Thinking of Selling your Lakefront Home or Land?
Consider an Agent that takes a different approach to Marketing Waterfront Properties
Chris Spencer Realty Executives
Newton-Conover High Graduate 2001
First Million Dollar production year 2006
Voted
First Multimillion Dollar production year 2007 with $3,823,700 gross
Realty Executives Gold Club Inductee 2008
1 of only a handful of agents in Hickory Area with 4+ Lake Front Sales in past year
Recent Sales
1.29 Acres
Days on Market 0
I was able to connect the seller with a client I had actively looking in the area before the property ever hit the open market.
Sold within 95% of asking price
2 bed 1 bath 900 square feet on .47 acres
This home was under contract the same day as hitting the market. I represented the buyer on this transaction and was able to get the property at 83% of asking price.
3bd 2ba 1557 square feet on .28 acres
I represented the buyer on this transaction as well and was able to obtain the property fully furnished at 93% of initial asking price
2bd 1ba 1000 square feet on .19 acres
I sold this home to my client off of the open market. The Seller had withdrawn the listing from a competing listing firm after not being able to sell the property. I approached them within weeks with a qualified buyer.
Why an alternative and proven marketing strategy is needed in our area (The problem)
Lakefront property in our greater Hickory Metro area (Rhodhiss, Hickory, Lake Lookout) often have several problems that make it really tough to distinguish our lakes from others.
1. Inability to see lake.
2. Surroundings. Unfortunately many of the county and city roads leading to lake front property in our area dont really appear as if you are on the way to a half a million
dollar piece of property. Between the rundown residences, potholes, cow pastures, and other unsightly annoyances it can become very difficult to convince an out of town customer that their huge investment really is worth the money.
3. Competition. The vast majority of buyers in the market for Waterfront property are not
The problem is that these out of state customers are often interested in Western North Carolina as a whole and have not narrowed their search down to just the
We still have a competitive advantage over many of these other lakes by normally offering a significantly lower price. However, if our product is not presented in a manor that differentiates it not only by price but also all the other positive factors our area offers they often are lured west by the allure of the Mountain Views.
Instead of trying the same old methods a solution is needed to combat these problems
The Solution
A 3 step process that solves the problems listed above, garners your property the exposure it deserves, and finds our target market.
Step 1. Showing the properties from the lake
The best way to eliminate the unsightly entrances to some of our properties, help differentiate our lake from the competition, and truly show clients the lake in its entirety is to see the property from the water.
I have a 24 foot partially enclosed pontoon boat that makes it easy for an entire family big or small to tour the lake and pick out the home or home site of their dreams. From the boat I am able to highlight the positives our lakes have compared to others. Whether it be the home of Nascar great Dale Jarrett on Lake Hickory, the mystic islands of Lake Lookout, or the Nature and Views of Lake Rhodhiss, I can show that we really have a little something for everybody. This tour of the Lakes really help buyers feel at home, have their first true experience on our lakes, and I believe many times this one factor is the difference between a sale and a interested looker.
Step 2. Internet based Marketing
Just getting the buyers on the boat and showing them the lake sounds easy enough but a very detailed and wide reaching marketing campaign is essential in getting the buyers to the boat.
As you may have seen online the first and very critical tool we use is the Virtual Tour. This tool (a marketing aspect few realtors employ) allows potential buyers access to your home without ever having to step foot inside. This is something especially important to out of town customers who are often afraid to take the time out of there schedule to see a home until they know it is something that will interest them and worth their time. This also works to the convenience of your family as we can present the visual tour to potential customers prior to viewing your home and basically screen out those who are not serious customers. This prevents your family from the grueling task of preparing your home for visitors over and over again.
Recent polls have shown that nearly 86% of home buyers in todays market obtained information on perspective homes in one way or another through the internet. That is why all of our listings through our affiliations and an aggressive marketing strategy are advertised through the following internet sites to take advantage of this growing trend.
Lakehouse.com (#1 Site on the Web for marketing Lakefront Property)
Lakehomesusa.com (#2 Site on the Web for marketing Lakefront Property)
TheRealestatebook.com (Promoted on cover of 9.1million magazines a month + online)
LivingChoices.com (Rated #1 Real estate site since Nov 2004 for by Nielsen)
RealEstate.com (Consumers can view our listings and have direct access to me)
LendingTree.com (A leading mortgage website with access to listing agent)
Homegain.com (The second most visited real estate website)
HGTV.com (A home improvement site with a very qualified audience)
Lycos.com (Lycos network reaches 15% of the active internet audience)
Yahoo.com (The internets second most visited website! Enough said)
Bellsouth.com (Regional ISP with lots of traffic and direct access to listing agent)
Sympatic.com (A Microsoft company that reaches thousands daily)
MSNBC.com (A television site with a large viewer base)
Houselocator.com (Growing site that is easily navigable)
homepages.com (Site utilizes digital satellite imagery to assist buyers)
Realtor.com (First used to locate realtors has now become a portal to the market)
Homeseekers.com (Relatively new site but growing daily)
Although the above websites generate lots of calls and constant referrals we dont stop there. I have my personal website www.chrisspencerhomes.net which has over 1000 hits this month alone and is constantly in the top 10 search engine results for
Realty Executives (my company) also has a very informative and useful website at www.realtyexecs.net which receives over 150 hits a day on average, making it one of the top 5 real estate sites in the
Step 3. Print Advertising
Although the majority of buyers in todays marketplace rely on the internet for their real estate searches Print Advertising still remains a very strong piece in the puzzle especially for Retirees. I always run a full page ad in The Real Estate Book with every single one of my listings featured. This is an area where I feel that I also excel at compared to the competition. Many agents have a flavor of the month type of attitude dealing with their listings and run them only a time or too in the real estate book or a comparable listing service. Soon they seem to forget about them or refuse to pay the high premium to relist them over and over. This is something you will never see me do. How can a customer find your home if its not in the number one print resource available to customers? As long as your home is listed with me it will appear in ever single edition of the real estate book.
Another type of print advertising that I like to employ is the brochure box method. It helps the property sell itself. Neighbors that might like to have friends move to the area take the information from the box, deliver that information to their friends and basically try to sell the property for us. Also it makes the information and price of your home much more accessible to the public. Many potential buyers are scared to pick up the phone and dial a real estate company to obtain information for various reasons. Maybe they dont want to get involved with an agent, are just looking, or are scared the home is way out of their price range and dont want to appear foolish. Either way those were potential customers that were lost immediately but with that brochure in their hands and the information readily available they are much more likely to call and at least inquire about the property.
Adjusted Rate Plan
For those still not convinced I take it one step further. Not only do I offer services and strategies that few other realtors employ but I also offer an adjusted rate plan which can save you thousands on the sale of your home.
6% Commission = Competitors Rate. With lakefront homes selling at an all time high in our area shouldnt more of that money go into your pocket?
5.5% Commision = My starting rate if home is listed with me and sold by another broker. At this rate Home is entered into Multiple Listing Service in
4.5% Commission = 3 Step Process with all services included but if Chris Spencer procures the client and sells your home the commission is cut even more. That is additional money in your pocket!
(Add 2% to all above rates for Vacant Land Sales)
Thank you for your time and patience. If you are considering putting your property on the market I would appreciate the opportunity to interview for the position. I grew up on
Chris Spencer
Realty Executives