Marketing is still worth the extra effort

WHEN you are buying property, portals like realestate.com.au are going to be your first port of call, more often than not – whether you take a quick, casual browse during a lunch break, or are sent a constant stream of links from your significant other.

The property listing site is an excellent gauge of property availability, which is possibly the most important factor when pricing and selling your own home in this market.

I noticed while having a look at Bayview Heights listings last week that there was a grand total of 16 properties on the market, across all categories.

After narrowing that field to houses, there were just 13.

I then refined the search to list homes that were actually available – not already under contract – and seven was the total – that’s less than one page.

Not that long ago, you would have been looking at multiple pages of properties in just about any suburb.

Today, having only a handful of options is a common occurrence.

If you are a seller, this is great news – if someone is looking in your suburb, you’re going to have a great share of eyeballs.

But while those focused buyers are well and good, what more can you do to get even more eyes (and wallets) turning to your home or investment property?

Well, this is where it can pay to invest in marketing your property, even in a strong market when you can be tempted to scrape by with just the bare minimum – especially when it seems all an agent has to do is stick up a sign and wave their arms out the front to be flooded with buyers.

The first and most relevant thing I will suggest to a seller, is to expand your net.

While of course you want your property to stand out in your suburb, you also want to attract buyers of similar properties in other suburbs who could be persuaded that their dream home might be somewhere different than where they thought it was.

I say that knowing that the last time I purchased a property, my initial criteria and the final choice didn’t have much in common.

Need to know more?

Talk to your agent.

Tom Quaid is the REIQ Zone Chair for Cairns