Are you looking for creative real estate marketing materials to sell a house? It may seem obvious, but great marketing is the key to successful home sales.
One of the areas that many Realtors miss out on is the marketing material left on the property. Most buyers love to look at marketing brochures and other materials real estate agents provide.
Utilizing these helpful marketing ideas allows you to sell your house faster and for more money.
If you are like most sellers, you’ll want to make your home stand out to potential buyers in any way you can.
With the proper preparation and marketing, it is possible to sell your home at an excellent price quickly.
What you may not be aware of, though, are all the little things that can help market your home to potential buyers.
These often-overlooked Real Estate marketing materials cost little to prepare but may make a big difference in selling your home.
When some effort is put into Real Estate marketing by the agent you hire, magic can happen. When Real Estate magic happens, everyone has a smile on their face!
What you may not be aware of, though, are all the little things that can help market your home to potential buyers.
From thirty eight years of experience selling homes, buyers and sellers appreciate the effort a Realtor puts into their marketing material.
A color brochure for a property beats a black and white MLS sheet any day of the week.
Real Estate agent marketing materials can make a significant difference.
Home sellers should look for a top local real estate agent that goes above and beyond the expected norms. Hiring an agent willing to spend money on marketing materials usually costs no more.
That’s why interviewing a Realtor is vital to finding out what services they will provide.
Add these to your home selling checklist to enhance your presentation.
Marketing Materials to Be Left For Home Buyers
Please review some of the overlooked real estate ideas below and incorporate them into your marketing game plan.
Clients love it when their Realtor goes above and beyond the typical marketing activities. There is more to selling a house than listing in the multiple listing service (MLS).
Buyers will love having all of this extra information when purchasing a home. It could end up being the difference with a buyer choosing your home.
Floor Plans
Creating a clean, professional-looking floor plan representing your home gives buyers a clear picture of the property. Making your floor plan available online and on paper for showings offers customers an extra reference for your home.
Drawing up a floor plan does not have to be difficult, either. There are floor plan creators available online and even options for smartphones.
If you hire a real estate agent, they can also help you create one. This is a Real Estate marketing idea that home buyers appreciate.
Often, buyers will forget a layout once they have left your home. It is easy to understand as they often look at several other homes on the same day.
Once a buyer has made up their mind and decided to move forward with your home purchase, a floor plan is a great tool to help with furniture placement.
Real Estate Video Tour
While this isn’t marketing material left at home, it is used online to enhance reaching potential buyers.
A video tour is an excellent marketing tool for selling a home. Everybody loves a video, as evidenced by the massive surge in online video usage in recent years.
Making a video tour available online is integral to selling a home today. It’s one you should not overlook.
It gives web searchers the ability to get a quick feel for what your home has to offer. It is an excellent addition to photos and text.
Video tours are one Real Estate marketing tool I rarely go without in my advertising arsenal.
Your real estate agent should allow you to video tour your home.
Filming for the in-person tour requires knowledge of what is worth shooting and what can be left out, but it is not as complicated as you imagine.
You should understand one important thing about the video: if it is appropriately optimized, it will almost always show up on page one of Google in a Real Estate search by address.
Keep in mind that Google owns YouTube. Since video is a different form of media, Google likes to display it in search results. This means if your Realtor does an excellent job with their online marketing, it can only enhance your home’s online visibility.
Here is an example of a property I sold in Milford, Massachusetts.
Utility Bills
Providing a buyer with your utility bills is a creative Real Estate marketing tool you may have never considered. Even though the information is likely at your fingertips.
Savvy buyers will want to know the cost of owning your home; a realistic assessment includes utility costs. Making your utility bills available is a small marketing step that can save you the hassle of finding them on the fly.
Potential buyers will appreciate it if you leave this with your home’s marketing material.
If you are lucky enough to have a home with relatively low energy costs, you might also include average utility usage in your selling points.
As a Realtor with years of experience, I can tell you that one of the most common questions buyers will ask is your utility bills. Expect it and be prepared in advance.
List of Service Providers
Buyers love convenience. They want their new home to be enjoyable and comfortable to live in. It is something you can play off of in your marketing efforts.
One way to do this is to compile a list of service providers for your area.
If you have businesses you use and can recommend, such as house cleaners, landscapers, heating companies, or even driveway plowing services, make that information available now.
Buyers will see that trusted professionals can handle all their needs. Having a reference with all the service providers’ info is fantastic.
