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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.
48 Turquoise Way, San Francisco CA 3 + 2 $1,050,000
http://realestate.sfgate.com/homes/listing/123-2891/San-Francisco-CA-USA/2-beds/2-baths/SINGLE-FAMILY-type/1000000-3000000-price/Priority,0,,Price_Sales,0-ns/20-CH5521534--123-2975--290-371870--20-CH5522942--123-2891--20-CH5523019--20-CH5523010--193-367710--20-CH5522400--312-81000129-ls/199-t
For anyone that gets past the photospread, this is an excellent job of marketing a million dollar property. The primary exterior photo looks like a gated castle wall entrance and not the property itself, along with appearing to be very close to the curb for a mansion. A poor choice for catching the eye of an interested potential buyer. The remaining photos are mostly exterior and do not provide a scope of the size and features of the home. The last photo shows some of the interior, but appears to be to spotlight an exterior entrance to the inside.
For those who stick around long enough to read the description, it is compounded by having approximately half of the copy touting the location and the exterior features, including some Realtor fluff. The "incredible street presence" and "spacious public rooms" mentions could be turn-offs to buyers or investors of this caliber of property wishing to maintain a degree of privacy. Let alone that they have no idea of what the interior actually looks like after all of this time.
The lower 1/2 of the description, finally addressing the interior, is among the best I have ever seen in my 21 years of reviewing property advertisements. The agent's ability to walk you through with his description becomes a 'written tour' and is excellently done. He makes it seem like a million dollar property without any further Realtor fluff.
It took getting to that point to understand why the seller listed with this agent. That is before the ad reveals at the end that this property has a street address web site with more information.
However, the effective part is too late into the package. Think of a job resume where the applicant lists his/her most significant experience at the bottom, underneath the entry level positions. An employer probably isn't going to keep reading long enough to see the potential of the applicant. That's what happens here.
This problem could be easily fixed, even without adding photos of the interior (although that would certainly help). Simply reverse the order of the content, putting the interior description as prominent.
Until or unless adjustments are made:
GRADE: B-
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!
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.
3617 Bayview Rd. Miami FL 3 + 4 $1,049,000
http://www.homefinder.com/FL/Miami/50985199d_3617_Bayview_Rd
The primary photo is an attention grabber and does set the tone for the description. It is a challenge to promote an 85 year-old mansion as a million dollar property, but this agent handles it quite well. Those potential buyers who would be attracted to this type of property are going to click on it, even if not a majority. My best analogy is the employment one where "the purpose of the resume is to get the interview". Good resume.
The remainder of the photo spread cleary show why this is a million dollar property. From the prominent swimming pool to the unusual room and window designs to the views to the sparkling kitchen. Clearly well planned and thought out photos, which a 7-figure property deserves.
Although the description copy is far too short, it does pack the punch of delivering strong selling points, even if not enough. It does, however, refer to being on a "private cul-de-sac in the grove". I personally have no idea of what "the grove" is, and wonder if people looking from out of area (and this is Miami, after all!) have any idea. Including that there is a 1 bed 1 bath cottage with the property is also a strong selling point, especially for a large family looking for this type of property.
At least there is no "Realtor fluff" in this copy. However, the advertisement fails to provide information about parking (garage?), whether or not there is a basement or storage, and other possible selling points.
Yet, this is a rare instance where even without enough information, a potential buyer interested enough to click ahead for details could be enticed to contact the agent to learn more. I can see why the seller is working with this agent.
GRADE: B
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!
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.
Oak Lane, Hampton Bays NY 3 + 2 $1,500,000
http://newsday.optimumhomes.com/homes/listing/2112752-2274273/Hampton-Bays-NY-USA/2-beds/2-baths/SINGLE-FAMILY-type/1000000-1500000-price/80-H0150311--2112752-2274273--80-H44129--80-2279145--80-H0157167--80-H0147535--80-2262834--80-H0111249--80-H35324--80-2261484--80-H37338--80-H46210--80-H28332--80-2258219--80-H50633-ls/20-t/CodeFeatured,0,,Price_Sales,1-ns
My first reaction to seeing this advertisement was "What was the seller thinking?". A home listed at $1.5 million, with less than two lines of description copy?
Not only that. The photo spread also leaves a lot to be desired. I found this advertisement by seeking out the leading newspaper in the area's web site in the middle of June. Yet, the primary photo has trees with no leaves coming in to the photo from two sides. One would think that, especially for a 7-figure property, the agent would have the common sense to update the photos.
The second photo looks across a small waterway. However, there is no description copy to tell a potential buyer whether or not the house on the other side of the water is the one that is advertised, OR if this is a view from the back of the home for sale. Considering that what little description copy there is indicates there is a "private beach", this photo is probably more of a negative than a plus.
Plenty of solid interior photos help to "save" the photo spread from total disaster. However, without captions or even an adequate description, we have no idea what is upstairs or downstairs, and whether or not there is a basement, or any idea of the quality of the bathrooms.
There is no information about the size of the house, number of rooms, or parking. There is nothing about a garage, if there is one. As if this isn't embarassing enough, at the very top of the ad (above the outdated primary photo), the square footage indicates "0". Nowhere in the remainder of this ad is that even addressed.
Meanwhile, the exact street address of this home does not appear within this ad, nor does it appear on the real estate office's web site. One can't even drive by to try and get an idea of the size and scope of the home.
To top it all off, the mere almost 2 lines of description copy end with "Truly A Must See!!". Gee, thanks.
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!
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