Spotlight on: Rayleigh, its People, Places and Heritage

The new year encourages many of us to make positive changes in our lives. A popular choice is pledging to do more exercise, while some people might decide to learn a new skill. But if you were one of the many sellers who put their home on the market last year and you haven’t yet found a buyer, this new year you’re probably resolving to get that sale! As estate agents, we find that pretty much every new year brings with it not only a flood of requests from homeowners for valuations, but also a steady stream of enquiries about homes for sale. That means as we make our way through winter towards the spring, the market is usually buzzing. So, how can you best take advantage of this activity and make sure your home attracts and secures the perfect buyer? Here’s our round-up of five positive steps you can take right now to revamp your marketing strategy and ensure this is the year you move on and make a fresh start in a new home. 1. Take a brief rest from the market In our experience, a home tends to generate the greatest interest from buyers in the first two to three weeks that it’s on the market. When your home appears as a new listing, buyers who are registered with online portals should receive a link to the details, and your agent should be sending out the brochure to their own database of potential buyers. But after that initial flurry of activity, things often settle down on the viewing front, and we find that the longer your home is on the market, the less likely it is to attract the perfect buyer. As those who have been looking for a new home for a while keep seeing your listing, the fact that it hasn’t sold yet may make it less desirable to them, and you’re more reliant on new buyers who are just starting their search. So, if you’ve been advertising for several months, it could be a good idea to take a break just for a few weeks, in order to reignite interest. Give the market time to move on a little bit – let some sales of other homes that are comparable to yours go through and wait for new buyers to enter the mix – then you can relaunch your home with some fresh marketing. And while you’re temporarily off the market, you can use the time to review your sales and marketing plan with your agent and take some positive actions, beginning with a review of what buyers who have already seen your home have said about it. 2. Review feedback from viewings Feedback from potential buyers who have viewed your home can often be incredibly useful. Finding out what they liked and what didn’t appeal so much helps both you and your agent understand what could be discouraging people from making an offer. For instance, if viewers thought some rooms felt a little dark or smaller than they’d hoped, could you change the lighting or perhaps rearrange some of the furniture to maximise light and space? Or, if the feedback was that certain rooms felt dated or needed some work, would you be prepared to spend a little money on upgrades or redecoration, to help achieve the best possible price for your home? So, discuss with your agent the feedback people have given so far, and if several buyers have highlighted the same points, look at whether there’s anything you can do to change those things and make your home more attractive to buyers. And feel free to contact us for some advice – we’re always here to help! 3. Style your home for the spring Some simple restyling can be a great, cost-effective way to give your home a new look for the new year, and you might be surprised what you can achieve with just a few accessory changes. Pack away any dark-coloured or heavy cushions, throws and rugs – all the touches that helped make your home feel extra cosy through the winter – and replace them with lighter fabrics. Invest in some crisp white bed linen (which will also brighten up the bedrooms in your new home when you move!), and make sure curtains and blinds are well-drawn back to let as much daylight in as possible. Breathe new life into each room with freshly cut flowers and leafy plants, and swap large pillar candles and storm lanterns for just a few more subtle, light floral-scented candles. You can also check out the latest issues of home magazines for more current style tips. Finally, think about how the furniture is positioned – could a different configuration make a room feel more spacious and inviting to potential buyers? And don’t forget, you can always ask for some help with this. We know that it can be tricky to look at your own home objectively, so maybe ask a friend to cast their eye over it and give you an unbiased opinion. 4. Ask your agent to take new, professional photographs Professional photographs can make all the difference to the success of your home’s marketing. Great eye-catching photographs don’t only show what’s in a home, they tell a story and illustrate a lifestyle that really grabs the imagination of potential buyers, making them want to live that life themselves. For example, a professional sitting room photograph might feature a roaring fire and some glossy magazines next to an afternoon tea on the table, conveying a sophisticated, yet warm and relaxing feel. And a bathroom shot might show a steaming bubble bath, surrounded by candles and soft lighting, to give the feeling of a luxurious spa. A photographer who’s experienced in shooting homes for magazines and sales brochures will know exactly how to capture each room looking its absolute best – from the angle and lighting to incorporating the finest lifestyle features into the shots. So, once you’ve revamped the styling of your home, ask your agent to have some new, professional photographs taken. Not only will that ensure your images look current and in line with the season, but if you’ve taken a break from marketing, it means you can relaunch with an entirely new portfolio of stunning shots and potentially attract buyers that might not have noticed your home before. 5. Update your brochure Take another look at the brochure your agent’s been sending out to prospective buyers. Are you happy with the quality, and do you feel it properly reflects the value of your home? It should showcase a desirable lifestyle that will grab buyers’ attention and entice them to view – does it do that? Once you’ve had new photographs taken, your brochure will need updating anyway, so this is your opportunity to make any other changes that could help attract that perfect buyer. So make sure: The front cover features a striking photograph of the exterior – we find a twilight shot with all the interior lights on often makes a stunning first impression The order of the interior photos takes buyers on a logical journey through the home, as they might see it on a viewing The written copy has an enthusiastic tone and is full of descriptive and emotive adjectives to capture the buyer’s imagination There is a floor plan that includes room dimensions and the overall floor area and shows the orientation of your home. And if you’re ready to step things up a gear so you can get moving this new year, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch and we’ll be delighted to take you through our bespoke marketing approach and discuss how we can help you achieve a successful sale at the best possible price. Just call on 01268 778333 or email info@lawrenceantonyhomes.co.uk and we’ll get right back to you.

