5 ways to make your overseas property listing convert like crazy
First impressions matter. Don’t waste the opportunity to attract, seduce and provoke a response. A well thought out listing that’s interesting and unique is a hugely important part of selling an international property. And given the way the market operates in Central America, don’t assume a local real estate agent will do what it takes to make your listing stand out.
Here are five ways to create a listing for your international property to draw the buyer closer:
1) Use photos that provoke
Most of the guidance on real estate photography will tell you to display as many photos as you can. Marketing gurus will tell you that photos sell a property better than words; that the more photos you have, the better qualified your buyers, and the more efficient your sales process.
But is the goal of real estate photography about efficiency or is it really about provoking an emotional response from the buyer? Should your photos do the job of documenting all the features of your property or should they be focused on advertising?
The best advice on real estate photography is more nuanced than the ‘more is better’ mantra. For each photo ask yourself; “Will it resonate with the buyer?” “Will it arouse an emotion?” “Will it motivate them to ask for more information, to set up a viewing?” “Is the photo advertising the property or merely documenting it?”
Don’t use every photo you have just for the sake of it. You may do more harm than good.
2) Seduce with your listing headline
Your listing headline has only one purpose: To get the buyer to read the first sentence of your property description.
You won’t be able to do this with a watered down headline that appeals to the masses. Clumsy real estate copy like “Hurry, this won’t last long” ”Serious offers only” ”Very special” ”By appointment only” won’t work either.
You have to be laser focused and define your target buyer precisely. Fix them in your mind and use the listing headline to write them - and only them – a compelling promise.
Practice doing this by starting off your headline with the word “why” and follow with a statement describing the benefit of owning your property. You’ll find that the benefit comes down to lifestyle (e.g. becoming a better golfer, living like a jet-setter, fulfilling a retirement dream) or an investment goal (e.g. investing for profit, a lower cost of living).
3) Follow up your headline with a persuasive description
Assume your buyer has attention deficit and your challenge is to write your copy to make them linger on your property listing. You’ll need to satisfy their logical left-brain by listing all the facts and features of the property and then deliver an equal measure of benefits to entice their emotional right-brain.
Don’t forget what buyers are really interested in. They’re not buying walls, a carpet, concrete or a roof. What they’re buying is a lifestyle, a dream, a sense of community, a way to impress their friends, a means to make money…. These are the benefits your property will deliver.
It may help to think of the reasons why you bought the property in the first place and try and distill this into words. Be direct. Use short sentences. Sell with the benefits and don’t get bogged down in the features.
4) Choose a price that entices
The mechanics of pricing your property to the current market is difficult in Central America due to the lack of an MLS and market comps. In fact, this lack of data is one of the reasons why we set up this site in 2008.
But don’t let this daunt you. The key to setting a price is looking at your house like a buyer would. Search listing sites on the Internet for comparable properties, read our post on understanding the real estate market in Central America in 10 seconds, build a spreadsheet of asking prices in your area and use this information to ensure you are priced competitively.
Think creatively about incentives that you can offer buyers such as absorbing some of the closing costs or offering seller financing. And don’t forget to add this in your listing description.
5) Include extras like video, maps and neighborhood information
Contextual information is important when selling overseas property because your buyer will know less about the market, the neighborhood and the local amenities than for places closer to home. This unfamiliarity breeds lots of questions.
Think through every objection they may have (e.g. quality of health care, proximity to amenities, neighborhood type, travel times, local attractions, cultural details) and try and address each one in your listing. Neighborhood information, video tours and location maps work especially well when selling international property.
You property listing is an important part of marketing your property. Get it right and you should provoke your target market into taking the next step. But what about you? Do you have experience with selling a property your own in Central America? Have you found any tactics that get your property listings noticed quickly? Share them in the comments. For more tips, here’s another post on selling property from the series.
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