I am really busy and travelling a lot for work, so I do not have time to help market it. This means I would like most of the process to be done digitally and have people physically view my home only if they are serious and qualified. How best can I market my home online so that when I do eventually have to show it to interested buyers, they would already have most of the information they need, and be willing to put in an offer?
A: Most buyers tend to start their search through property-search portals before they visit brand-specific websites. It is equally important that your chosen agent has their own online presence.
Not only will this assure buyers that they are dealing with a legitimate professional but it might also attract additional buyers to your listing – especially if the agent has a solid following on social media. If your listing will appear on multiple online portals, you should fact-check each one.
Experienced agents will check this too but it always worth checking that the information supplied is the same across the board. Factors such as price and contact details are particularly important in this respect.
Buyers search according to certain filters, so if your listing information is misspelt or has not been included, then your property will not surface in the list of results for certain searches. An experienced agent will know how to write a comprehensive listing description but it is important that you mention to them all the key selling features that are not visible in photographs, such as underfloor heating or heated towel rails, so they can include it in the description.
Importantly, note that even the most sought-after property can be overlooked if the listing images are of poor quality or if they do not provide insight into what the property has to offer.
These days, a virtual tour would be preferable, but in lieu of this, the more quality images you provide of the property, the better.
– Adrian Goslett, chief executive of Re/Max of Southern Africa