1. Your Realtor may need a new marketing strategy.

Marketing a home should involve multiple strategies. Having an effective MLS listing with the proper story about your home along with professional photos is one way to attract buyers. Your agent should have a comprehensive marketing plan for the sale of your home, based on what works to target buyers in that price range. This may include virtual tours, aerial photography, night time photo shoots, a promotional video that sells the lifestyle that the property affords, a strong social media elements including Facebook, Twitter And YouTube, targeted advertising, and open houses. The Rick and Tracy Ellis Team promote our listings on both of our weekly radio shows and in our luxury real estate magazine.
If you haven’t yet chosen one yet, have potential agents explain how they will market your home. Ask the Realtors to pull up their web sites and social media while they’re there with you at your home, see if that is the style of marketing you’re looking for.

2. Is your home priced correctly?

There are so many factors that go into pricing a home, but EXPERIENCE is critical. Of course things such as size, features, condition and location are things we are looking at, but when working with an experienced Realtor we know almost instantly the value of your home. After almost 20 years in real estate, we’ve been in a lot of homes. This is another area that experience matters because if your home isn’t priced correctly from the start, in the end you’ll make less than if it would have been priced correctly on Day 1..

3. Maybe your home isn’t showing it’s best.

Buyers have difficulty seeing a home’s potential, so it’s important to do it for them. Neutral colours and décor, proper furniture placement and a clean, uncluttered look can sell your home more quickly. Remove all of the extra clutter, clean all your air return vents, and please remove all of the artificial plants!

4. Does your home smell good?

The way your home smells could also be a reason your home isn’t selling. If your home has a smoke, pet or other odor, it can be a turn-off for potential buyers. Smoking in the home is a killer, especially on resale home value. At times, new carpeting or paint can give off a strong, unpleasant chemical odor. Try to remove the source of the odor, air out your home and look into professional cleaning for draperies, carpets and other upholstery. Don’t just try to cover the smell with floral air fresheners – buyers will notice and worry the smell can’t be removed. I LOVE a product called Fabuloso, it’s an all purpose cleaner that smells fabulous! I use it in my home daily, take a small amount and fill your sink with half water/have Fabuloso. Rick & I have 4 Sons, so I learned this trick to help with all the great smells that can come with boys, sports and dirty socks. I plug their sinks and ad some every couple days and it freshens up the entire upstairs in minutes.

5. Are you making sure your home is easy to show?

Having to be out of the house during viewings and keeping your home show ready isn’t always easy. You have to be flexible and allow showings at the buyer’s convenience because this is key to selling your home quickly. Buyers are often viewing more than one property. If yours is too difficult to see, they will likely move on and usually don’t attempt to reschedule. You get one shot to make a great first impression.

Visit tracyellis.com if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home or check out our magazine at tracyellis.media