How to make your property stand out from hundreds of other listings

The property market is wide and deep. Hundreds of different listings appear on it every day – some better, some worse. When you want to sell your property, the question that naturally arises is: how do I make my property stand out? Today I will answer it with a few clever tricks that can be used in most cases.

Give an exact price

Research shows that properties with a precise price (e.g. 147,883 PLN instead of 150 thousand PLN) give the impression that the listing has been carefully thought through and calculated. As a result, potential clients who contact the estate agency are far less willing to try to negotiate a lower price. And even when they do start negotiating, they suggest a smaller price reduction than in the case of rounded prices.

In addition, a listing with a precise price looks more reliable and credible, and stands out from the others.

Give your property a name

The heroine of the film "Under the Tuscan Sun", while on a coach tour of Italy, passes a beautiful old villa called "Bramasole" – Italian for "yearning for the sun". Enchanted by this unusual name, she decides to buy it – and that is how her adventures begin.

In marketing, giving things names is known as naming. Marketers and psychologists have discovered that people are willing to pay considerably more for something that has its own unique name – because the thing then seems special and one of a kind (even if it is not).

Of course, this technique cannot be used everywhere – it is hard to give a name to a flat in a block of flats or to a terraced house. There are, however, some properties that are truly unique, exceptional, one of a kind. In such cases, fixing a plaque with an intriguing, distinctive name to the building can give the property a far more upmarket image in the eyes of potential buyers.

Tell a story linked to the property

In one study carried out in the USA, researchers decided to buy a few worthless items at flea markets: balls, key rings, pictures and so on. The average cost of this junk was about one dollar.

A group of talented copywriters (people who write advertising copy) was then asked to tell an interesting story (although obviously a made-up one) about each of these items. The researchers wondered by how much the value of an item would rise if each one came with a story.

And so, for example, a tennis ball turned out to have once hit a former US president on the head, and a key ring was said to have belonged to a famous sportsman. The items were put up for sale on online auction sites, and it turned out that their value had risen by an average of... 320%!

Of course, we realise that not all research results obtained in the USA will translate directly into results in Poland – after all, the USA and Poland are rather different cultures. But if a story told about a property can raise its value by even 10%, that is already something.

If we have a choice between two identical houses – and we know that a happy family lived in one of them, that they spent every Christmas there, that their first child was born there… and so on – we will certainly attribute greater value to that house than to the other one, about which we know nothing. Such a house will radiate a "positive aura", and potential clients will read these stories as a good omen for themselves and their family.

That is why it is sometimes worth telling a potential client what interesting things happened in the property. Perhaps someone wrote a bestselling book there? Perhaps someone had a happy childhood there?

Take care of the details of the listing

A potential buyer's first contact with a property is the listing – its quality determines whether the buyer will want to arrange a viewing and see the property, or… choose another one.

A carefully prepared listing has a huge advantage over the others right from the start. A floor plan, clear and high-quality photographs of the building and its interior, a description, the option of a "virtual walk-through" – all of this is a weighty argument for going to the trouble of viewing the property in person.

The mind also needs a rational justification for its decision. If someone has taken a liking to a property, they will look for rational arguments to justify their decision. An excellently prepared listing can be just such an argument. The client will transfer the impression they got from the listing to the company and the seller.

If you are looking for a professional property sales agent who will help you sell your house, flat or plot quickly and at a good price – get in touch with me.

And if you know other ways to make your listing stand out from hundreds of others – I invite you to share them in the comments.