How to Attract Out-Of-Town Buyers
These days, with the rising digital age and the better tools provided for property selling and buying, you’d want to expand your marketing horizons to target out-of-state buyers. It’s hard competing with more than the place around you, but it’s not impossible. If you’re confused or unsure on how to do it, don’t worry. Here’s two of the biggest tips and strategies to market your home to buyers from out of town, who might not have come across news of your property otherwise.
Having a Good Online Presence
Perhaps the most important thing you could focus on is the online presence of your property listing. These days there are several online websites that provide access to thousands of listings all over the country. Buyers can list their preferences and be provided with an array of options. You need to make sure yours stands out.
As you would do even if you were aiming for buyers in town, take good pictures, but also focus on adding a few images of the neighborhood. Keep in mind that you might very well be introducing the area to newcomers who haven’t stepped foot there just yet, and you want to present not only your property but the location itself as a desirable and welcoming place. It’s recommended to add videos too, so they can get a feel for the area without a proper visit, considering they might not be able to make it there. It’s getting more common for people to buy without visiting, and you want to make sure that you’re providing them with every opportunity to familiarize themselves with the place. You need to make them feel like they have all the information they could get their hands on. Make sure your images are of high quality, and list all the virtual services you have available, from videos to 3D tours.
It doesn’t hurt to add target words of what a newcomer might be looking at, like ‘trendy area’, ‘great for families’, ‘safe neighborhood’, and more. Adding keywords that catch the idea of your target demographic is important, and puts your listing higher up on websites which means buyers are more likely to click on it and reach out to your real estate agent. This ties into knowing your area well, which we’ll explore in the next point.
Know Your Location and Provide Relocation
You are the expert here. Your prospective buyers are likely new to the area. Show them you know that you’re familiar with the neighborhood by giving them information about places to eat, community centers, transportation, schools, tourist areas, etc. If you’re trying to sell a home, let them know what life could potentially be like. Help them imagine their future in your shoes and paint a colorful portrait of their lives after this investment. Buying property is usually the biggest purchase anyone could make in their lifetime, and you want to prove to them that it’s worth taking the risk on.
Prospective buyers are likely making a huge move and entering a new part of their life in a completely new town. And remember, you’re not just selling a piece of land. You’re selling a lifestyle. Arm them with the ability to envision their life here. If you have the time, add anecdotes of yourself, others living in the area, or even previous buyers. It helps provide credibility to your property listing to give a more well-rounded image of your life in your home. When applicable, you could even add links to nearby community centers or attractions to prove that you know what you’re doing and to add credibility to your words.
Providing a relocation guide isn’t hard. It’s just a process of relaying to them the same information you have used while living in the area. Give them information on schools, healthcare facilities, jobs, and more. And it’s always a good idea to cater these guides to those who you think your audience is, whether it’s single persons, students, families, etc. This, as mentioned above, helps your listing pop up in more searches, and makes prospective buyers more interested in inquiring about the property. If they have all their questions answered on the screen in front of them in the order of what they’re more likely to prioritize when moving, it makes your listing look a lot more trustworthy.
The bottom line is to help them feel less like out-of-town buyers and ease the stress they could have about their big move. Making sure that you’re reaching out-of-town for sales is becoming more important as the housing market begins to change with the rest of the world, but that doesn’t mean you have to be left behind. Following these tips and strategies are sure to decrease the amount of time your property spends on the housing market. You got this.