Think it might have just been underpriced? This was the highest sales price per square foot in the neighborhood in over 10 years! Check out the story below to see how we did it.
"Zestimate"
List Price
Sales Price
Days on Market
We were first introduced to Christopher and Kimberly Johnson back in 2014 when they inquired about the value of their home in East Sanford. They had seen our listing of their neighbor's home on their street and were impressed with the advertising for the home and noticed that it sold quickly and for the full price. When we met with them, however, the market value for their home just wasn't where they needed it to be to make a move. We stayed in touch for the following 4 years until they felt it was time to revisit the issue and see where the market was. They had recently added a beautiful baby boy to the family and were quickly outgrowing their home. They wanted to stay in Seminole County, but were looking for 4 or 5 bedrooms on a larger lot that would allow them all room to grow as a family.
While their current home was in excellent condition and had a lot of desirable upgrades, there was a problem. Like most of the people we meet with, while looking around on Zillow.com at new homes they pulled up the value of their own home. The value, or "Zestimate", according to Zillow.com was $207,441 (evidence of that initial "Zestimate" in the image to the right).
They had a feeling that was a little low (so did we). There home had actually been built by a different builder than most of the other homes in the neighborhood, and their builder was known for superior design and for using higher quality materials. We completed a thorough and completely customized value analysis for their property and determined that it was actually worth as much as $235,000.
But how do we sell the house for that much more than the "Zestimate" when the potential buyers are all going to see that lower value when they look at the house online?
In our conversations about the situation we arrived at a simple solution. "Let's just make sure that people don't see that Zestimate before they see the house, because once they've seen it in person, they won't even care about that number." So we went about designing a custom property page for the Johnsons' home that we could advertise on our own and drive potential buyers to that would show the property beautifully, without the inaccurate data and competing listings in their neighborhood that were built by a different builder. We just needed to make sure that we went pedal to the metal with our advertising approach to make sure that WE were the source of the information, not one of the hundreds of other websites out there.
In order to make sure that we were putting our advertising in front of the right audience, we payed particular attention to who would be the likely buyer for this home. After much discussion, we concluded that the most likely buyer for a home would be either a young family that would value the Seminole County schools and the quiet family friendly neighborhood or an older couple that would enjoy the peaceful setting and water views. Whomever it was going to be, they would need to appreciate the differences in the quality of construction between this property and the numerous competing homes for sale in the neighborhood.
So we know what we're selling, we know we have have to do it quickly, and we know who we're selling it to. But how do we reach them and get them engaged?
At the heart of our marketing strategy was technology. With our custom property page, there was no inaccurate "Guesstimate" to mislead a potential buyer. There was no list of competitor's less expensive homes along the side. No advertising for half a dozen other Realtors desperate to sell those buyers ANY home. Just a showcase for our client's home directing interested buyers to our team, whose only priority was selling THEIR home. Over 90% of home shoppers start their search online, and there is no 2nd chance at a 1st impression, so it had to look fantastic.
You can view the page that we used to advertise the Johnsons'' home here: www.OrlandoSold.com/2587-vineyard-cir.
We reached out to our likely buyer profile through advanced demographic targeting and paid advertising on Facebook. We ran a "coming soon" ad as soon as the pictures were processed while the Johnsons were preparing for their first weekend of showings. Then, as we approached the first weekend of showings, we ran a massive "open house" advertising campaign to drive showing activity for that first weekend on market. That Facebook advertising reached 15,177 targeted Facebook users and we saw 3,279 clicks on the posts and 87 positive reactions to the ads. More importantly, those ads resulted in 61 interested potential buyers submitting their contact information and an enormous amount of traffic to our open house.
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Professional print materials were prepared featuring the most impactful photos of the property and drove the recipient to our custom property website.
The phone number used on the materials provided a recorded description of the property and followed up with a text message with the link to the mobile version of the custom property page. Those callers were also placed onto an active marketing campaign where our team made every effort to coordinate private showing appointments for the caller.
As part of that print advertising, a post card was delivered to a targeted group of 500 area residents to announce the open house. We also advertised the property to neighboring communities using door hangers and in area restaurants and business using glossy double sided flyers.
All buyers that saw the home received hand written "Thank You" cards on custom made property specific cards. Custom business cards were used when showing the property and when meeting with other agents about the property.
The "Coming Soon" advertising and open house announcement were emailed to our existing database of nearly 3,000 active Orlando Area home shoppers. These are not cold emails, these are potential home buyers that know our name and receive our updates and contacts on a regular basis.
Nothing can capture the true experience of a home like video. According to the National Association of Realtors, homes advertised with video get 3 times more clicks on average than homes without. One of the biggest selling points of this property was the size of the lot, so we incorporated drone video that highlighted the water views from the back patio as well as a professionally recorded walk-through video. Take a look at that YouTube.com video that we had prepared for the Johnsons' home below.