Selling a home might not be an exact science, but there are a number of factors that will make a huge difference to how successful your sale will be. Our experience has shown us that homes that sell quickly and for a good price tend to have certain key things in common, so we’ve developed a checklist that we can use to analyse the saleability of any home. We rate various elements of your marketing approach across five categories, awarding up to a maximum of five points for each element to give your home an overall ‘Saleability Score’. Using our scorecard, you’ll be able to see for yourself where there may be room for improvement in your marketing. Once you’ve identified which areas aren’t as strong as they could be, you can discuss those points with your agent and work together to turn things around so that your home makes the right impact on buyers. So, if your home has been on the market for a while and perhaps you haven’t had quite as many viewings as you’d hoped, run through our Saleability Scorecard and see how your marketing stacks up. Set aside a couple of hours, and make sure you have your printed brochure and online listing to hand. Think about every question carefully, and try to look objectively at your marketing materials and how your home is presented. Then give your answers in the form of points, awarding from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 5 for each bullet point listed under each element below: Your estate agent Communication and feedback are key to helping you understand how the marketing is going and reassuring you that your agent really is doing their best to sell your home. So: Do they call you regularly – at least once a week? Do they accompany every viewing? Do they give you detailed feedback after each viewing? Have they made any suggestions around how you might be able to generate more viewings – other than dropping the price? Your brochure Your brochure needs to convey the quality of your home, setting a standard and value before the prospective buyer sees it in person. And the photographs have got to showcase a desirable lifestyle, grabbing buyers’ attention and enticing them to view. Does the brochure fully represent your home – we usually recommend 16–20 glossy pages – and does it have a luxurious feel? Are your photographs professional, and do they sell a lifestyle? The features of each room should be shown in crisp detail, and the images should convey an aspirational feel. In a sitting room, for instance, fires and candles should be lit, fresh flowers put out, and lights switched on to ensure the room looks spacious and bright, but cosy and inviting at the same time. A gently bubbling bath with flickering candles is selling a relaxing and luxurious lifestyle, not just a bathroom. And for kitchen photographs, some fresh baking will bring the image of the room to life and stimulate more than just the buyer’s visual senses. Is the written description enthusiastic in tone and full of emotive adjectives? The copywriter should be conveying a narrative that really captures the buyer’s imagination and makes them want to experience your home for themselves. Does the floorplan include dimensions and the overall floor area and show the orientation of your home? Your online advert This is your virtual shop window, and with the possibility of hundreds of other homes appearing in search results, your listing needs to stand out. Does your main photograph grab a buyer’s attention and encourage them to click for more information? We find that a twilight shot with all the interior and exterior lights on can be a particularly striking image and is often the best one to use online. Does the listing have a punchy, eye-catching headline? Is the description concise, while still selling the best features of your home in a flattering way? Is there a good-quality image of the floorplan, and brochure download button available? The price If a home is marketed at too optimistic a price, it tends to sit on the market for longer. So you must make sure your home is advertised at a price that both reflects its true value and attracts buyers. Is your asking price a round figure, e.g. £950,000, not £949,999? Does your home appear at the top of a search in your price range? Do you know how your price per square foot compares to that of other similar homes in the area? Have you stuck to your asking price, even if your agent thinks you should drop it? Preparing your home for viewings You must do all you can to make buyers fall in love with your home – from the moment they first see it on the market to the end of their viewing. Do you style and tidy the outside – both the garden and your home itself? Do you have fresh flowers inside? Do you dress all the beds? Do you switch on lamps, light candles and have fresh coffee or baking to create a homely and welcoming atmosphere? Now, add up the points. If you have a Saleability Score of more than 80, well done – that suggests both you and your agent are on top of your home sale! Just take note of the areas where you might want to make a few tweaks, and if you still find you’re not getting enough viewings, then get in touch with us. If you’ve scored between 50 and 80, there are probably quite a number of areas that you and your agent could work on. The good news is, this means there’s every likelihood that if you can just make the right improvements to your marketing, you should be able to attract much more interest and start to get some offers coming in. However, if you have under 50 points, it’s probably time to consider a full marketing makeover. And if your current agent hasn’t already addressed the various challenges, it could be time to switch to one that’s more proactive and professional in their approach. We would be more than happy to discuss how we can help you with this, so please feel free to get in touch with us at any time. And if you’re feeling a little disheartened by your result, be encouraged by the fact that there are plenty of things you can do to make your home much more saleable – with the right agent on board. The important thing is that you take action right away. If you don’t, your home will simply sit on the market, leaving it at risk of possibly going ‘stale’, which is likely to reduce your chance of getting a good sale price. When buyers see the same home being advertised in the same way, week after week, it gives the impression that something isn’t quite right. So it’s time to grab the bull by the horns! The first port of call is to speak to your agent, show them our Saleability Scorecard and find out whether they agree with your ratings. It may be that they have their own ideas about the kinds of changes that could be made and are keen to work with you to turn things around. However, if you don’t get the response you were hoping for, give us a call – we can review your marketing ourselves and give you our expert opinion on what needs to be done to secure a successful sale. Then, once we’ve visited your home to appraise it fully, we’ll come up with a bespoke marketing strategy that focuses on promoting all the best features of your home and relaunching it onto the market in style! If you’d like to discuss your current situation and find out how we can help you and your home get the sale you deserve, just give us a call on 01268 778333 or email info@lawrenceantonyhomes.co.uk and we’ll get right back to you.