Your online listing will be the only place where most potential buyers will find your property, so be sure to put your best foot forward. If you have not had photography done, or put together your marketing information in a thoughtful way, or gamed out exactly when you will be showing your property, you’re not ready. You want to provide all the information serious buyers— closers —will need, and make your property available to show in a convenient time frame.
Get professional photographs
Hire an experienced real estate photographer to shoot your space. They’ll make sure your images look perfect. Remember, your listing photos don’t need to show everything—they should showcase your home’s best features. If an image does not help you sell your property, don’t put in on the web.
Clean it up
Make sure your apartment is at its cleanest before your photographer comes. If a photo doesn’t make your space look great, don’t use it. Make sure to keep it clean for your open house as well.
Have a floor plan
Have a professional floor plan prepared, feature it as part of your online listing presentation, and make sure it’s available when hosting open houses and showings. Your buyers will want to have a reference to understand how your apartment is laid out and compare it to other properties. In fact, the most serious buyers will pay more attention to your floor plan than they do the photos.
Keep it short
Keep your listing short. Don’t make a long list of every feature as part of your online description. Underselling is good. And remember, the longer you make your list of features, the fewer people will actually read them.
List with the biggies
You will want to be listed in StreetEasy, Zillow, and Trulia. Others are OK, but they won’t help you find the best buyer. Make sure the listing is completely filled out and that you know when you will be showing your home before you list it.
Time it right
Put your listing on the web four to six days before your first open house.
On any given Sunday
Your first open house should be on a Sunday, at the time of day when your living area or kitchen—whichever looks better—gets the most natural sunlight. If you have requests to show during the week, try to stack them together, and post a one hour open house during that time. Crowded showings help the most serious buyers get off the fence and make stronger offers.
Two hour maximum
Schedule your open house for two hours or less, not longer. A long open house only serves to thin out the herd, and the most serious buyers won’t miss it just because they have brunch reservations.
Look ahead
Don’t come to market unless you have at least three clear weekends without important holidays.
Invitation only
Don’t show before your first open house, unless the person is beating down your door in a very polite way.
To learn more about how to make your home attractive to buyers who are ready to close, download our free comprehensive guide to selling your home.
