Why some houses just don’t sell…
…and how to avoid that frustrating and costly situation.
A few months ago, a concerned home seller named Tina reached out to me.
Her house was up for sale, but things weren’t going well.
616 S Los Robles was in Pasadena’s beautiful Madison Heights.
AND it was recently remodeled!
Tina figured the sale would be quick and profitable but…
…after several weeks on the market, very few buyers had come by to look at the house.
And not a single offer had come in.
Tina knew something was wrong, so she decided to find a new Realtor to help her.
That’s when she called me.
We soon met to discuss the best strategy for getting the result she wanted.
I shared the major issues I saw related to the house’s:
– Pricing
– Marketing
– Positioning, and
– Cosmetic Appearance
Next, I explained how each of these issues needed to be fixed.
Tina felt relieved knowing that there was a clear solution.
At the same time, I could tell she also felt overwhelmed.
As a busy doctor and mother, Tina didn’t have time to coordinate the…
…touchups, painting, handyman work, and landscaping that I suggested.
But, when I told her that my team would handle the entire process, she was thrilled!
Over the next few weeks, we gave the house the simple but effective cosmetic refresh it needed.
Then, I brought in my home stager to ensure 616 S Los Robles had maximum appeal.
With the right low-cost touch ups and the right staging, the difference was night and day.
Tina couldn’t believe how amazing the house looked…
…AND best of all, she didn’t have to lift a finger!
Next, there was the issue of the price.
The original Realtor had listed the house for sale at $2.17m and…
…Tina was hoping the price would get bid up much higher than that.
Of course, that was my aim too, but my approach was different.
I suggested a much more strategic price at just shy of $2 million.
I knew that would help create maximum buyer demand.
Tina was understandably nervous about this…
…but I asked her to place her trust in me and I’m so happy that she did.
From there we moved on to the marketing and positioning of the house.
That included:
– Photography
– Copywriting
– The marketing collateral used to package and present the house
– And the video marketing.
There’s a lot to unpack there, but let’s start with the photography.
When the property was listed for the sale the first time around…
…the photos were unflattering and un-curated:
The angles were off, the lighting wasn’t right, and the photo editing was poorly done.
Simply put, the overall work product was subpar.
I’m extremely particular about the photo quality for my clients’ homes!
So, I made sure that when I put the house back on the market…
…the photos were bright, crisp, and glossy.
You want the house to POP and that’s exactly what my photographer delivered.
Next, there was the copywriting.
When originally listed, the words used to describe the house were clinical and uninspiring.
The copywriting was simply a list of facts and figures about the house.
Unfortunately, this is all too common.
When buyers read about your multi-million-dollar home…
…you DON’T want them to feel like they’re reading a dry technical document.
But most property write ups simple outline the home’s amenities, floorplan, and materials.
That’s a huge missed opportunity!
What you ACTUALLY want is to appeal to the buyers’ underlying hopes, values, and aspirational identity.
This is exactly what luxury brands like Porsche, Four Seasons, and Cartier do.
You want to paint a picture of the elevated life that awaits the buyer IF…
…they were to purchase your home.
After all, that elevated life is what they’re truly after!
The house is simply a vehicle to get there.
So, my team poured over the copywriting to create a narrative that…
…spoke to the houses’ target buyer in a much more intentional, strategic, and powerful way.
After that we moved on to create compelling video content.
Video is the #1 way higher-end homebuyers prefer to engage with their buying experience.
But very few houses are marketed with video!
AND when video is featured, most of the time it’s not compelling because…
…there’s nobody on screen, talking about the house and what makes it special!
Before I put 616 S Los Robles back on the market, I created a professionally produced video.
Most importantly, I was on screen, touring buyers through the house.
I sold the many benefits that couldn’t be easily communicated through photos or copywriting.
And this allowed me to market the house much more powerfully!
Finally, I packaged everything into an elegant digital book…
…befitting a multi-million dollar home.
There’s a marketing principle that states “the medium is the message.”
Here’s what that means:
The platform through which you present your marketing assets…
…will HEAVILY influence how the product is perceived.
In this case, the product was Tina’s house.
By packaging the home’s marketing into a beautifully designed interactive digital book…
…we enhanced the perception of the home as being high-end and worthy of a high price.
So, after implementing all these changes I placed the house back up for sale at $1.98M.
And within 3 days I secured an offer at $2.4M!
Bear in mind this was just 9 weeks after Tina took the house off the market with her original agent…
…who had tried to sell it for $2.17M and never received a single offer!
The $2.4 million dollar offer came in so quickly, was so strong ,and Tina was so happy with it that…
…we didn’t even get to have our weekend open houses!
Escrow was short and just 18 days after going back on the market, the house was officially sold!
Tina and her whole family were both overjoyed and relieved.
I was so happy for Tina’s success!
And so was my team because delivering outstanding outcomes for our clients is what drives us.
If you want to achieve the best results in your home sale…
…it’s critical that all the elements I mentioned are fully dialed in:
– Pricing
– Positioning
– Presentation
– AND the Marketing
These are all critical components to your home-selling success.
And then, of course, there’s the negotiating, which we didn’t even have a chance to cover today!
If there’s anything I can do to support you with your upcoming home sale or purchase…
…I invite you to reach out to me.