Maybe your property has sat on the market for months, or maybe all of the offers you’re getting are much lower than the asking price. Regardless, both situations are incredibly frustrating as a Port Liberte home seller.
While there can be many reasons for lackluster interest in your property — such as little to no home staging, poor-quality photography, a slow market, or a small window of opportunity to open your home for showings — there is one major reason that can cause your Port Liberte home to languish on the market and even lose money.
Your Property Isn’t Reaching Interested Buyers
Exposure is everything in the real estate world. How fast your home sells depends largely on how many potential buyers see it, which is why it’s crucial to market your home to as wide of an audience as possible.
While each agent may have different ways of marketing your home, many of which are excellent, there are two that spell disaster for homeowners. Let’s get into these poor marketing tactics in detail.
The Problem with “Pocket Listings”
Marketing your property as an “exclusive” or “pocket” listing sounds like a good idea. After all, people are drawn to things that sound rare — homeowners included.
However, this type of home marketing can actually have devastating consequences.
There are two types of listing agreements: Exclusive Right to Sell and Exclusive Agency. The difference between the two is that the agent in an Exclusive Agency agreement is only paid if he or she is able to find a buyer for the property. Where things get sticky (and turn into a “pocket listing”) is when either the agent or the seller in these agreements opts out of listing the property on the MLS.
If the agent, particularly in an Exclusive Agency agreement, chooses to delay the property’s listing on the MLS and/or avoid marketing it through Open Houses and other strategies, they are limiting the exposure of the property — and, consequently, the pool of available buyers.
Likewise, if the seller does not want their property listed on the MLS, the property won’t reach as many buyers as it could.
In any case, the real estate agent reaps both sides of the deal, the listing often languishes on the market, and the seller doesn’t earn as much money at the end of the transaction. Ultimately, this is a disservice to the seller.
The Problem with Not Showing Listings in IDX Feeds
If you go onto a real estate agent’s website (like, say, portliberteforsale.com) or on a home search website like Zillow, you will often find a list of properties available right there on the website, no searching in the MLS required. These listings are displaying on the website through what’s called an IDX feed.
For example, here’s an IDX feed of available homes for sale in Port Liberte:
This is an example of an IDX feed.
Listing a property but not letting it show in IDX feeds, such as by restricting access to agents only, ensures that other agents can’t display the listing on their websites or on popular home search websites like Zillow. However, it also makes it harder for buyers to find the property. This is also a disservice to the seller.
Don’t Trust the Wrong Real Estate Agent
Your home is an investment, so don’t trust just any agent to list it. Instead, work with a REALTOR® who will market your home well and ensure that it sells quickly and for top dollar.
Ready to sell your Port Liberte property? Contact me to learn how I will help your listing attract as many interested buyers as possible.