This demonstrates that you have prepared and take pride in your home and the people who care for it on your behalf.
- Landscapers or gardeners
- Contractors (general contractors, remodeling contractors, etc.)
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- HVAC technicians (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning)
- Roofers
- Painters
- Carpenters
- Pest control professionals
- House cleaners or maid services
- Pool maintenance services
- Window installation and repair professionals
- Flooring specialists (carpet installers, hardwood floor installers, etc.)
- Home security system providers
- Interior designers
- Appliance repair technicians
- Locksmiths
- Handyman services
- Garage door repair professionals
New homeowners appreciate this information, especially when relocating from outside the area and not knowing anyone.
A Pre-Listing Home Inspection
You may consider sharing a pre-sale home inspection with prospective home buyers.
If you have taken the time to inspect your home by a professional inspector and the results are excellent, show it off! Inspected houses give buyers the confidence they are not purchasing a lemon.
If there are issues you are unsure about, consult with your listing agent first. For the most part, houses with a clean bill of health are worth sharing in your marketing material.
Annual Pest Control Schedule
Some homes are where pests can become a serious problem if left unchecked. A pest control professional can control pests through an annual visit.
If this is a service you use, make that information available to buyers in a positive light. Let them know that you have a service that works well for you. They can take over the service and do the same to keep their home pest-free.
Pests are something that a good home inspector will always discuss with a buyer. Letting your customers know if you have had pest treatments is always a good idea.
Often, the length of pest treatments is paid for in advance. If time is left on the contract, this becomes a “perk” for your new homeowner!
House Insurance Provider
Providing the home insurance provider you are happy with can help save the buyer some time and effort. Some buyers who look at your home may be new to homeownership. They may need all the help they can get during the purchasing process.
If your home insurance provider has satisfied you with their service, it may be beneficial to let potential buyers know this. This is particularly true if the vendor gives home insurance savings when the customer combines usage for their home, car, or other insurable items.
This real estate marketing tool may be less valuable to someone local with an established relationship with an insurance company.
However, it can significantly benefit someone relocating to the area who may not know who the local insurance providers happen to be.
Covenants, Restrictions & Neighborhood Info
If your home is part of an HOA, there will likely be restrictive covenants.
Knowing the covenants of a neighborhood is an essential part of Real Estate marketing. Community rules are crucial to owning your home and should be transparent to potential buyers.
Buyers and their agents will want to know everything about the house, including your area’s restrictions. Whether this information seems unnecessarily strict will depend on the buyer.
One buyer may be upset that pink exterior paint is not an option, but another may find this information appealing. Things like no raising of livestock or storing campers in a residential neighborhood are usually rules that most buyers would consider beneficial to keep up the value of their property.
By providing covenants and any other community perks, such as planned parties, you are doing an exceptional job marketing why your area is remarkable.
You may also want to share that your community is well-run financially and has low HOA fees.
School Information
When you have an outstanding school system, it goes without saying that this should be part of your Real Estate marketing! Buyers may have children or plan to – making school information vital.
You want to make this information readily available, especially if your area schools have won any awards or special programs that get them to stand out. It is an excellent real estate marketing idea that should not be overlooked.
Even if area schools are average, buyers will still want to know where they are and what is available to them. Mentioning things like sports programs or any other extracurricular activities is always a good idea.
From being in the business for as long as I have, buyers will spend more on homes to get a quality school system. Your marketing materials should emphasize this to buyers.Click To TweetDon’t rely on a buyer’s agent who may be outside the area and not know about the exemplary schools.
For example, my local area, Hopkinton, Massachusetts, has superior schools compared to other towns. This is always mentioned in the marketing materials left in the home and on MLS.
Local Transportation
Many buyers today care about mass transit. While it is impossible to know if every buyer will want this information, you can guarantee that some will appreciate knowing what is available to them and their families.
Commuter rail, train options, bus routes, and bike paths are all critical factors for some buyers. You’ll want to include this information in your selling points.
Even if you have never used the local mass transit system, it can be beneficial to learn about it.
What I Love About My Home/Town
Providing a personally written description of why you love where you live is one of my favorite marketing ideas!
Leaving a narrative about what you love about your home or town is a great way to add a personal touch.
There is no question that emotion sells in Real Estate! An excellent way to appeal to a buyer’s sensibility is to have all the reasons you have loved living in your home and the community.
Your narrative is a great place to discuss all the attributes you feel make your home unique.
