More and more real estate agents are using single property websites to advertise their properties. But, is this new form of real estate marketing worth it?
There’s been a lot of buzz recently in the real estate industry about the value of single property websites, or “microsites”. People have grown tired of large aggregators that list hundreds of properties for patrons to scroll through. It’s becoming harder and harder to stand out on these sites, everything has to fit into a template, and everything is built to keep home buyers scrolling onto the next property.
Contrast that with the focussed and well-curated attraction of an exclusive single property website and you begin to get some sense of why they’re taking the industry by storm.
We’re here to shed some light on whether or not single property websites actually help homes sell faster (or for more than the listing price).
4 Ways a Single Property Website Will Help Sell Homes
First, 2020 is expected to be the peak year for millennials buying houses, according to National Housing Forecast. Millennials accounted for almost half of the mortgages in 2019. For this market, you have to think digital first. After all, only 7% of buyers found their home via a yard sign. That’s an overwhelming vote for where to put your marketing budget and your energy.
Secondly, a single property website gives you the ability to really guide the viewing process for the buyer. You control every element; from which image they see first, to the template that showcases the property and as much detail as you think is appropriate. From floor plans to neighborhood news and even virtual staging of the property – a single property website offers a wealth of opportunities to convince the buyer that this is the right property for them.
Thirdly, when you are using a property website to sell your house it’s permanently on display so buyers can find preview your listing anytime. You don’t have to make sure the family will all be out on Sunday, or that the dog has gone to stay with a neighbor and all the other perils of a property showing. Once you’ve built your property website, it’s always available for the next set of interested buyers.
Finally, when you have a property with its own URL, and you are in control of all elements on display, it stands to reason that you are going to have better SEO (search engine optimization). Make sure the name of the property is prominently placed as well as the city, state, and name of the neighborhood where the property is listed. Using a single property website in tandem with your normal MLS listing and listing aggregator (Zillow, Trulia, etc.) will only help the reach that your property has online.
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What Does a “Typical Buyer” Look For
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) created a profile of a “typical buyer” and what they found was that ‘the typical buyer used a mobile device to search for properties online. S/he looked at websites with photos, home listings, and information about the home buying process. S/he then contacted an agent and visited a median of 10 homes over 10 weeks before purchasing a home.’
What that tells us is how vital it is that you are optimizing your single property websites for mobile devices. People will not get the full experience of what you are offering if it’s not mobile-friendly, and chances are that they won’t be back for a second look.
At the end of the day, there are so many factors that go into selling a home and it’s hard to pinpoint what is most important. It may be price, it may be location, it may be the quality of your real estate marketing. It’s too hard to nail down one specific factor.
But it is fair to say that the internet is the primary location for discovery of a new property, and if you use all the tools available on a single property website to showcase your listing, then your chances of the right people finding your listing, go up exponentially.
Over the years, PhotoUp has built up a wealth of knowledge and expertise in web design and building beautiful, functional websites. Get in touch today to find out what we can do for you.