Every one of our listings gets professional photography. A professional can provide higher resolution photos with fewer shadows and an artist's appreciation for lighting, photogenic angles, and visual appeal. There is simply no room for cell phone photography or amateur snapshots in the marketing of one of your largest financial assets. Take a quick look through the slideshow below to see the how the pictures came out.
The home has an open floor plan that makes for easy entertaining. The kitchen is open to the family room and includes enough space for a dinette area as well. The family room is also open to the adjacent bonus room and has fantastic views of the water.
If you're looking for that "wow factor" to impress family and guests, the flooring in this home is sure to be a hit! The entire home has been upgraded to 18" x 18" ceramic tile in the wet areas and Bruce hand-scraped solid wood flooring in Coventry Brown in the living areas and bedrooms. There is no carpet anywhere in the house.
The gourmet kitchen features Norcraft designer oak cabinets in a honey finish. The stainless steel Whirlpool appliance package includes a range, vented microwave, and side by side refrigerator. The spacious island includes additional storage and provides great space for meal prep. There is also an amazing pantry for added storage and convenience.
There is a formal dining room for larger holiday gatherings and dinner parties that's open and adjacent to the formal living room.
This home includes an excellent flex space that would make a perfect play room for the kids, exercise room, or home office in addition to the formal living and family rooms.
The owners of this home had opted for the covered patio because they knew that they would be taking advantage of the magnificent view of the water. Whether you're grilling up burgers with family and friends or enjoying your morning coffee looking out over the water, the patio will be one of your favorite parts of the house.
Have you ever looked at photos of a home and wondered "which bedroom is this?" or "is this the master bath or the hall bath?" The technology we use takes thousands of photos and "stitches" them together into a 3-D "dollhouse" style floor plan model and virtual reality enabled virtual tour. In a home like the Jensens' with high quality touches everywhere that you looked, it really makes a difference.
We have more people relocating to Central Florida than almost anywhere else in the country. With this technology we've been able to sell homes site unseen to buyers that couldn't fly in to see them in person because they've already seen every corner of the home online. Take a look for yourself!
The property description is often the most neglected aspect of the marketing of home. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but the words still matter. It's our opinion that the property description should both describe the details of the home as well as paint a picture of what owning and living in this home would be like. In this case, we wanted visitors to imagine the kids playing in the "play room" or out in the quiet neighborhood setting while the adults enjoy the views of the water from the family room while highlighting the specific differences in materials used by this builder in comparison to the others in the neighborhood. We're selling the experience of living here! Here's how we did it:
This well upgraded 3 bedroom waterfront home is move-in ready and sure to impress. The current owners have taken meticulous care of the property and are looking for someone new to love it the same way they have. As you pull up the paver driveway and enter through the decorative leaded-glass door, the first thing you'll notice is the custom mosaic tile inlay in the foyer and absolutely beautiful hand-scraped wood floors. The entire first floor features upgraded 18" x 18" ceramic tile in the wet areas and Bruce Wentworth Estate hardwood flooring in Coventry Brown in all living areas and bedrooms. No carpet anywhere to be found. The kitchen features Norcraft designer oak cabinets and a large center island and is open to the family room for easy entertaining. It also includes a stainless steel Whirlpool appliance package and a spacious pantry. The cozy family room, roomy master bedroom, and adorable 3rd bedroom all have fantastic views of the water. Off of the family room the owners had added a covered patio area for grilling up burgers or enjoying your morning coffee looking out over the water. The master bedroom includes an en-suite bath with a jetted garden tub and separate tiled shower stall as well as an enormous walk-in closet. Off of the family room is a convenient flex space that works great as an exercise room, kids' play area, or personal office. There is an indoor laundry room with convenient shelving. The roof is an Owens Corning Oakridge algae-resistant 30 year fiberglass dimensional shingle. The only thing this house is missing is you! Call today to schedule your private tour.
Have you ever looked at something like a pair of shoes on Amazon.com? You don't buy the shoes, but you go to another site and there they are, following you around reminding you of just how much you want them. Why should such a successful marketing tactic be ignored in real estate?
Visitors to our custom property page were "tagged" for future advertising on non-real estate related websites. Each view of the ad builds recognition and increases the interest of the prospective buyer. Targeted visitors return to the custom property page, maximizing the opportunity for an offer.
In the days prior to the property being listed for sale, the page for the Johnsons' home had been viewed over 800 times by people in 7 different countries and 12 states. The print and online advertising did its' job and the open house was a fantastic success. On the very first day on the market we had a full price offer at our list price of $235,000 and on that same day we were officially under contract. The home appraised precisely at our list price of $235,000, and we closed on time without issue. The Johnsons are enjoying their beautiful new home with the added room for their children to grow and an amazing lakefront lot to explore and couldn't be happier for it!
If you're thinking, "sure they did that because that house was in their area, or in that price range, or just because their boys were that stinking adorable", you're wrong. We take this same approach with every home we list. That's because every client we help is of the utmost importance to us, and service is always our 1st priority.
Our marketing strategy is far more comprehensive and impactful than what other Realtors have to offer. Take a look and see for yourself.
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