Having a listing in your local neighborhood is a great opportunity to.
*** Get your name out there so folks who don't know you realize that you are a REALTOR
*** Show the local seller pool what you can do about marketing a home for sale
*** Connect with others in the nearby community who may be considering selling and have not decided on an agent to help them; buyers, too, for that matter
Of course the neighbors need to know who you are, especially if you do not have an on-going relationship with them, or need to be able to find out.
Here are a couple of marketing strategies I am using on my new listing in my neighborhood in La Costa, Carlsbad - these, of course, could work in any local area where you have a listing.
LISTING BUSINESS CARD
I am using this business card to showcase the home (see pics). It's easy to stick in your pocket and I carry them around with me as I do my business cards.
Here's how I am using them
- In a separate brochure box on my sign along with the feature sheet
- In a card holder in the house for folks to grab (and if someone is a seller and sees these might they not be impressed as MY sellers were? Perhaps they will think of ME for my innovative marketing.
- To hand out at the Open House
- The sellers have a pile of them that they can give out to friends, family, acquaintances, etc.
- Several cards were given out to each of the neighbors - see below for how I did this
I hope to get permission to leave a few here and there at local businesses to help spread the word.
NEIGHBORHOOD OPEN HOUSE INVITATION
I invited all the neighbors to the first public open house where I will be serving refreshments. It gives them a chance to see the home and satisfy their curiosity, meet me, and also gain a feel for some of the marketing I am doing - my Homebook, the feature sheet, and more.
I find that generally the neighbors are concerned about their community and interested in understanding what is going on, who might be buying, and how the area is being represented. And of course there is the interest in personal home values.
I created an invitation (with a border of houses of course) that provides all the information they need to know and sent this around (I would have liked to walk it from home to home but my schedule has been too busy). And there is signage in the neighborhood on one corner and on the listing sign that mentions the open house coming up this weekend so they don't forget.
PERSONALIZED LETTER
I also created a personalized letter from "the desk of the sellers" (names omitted intentionally) to their neighbors that was sent out just as the home came on the market - we couldn't do it before since the timing was up in the air and I did not want to set the date of the open house until the listing was active and we could plan accordingly. I'm happy to share the letter, BTW.
The letter is a personal note to let everyone know the sellers are moving, have selected me (an agent living in the neighborhood) to market their home, and to invite them to visit the customized website I set up just for them to learn more about the home. Part of the intent is to get the neighbors thinking about people they may know who want to live in the community - they get a chance to pick THEIR new neighbor. We invite them to the open house (the invitation is included) PLUS we also gave them several of the listing cards: (1) for them to share with friends, etc.; and (2) to further showcase the marketing efforts.
The open house, by the way, is SUNDAY APRIL 19th from 1 until 4 pm
There's obviously much more being done but these tips may be useful to you if they are not something you are already implementing. Any other ides for the neighborhood you'd like to share?
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If I can provide more information about Carlsbad and surrounding areas, or the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.
All content copyright © 2009 Jeff Dowler Carlsbad Homes and Real Estate Tidbits
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If I can provide more information about Carlsbad homes and real estate for sale and surrounding areas, the housing market in general (or locally), or otherwise assist you, friends or family in a home search or sale, please contact my mobile office or text me at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JeffDowlerSolutions@gmail.com
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