There are thousands of realtors in Vancouver, and all of them will promise to get you the best price possible for your home. But not all realtors are the same.Some have different levels of experience, some may specialize in certain types of property, others in different neighbourhoods.
Another way that each realtor will be different is in how they choose to market your property.
Even in a red hot real estate market like Vancouver, it’s simply not enough to just stick a ‘For Sale’ sign on your front lawn and hope for the offers to come flooding in. Instead you want to find a realtor who will use a variety of tools, tactics and technologies to generate interest in your home.
So what kind of things should you be looking for?
The traditional approach
Different realtors will have different views on how your home should be marketed. The traditional approach involves the kind of practices that you’re probably familiar with by now. We’re talking about lawn signs, print advertising, and those fliers you repeatedly find in your mailbox.
It’s a tried and tested formula, but it’s also becoming increasingly outdated. Like so many other industries realtors are finding that more and more people have grown wary of traditional advertising.
Customers today are more savvy, we know when we are being sold to and tend to tune the message out. After all when was the last time you watched a commercial break on TV without hitting the fast forward button on your PVR? That’s not to say that traditional advertising doesn't work, because it still does. It’s just not as effective as it once was.
The other issue with the traditional approach is its limited reach. All of those fliers and print ads don't come cheap, and that means that cost will influence how many people end up seeing your property advertised.
Modern techniques
Like so many other aspects of our life, modern technology is creating new opportunities when it comes to marketing real estate. Today we spend so much of our time on our phones and online that it’s impossible to ignore the internet’s impact, which is why we’ve chosen to embrace it as a way of marketing our clients’ homes.
One of the biggest benefits of digital marketing is that it doesn't come with the same kind of limitations that traditional tactics have. One of our biggest goals when marketing a property is to get it in front of as many eyeballs as possible, and the digital world is perfect for ensuring that your listing reaches far and wide.
Modern platforms also enable us to tell potential buyers far more about a property than any traditional technique could. We were early adopters of video for example, as we believe it is the best way to showcase a property. We also use things such as 3D floorpans and virtual walkthroughs to paint the clearest picture possible for potential buyers.
At the end of the day marketing a property is a numbers game. The more potential buyers you have, the greater the chance that you will receive the best possible price for your home.
How to choose the right realtor
First and foremost it’s vital that you choose to list your property with a realtor that you trust. And I’ve previously written about how you can decide if a realtor is right for youand what kind of questions you should be asking themto find out if they’re a good fit. Secondly I think you want to choose a realtor who has a plan to deliver the most exposure for your listing. In our opinion that involves a modern realtor who embraces all of the tools that are available to them. Someone who mixes the old with the new, the traditional with the cutting edge - and who is literate in the kinds of modern tools and marketing platforms that buyers today rely on.
It’s all about finding the right marketing blend that not only puts your property in front of as many people as possible, but shows your home in its best light. A good realtor will be prepared to show you how they plan to do this, so make sure you ask them about it.
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If you have questions that you’d like to ask me, get in touch and I’d be happy to talk your situation through. Alternatively why not sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay in touch with the latest news and views on Vancouver Real Estate.
Contact us directly today at 604-771-4606 or jay@mcinnesmarketing.com.