Sacre Bleu! Underestimate Online Advertising at Your Peril

Summer is here.  The weather is getting warmer, the days are longer, the grass is growing faster, people are out and about, the beach looks inviting.  It’s prime real estate selling season.  Prices are on the up - Auckland has stabilised and people remember the provinces are actually cool places to live.

Everything feels good, positive and on the up and up.

And the All Blacks are about to play the French in the Rugby World Cup - what could possibly go wrong?

Sacre Bleu!

Ok, well at least we can control our house sale.  

The latest Nielsen research on New Zealand property buyers is out and their statistics show that “websites are by far the leading resource” used by buyers to find their new home.  Their research shows that 83% of consumers use websites for their research.  It is no surprise that 86% online researchers use Trade Me and 52% use www.realestate.co.nz.  Interestingly, the growth of mobile is showing with 35% of people accessing a real estate website on their mobile device.

Bottom line? Online advertising is what matters.

Getting noticed and putting your best foot forward online is key.  Here is what makes the difference:

Address - location, location, location.  Location is the main search criteria for any property search. Hide that, hide the sale. You cannot sell a secret.  Always have an address.  If you don’t the first question for buyers is “why not, there must be an issue” and they move on.

Great photography.  Can we say this enough?  No.   Get professional photos done - the most important marketing investment you can make when selling your home is professional pictures.  You won’t regret it! It will make you thousands.  As you would expect we have researched this with the main buyer sites.  There is an order that matters, the main picture to grab attention and then a flow to draw the buyer in.  It is not random - talk to us about that!

Search for property and you will see that the initial search presentation is a small thumbnail picture and a title.  A title that grabs the viewer and makes them want to look further.  It matters, just ask David Ogilvy.

After that is the description - again there is a structure that buyers prefer to see.  But here is where we appeal to the emotion of living in the home.  It is to 3 bedrooms and a bathroom, it is friends and family relaxing around the barbecue, the kids having space to safely roam.  It is warm winter evenings around the fire and luxurious sunsets.

The huge majority of buyers are online - that is where your property needs to shine.  Guess what, 200 Square is your online real estate company.  That is where we focus our time and effort, our research and our energy.  You want newspapers, we can do that - but what matters these days is your online advertising - and you want the best doing that.  

Le Meilleure!