How do you Present your Property?
Presentation is key in many circumstances of life, it formulates a first impression and likely to entice attention and respect whereas the opposite will drive a negative vibe from the first moment.
When it comes to property and how they are presented then it is vital that we get things right. Each and every property deserves a certain amount of care and clever delivery of marketing to suit it’s position in the market and the audience it is likely to appeal to. Just because a home is towards the bottom end of the market should not lumber it with poor and unappealing marketing, it may very well be the destination of that first time buyer.
I have for a long time been involved in the process of marketing property and that started way back in 2009 when I first launched a property video sharing platform with my friend from Spain – OneStopView at the time was a YouTube style platform dedicated to sharing property videos. We used to film Spanish property for sale and at the same time hosted property videos from around the world on our platform. It would be some years until property videos were a thing in the UK sector and during that time I lost touch with the concept and instead focused on another idea of mine which was PropertyOnVideo (automated creation of property audio tours) and this idea is what opened the doors for me to where I am today.
I recently took a look through listings on Rightmove to gage the many different styles and quality of marketing. The industry is very much as it was ten years ago or more, the higher valued homes are offered the more premium marketing because obviously the risk to profit ratio is better. Many of the cheaper property once again seeing little love nor care, unstaged images with poor lighting being standard which is disappointing as we are classing these property already as unwanted and less desirable.
What marketing can we expect these days when an estate agency takes on a new listing:
- Description: It is not easy being Dylan Thomas (famous poet) when writing each and every property listing. Without becoming highly repetitive with cheesy words it is near on impossible to come out with a masterpiece on each. Though a decent length description with each and every room well explained to include that of the immediate local area should be seen as standard – The bigger the property the more detail to expect.
- Photography: Here is where we start to see the real effort from the estate agent. From mobile phone under lighted snaps to those wonderfully coloured masterpieces, we see varying quality of photos. Once again, we can not blame and estate agent who’s having to take photos of small vacant rooms with nothing more than a radiator to break the silence in the photo.
- Photography 2: Is the estate agent just uploading quickly what they took earlier in the day or are they reviewing each snap and editing where required? Many software provide estate agents with image editing capability from brightness to contrast and more. We are also able to edit the photo changing grey skies to blue, reducing glare / flash lighting and also sharpening.
- Audio Tours: With easy to use software, sometimes free, we can stitch together a series of images to create a tour, sometimes this can include audio either computer generated or in person.
- Video Tours: Plenty of options today when we mention video tours. From filming with a quality mobile phone to the likes of Matterport delivering accurately scaled virtual reality enabling you to walk through the building and gaze as if you were there in person. Some videos will have presenters so just like an episode of Place in the Sun or Location, Location, Location we have a host showing us around the property. Drone footage can also add a magical view point of your property though these are usually reserved for the higher valued property or upon special request (and cost to vendor).
- Floor Plans: A very useful addition and a must too, floor plans can be 2D or 3D or simply photocopied plans with very little in the way of additional info such as dimensions.
- Property Portals: Now once we have the presentation sorted we need the places to show them. Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket and more supply the stage and it is over to the estate agent if they are highlighted or not.
- Social Media: Many estate agents use social media as an extra platform to get their listings out on to. Being active is key, some agents are personally active on their pages, others use third party so less personal and then some use social media sparsely.
- Extra: Property details, local newspapers, mailing lists, email subscription and more also add ways in which we can exhibit property.
How your property is presented by your estate agent is key in the success of it selling and how well it sells too (sold price achieved). Some agents present their property listings with much pride from the average to high valued homes, other agents will do just what is required.
I recently saw some great property video examples coming from UK estate agents and they are putting such great effort, including time and money commitment, into presenting their listings in what I consider to be award winning ways. I approached one of my close friends in the property sector after seeing one of their listings whilst I was browsing on LinkedIn:
“Hey Chris, our instruction appointments now take around 2 hours rather than an hour. The post shoot editing also takes an extra 2 hours but it’s totally worth it I think. We are getting amazing results for our customers with this level of marketing.” Lee O’Brien Co-Founder of David Lee (Estates Agents)
The best way to know how your property will be marketed by an estate agent is to check out what they are doing today. How active outside of Rightmove and the local newspapers are they? Do they embrace technology? Are they responsive not only by emails / telephone, but also via social media? Pick out a property similar to yours and see how they are be presented online, which grabs your attention, which engages you better!
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