Real Estate Sells Itself
You know that full-page splashy four-color ad your agent paid for? Inside the front cover of Luxury Real Estate Rag? With the dramatic twilight image of your three-bedroom bungalow? With the adroit description of its stunning floor plan and unique window mullions? The one that never fails to melt your heart no matter how many times you read it?
It doesn’t actually attract buyers for your actual house. Seriously. Instead, it:
Assuages your fear that your Realtor isn’t doing enough to market your home
Irritates other agents who pitched your listing but didn’t get it.
Gives folks something to peruse while waiting for their lattes at Peet's
Keeps the Luxury Real Estate Rag afloat
Prompts other potential sellers to contact your agent
Offers Looky-Lous and never-will-buy buyers something to talk about
This has always been the case in San Francisco, whether it’s Print or Web advertising. Real estate marketing is mainly about agent branding and agent promotion.
What gets a property sold is its inherent desirability coupled with correct pricing, strategic presentation, availability to be seen and inclusion on Multiple Listing Service. Everything else is pretty much window dressing on which every successful Realtor spend considerable time and money.
You may assume that – like Snapchat and teenagers – sales and marketing go together. Can one exist without the other? Yes! When it comes to real estate sales.
Real estate sells itself. With very few exceptions, a property either meets a buyer’s hopes and expectations or it doesn’t
In San Francisco, where there’s never much for sale, prospective buyers’ energies are spent watching MLS updates – and their feeds to various websites – like Sylvester the Cat. Any changes in or around the canary cage and the buyer is poised to pounce.
This is just another way in which real estate is not really about real estate. It’s about primal human needs like food and sanctuary. The motivated buyer seeks shelter. If your cave is available for occupancy and reasonably priced, buyers will hunt it down and make you an offer you can’t refuse.
Cynthia Cummins is a Top Producer and Partner at McGuire. For info on SF real estate visit http://CynthiaCummins.com.