When talking about where you live, mention things you love. For example, the convenience of major highways, a great shopping center, or where you like to get your morning coffee.
Homebuyers eat this stuff up. It gives them all the more reason to picture themselves living in your home.
One of my clients in Ashland, Massachusetts, recently did precisely what I am talking about in making their list. The buyers loved that the seller took the time to write about what they thought made their home unique.
The buyers of this home had relocated from out of state. They did not have a real good grasp of what particular attributes Ashland had to offer. This one thing made a big difference to them.
Creative Real Estate Marketing Materials = Sold.
When marketing your home, you want to cover all of your bases. Consider these ten Real Estate marketing ideas when deciding how to present your home to buyers. Any one of them could make a difference in your sales.
It would help if you spoke to your Real Estate agent about these great marketing ideas. If they are a top-notch professional, they should be more than happy to make your sale the best it can be!
Do you love these creative real estate marketing material ideas and want a few more than you can include in a comprehensive buyer’s package?
Additional Helpful Marketing Material
Here are a few more items that could help a potential buyer:
- Paint colors – one of the things that customers love to have at their fingertips are the paint colors. Providing the information for both inside and out is excellent. A list of the paint colors makes it easy for the buyer to touch up or re-paint an entire room.
- Location of the water main shutoffs – sometimes, the place of the water shutoffs is not easily visible. This is excellent information to provide in a home marketing brochure.
- Trash pickup and other town services – buyers always ask the Realtor when the trash or recycling gets picked up. This is another nice touch to add to your real estate marketing.
- Security system info – if the home has a security system, the buyer will want to know how it works. Details on what the alarm covers, like windows and doors, are essential. Additional items like motion detectors and whether they are tied into a central station are also crucial.
- Heating system maintenance – keeping a record of the heating system maintenance is always helpful. It details how well the furnace was kept up and when the next appointment should be made for service. You can also give the size of any filters, which a buyer will love to know.
- Appliance information – the ages of the appliances and make and model- is helpful information to a buyer.
This is the kind of information buyers love to have on hand when considering a home to purchase. Provide this information upfront and make the home-buying decision more straightforward for a buyer!
More Real Estate Marketing Ideas
- More marketing ideas – Forbes has some excellent additional creative marketing ideas when selling a house.
- How to sell your home quickly – if you want a fast home sale, follow these tips to make it happen.
Use these additional creative real estate marketing ideas to please your buyer and make your sale go as smoothly as possible!
Final Thoughts
The market materials for real estate displayed for a buyer is a tool that should not be downplayed. The better your presentation, the easier it will be for buyers to decide they love your home.
Real Estate promotional ideas are always worth your time. Hopefully, you have enjoyed these creative marketing material tips for selling a home.
Call me if you are in the Metrowest, Massachusetts, area and enjoy these real estate marketing ideas. I would welcome the opportunity to interview for your business.
About the Author: Bill Gassett, a nationally recognized leader in his field, provided information on marketing materials for real estate to help sell a house. He is an expert in mortgages, financing, moving, home improvement, and general real estate.
Learn more about Bill Gassett and the publications he has been featured in. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. Bill has helped people move in and out of Metrowest towns for the last 38+ years.
Are you thinking of selling your home? I am passionate about real estate and love sharing my marketing expertise!
I service Real Estate Sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Natick, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton, and Uxbridge MA.
Hi Bill,
It is an exhaustive rendering of brilliant concepts of real estate marketing. In some parts of the world like India or South Asia, Real estate brokin is still to be accepted as a potential corporate sector business – in spite of huge redevelopment projects going on across the country. Such professional concepts of marketing should help the industry grow in the right direction. Even online / ecommerce options in these parts are yet to mature. Real estate having the great potential it has, I believe SMEs like myself (www.landshoppe.com) and others would need to evolve an integrated platform to market ourselves.
These are some fantastic tips thinking from the perspective of a homebuyer. An agent could easily make them available (and brand themselves in the process) by pulling together all of this information into a nice branded package. For a printed version- in a nice folder with the realtor’s name and contact information imprinted on the front. For a digital version, what about a blog post or pinterest board on the individual home?
Nice article. I will use the utility bill and what I love about my house for sure as part of my real estate marketing plan.
I think these are all really good ideas for helping a sale for a home on a house listing. I especially liked the tip about drawing up a floor plan. I’d imagine having a floor plan attached to a house being sold through a listing would help it stand out from all the other listings.