Listing of the Day - Reno NV

In an effort to improve the impact of the marketing of listings, I randomly choose current listings around the country in a variety of price ranges and comment on their effectiveness. No current clients of mine are used, nor do I know any sellers or buyers or have any additional information about the property.



17185 Waxwing St., Reno NV $180,000 4 + 2.5


http://realestate.yahoo.com/Nevada/Reno/17185-waxwing-st:58e2c8802f9947d76778d29d628a5dd1



The "first impression" fails to keep my interest. There is only one photo available, which is a wide exterior shot. However, this is late October, and I see a small tree without leaves and snow on the ground. Right away, this makes me think that either this property has been on the market since last winter (or the winter before that?), or that there is some extreme weather in the area, which could also be a turnoff. Either way, that doesn't make me want to look further.

Not only does the description copy fails to address this issue, but it says "completely landscaped with auto sprinklers" as the only reference to the exterior. Yet, the photo shows a worn looking and partially snow covered lawn. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Even though this is a 4 bedroom and 2 1/2 bath home, all we are told in the description is "one bedroom downstairs". Nothing about where the other 3 bedrooms are, whether or not they are different in size, and the placement of any of the bathrooms. Learning there arre "custom hickory cabinets" is nice, but frankly not an immediate concern for a potential buyer seeking a 4-bedroom property.

Worse yet, the information portals for "Neighborhood" and schools are left as "Not available". A chance to sell that is wasted, unless the neighborhood is not good and there are no schools close by.

At least there is phone contact information on the page, even if there aren't any reasons to use it. I mention this because I linked to the "more details" icon, and on the next page there is a space where phone contact information is left blank. My guess is that they don't expect anyone to click on it.

Upon clicking on the "more details" link, it still only offers the same single exterior photo and the exact same copy in the initial description. However, beyond that comes the details which contains several strong sales points not yet mentioned.

After all this, then we come to learn that there is a storage shed, covered patio, laundry room, and some nice features pertaining to the master bedroom. The very things that should have been first on the list. And now on the page that doesn't even have information on how to contact the agent.

If I was the seller, I would be disappointed at how the best selling points are buried until the end, at a point at which most people would likely have clicked to the next property available.

If I was a potential buyer, I wouldn't have stayed around anywhere near long enough to see the selling points that could have attracted my interest.

If I was the agent, I would have checked both of these ad pages long ago and made sure that the important sales points were addressed much sooner, that the photo(s) were current and appealing, and that I could easily be contacted.

GRADE: D+



Note: This commentary is uncompensated and for marketing purposes only and is no reflection on the featured property. Its accuracy is not guaranteed. Neither Dave Kohl nor First In Promotions shall be held responsible for any representations.

At this time, I have openings for more realty agent/office clients to critique current and brand new listings on an hourly basis. No current or past client listings are featured on this blog.Random listings are chosen around the country.

Your comments are most welcome!