ball offer.
Creative Wii Promotion Boots Real Estate Promotion
Dec 16, 2007 Marketing
One of the prime tenants of marketing is to make your product or service “stand out from the crowd.” So, when you hear about an opportunity to buy a hard-to-find Wii video game console and get a house thrown in for “free”… that’s something to check out, right?
I wager that this homeowner is getting more attention for his North Carolina house than are the other listings in his area. This kind of creative thinking can help people here in Louisville sell their homes as well!
Sellers Getting Aggressive and Creative
Apr 1, 2007 Marketing
There are more homes on the market this year than last—36% more nationally and 34% more in Louisville, KY. This, my friends, is what’s known as a buyer’s market.
“But what about the sellers?” you ask.
Isn’t it obvious? Sellers need to get aggressive when marketing their properties so that their listings will stand out from the crowd.
Sometimes this means a price reduction. Sometimes it means increasing the buyer agent’s commission. Sometimes it means “offering a two-year lease on a BMW X3 SUV to the agent who finds a buyer.” Well, that’s what Courtney Tursi is doing to attract attention to her Detroit home.
Fortunately for us, Louisville sellers aren’t in dire straights like sellers in some of our country’s largest cities. But remember, step one is to lower expectations to a reasonable level. For most people, home appreciation won’t come close to approaching the double-digit levels of past years. And for people who’ve only been in their home a short period of time, selling it and moving on without incurring any debt should be considered a winning play.
Agent Tips for Better Marketing
Mar 20, 2007 Marketing
Even though I wish Claudia Wicks wouldn’t have broken her article up into four pieces (1, 2, 3 and 4) she does present some valuable information for Agents new and old.
Are visitors to your Website lost or engaged?
Her #3 point—”Failing to Follow Up on Leads”—certainly is a problem solved by an easy solution. Every lead should be categorized and then pursued in order of value. Don’t let the Tyranny of the Urgent dictate which tasks you decide to attack first.
I also believe “Not Knowing What You Get for Your Money” is an important concept to consider. Too many agents these days feel that just because a co-worker put up a bus stop sign, they should too.
Every marketing activity should be attached to a measurable goal. If it’s not, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. A measurable goal could be number of leads, number of new contacts, number of downloads, deals, all the way to revenue dollars.
Like any business, objectives should be quantifiable and regularly assessed then modified. If you follow even a few of Ms. Wicks tips, I’m sure you will realize more successful marketing results.
Tagline Conundrum
Dec 20, 2006 Marketing
When considering a new tagline, sometimes you just have to push the envelope.
We know where you live.
That’s the tagline for Alhouse King Realty and it’s not just a risky move, it’s borderline criminal.
