HOW TO SELL YOUR HOUSE ONLINE

From updating your debit orders to doing your grocery shopping, most everyday tasks have migrated to the realm of ones and zeros. Why should selling your home be any different?

Most buyers will view a property online before they make the effort to view it in person. Most property portals have a very broad reach. At RE/MAX, we have our own local search portal that reaches close to 170,000 users per month, as well as a global site that reaches an additional 70,000 international users per month. With such a large online audience, you want to make sure that your online listing is the best it can be…

Cross-check information
If you have chosen to market your property yourself, having your listing appear on multiple online portals will give it a broader reach; but, be careful that the lines of communication do not get crossed. Experienced agents will double check this on your behalf, but, if you’re doing it all yourself, you will need to check that the information you’ve supplied – especially things like price and contact details – is the same across the board.

Be sure to copy check
Be sure to double check your online listing for any typos or factual errors. Copy gremlins are sneaky creatures that manage to slip past even the most diligent of agents. Typos make a listing look less professional, which could potentially deter the buyer from the property. But, more importantly, because buyers search according to certain filters, your property will not surface in the list of results for certain searches if your listing information is misspelt or has not been included.

Spend time on the description
Leaving space for unanswered questions on your listing is an easy way of redirecting buyers to a listing where they can find all the information they need. Again, an experienced agent will be able to write a good listing description; but, if you’re on your own, then you need to use your listing description to answer all the questions you anticipate a buyer might ask after looking through the images on your listing. Remember to include key selling features that are not visible in photographs, such as underfloor heating or heated towel rails.

Make your home picture perfect
A highly marketable property can be overlooked if the listing images are poor quality or if they do not provide insight into what the property has to offer. A professional photographer will be able to capture your property best. But, if you choose to forgo this advice, ensure that the images that are uploaded are not blurry and that they provide an appealing view of each room. A virtual tour would work even better than still images, but in lieu of this, the more quality images you provide of the property, the better.

It might seem easy enough to market your own property online, but it can be trickier than it seems, and it will take up a lot of your time to manage yourself. A reputable agent will know how to entice buyers to leave their computer screens and take the next step to view the property in person. You want our advice? Save yourself the hassle of figuring out this art by hiring an agent to help you.