Smartphones – making your listing stand out

Do you have a Smartphone?

The chances are, your buyer does!  Research just out shows that 28% of us now are using a mobile device as our primary internet connection.  The fact that your buyers may be conducting their property searches on their phone, means that your main photograph, or your ‘leading image’ is more important than ever.

This is what the newest version of Rightmove’s iPhone app looks like:

And here’s how the search results appear:

 

As you can see, the images are tiny, in fact, they measure just 1cm by 1.5 cm, unless the browser clicks on your listing to view further details, in which case the image even then only measures 3cm x 4cm.

What does this mean for you, the seller?  How do you ensure that your property can be seen effectively on today’s Smartphones?

Here’s what you need to take into account:

• Make sure your main image is the front of your house.  Your buyer may well want to drive past, and they need to be able to recognise your property from the main photo.

• Get close-up – there’s no point in having a photograph of your home taken from across the fields – no one is going to be able to make out your house on a phone.

• Make sure it’s well-lit and taken on a blue-sky day. It’s only tiny, so make sure your photo has real punch!

• Make the description count.  Unlike the property portals and estate agents’ websites, the Smartphone description is limited to only around 40 – 50 words, so they’ve got to be good!  Don’t let your agent use waffle or preamble, make every word count, and better still, lead with a dynamic headline.

• Test it out yourself. Don’t leave it to the agent to advise you; this is very new technology and the way in which buyers search for property changes constantly. Check on your own Smartphone (or borrow someone else’s!) and  judge for yourself if your house stands out above the competition.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: What Sam did last weekend

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

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Cold weather takes toll on smaller species in UK birdwatch

Big Garden Birdwatch finds fall in long-tailed tits and wrens after ‘beast from the east’

Almost 1.2 million house sparrows were spotted in British gardens during this winter’s Big Garden Birdwatch but smaller garden birds appear to have suffered from the previous winter’s cold weather.

Long-tailed tits decreased by more than 27% and wrens by 17% in 2019 after bumper years in 2018, according to the RSPB survey. Populations of both species are thought to have been affected by last year’s “beast from the east”: small birds are more susceptible to extreme chilly spells.

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Cold weather takes toll on smaller species in UK birdwatch

Big Garden Birdwatch finds fall in long-tailed tits and wrens after ‘beast from the east’

Almost 1.2 million house sparrows were spotted in British gardens during this winter’s Big Garden Birdwatch but smaller garden birds appear to have suffered from the previous winter’s cold weather.

Long-tailed tits decreased by more than 27% and wrens by 17% in 2019 after bumper years in 2018, according to the RSPB survey. Populations of both species are thought to have been affected by last year’s “beast from the east”: small birds are more susceptible to extreme chilly spells.

Continue reading...

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Inside an English cricket legend’s breath-taking home

This place will knock you for six.

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Berlin's rental revolution: activists push for properties to be nationalised

Support is growing for a referendum on whether to ban large landlords from the German capital and turn their property into social housing stock

When Berliners take to the streets on Saturday to protest against rising rents, 77-year-old Barbara von Boroviczeny will be right at the front.

As crowds of marchers set out from Alexanderplatz, the activist will be using a van with a megaphone to encourage people to sign up to nothing less than a housing revolution: a vote on banning large landlords from operating in the city and expropriating their property into social housing stock.

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Picture this – how the right photography can help you sell your house

GRABBING the interest of a potential buyer starts with pictures of your house – and if they are not good enough the buyer simply moves onto the next property.

Even if you have the perfect house, if people don’t cross the threshold you won’t sell them the property. So perfect pictures are the vital starting point.

It is important to be aware of not only what is in a picture – but what is not in a picture. If there are gaps in what a buyer expects to see they will assume the worst. Why is there no picture of the kitchen or front of the home?

Particularly the front of the house – it is the equivalent of the front cover of a book to a reader. If you don’t have this shot, the buyer will wonder why not – does the house need a lot of work? Is it in a bad area or next to an eyesore like an electricity pylon?

Remember – research indicates there can be up to 15 people driving by your home for a quick look for every person that actually visits and you need to convert them into viewings. The front of the house does not have to be the main picture in your brochure if it is not the best but it does need to be there.

The same is true for the kitchen – this is often the main selling feature of a home and has to look good. Even if yours is not the best, give it a good tidy and de-clutter to make it look spacious and clean. The picture will not be nearly as bad as the imagination of a house proud buyer will make it if there isn’t one at all.

Other key no-nos include pets in pictures – they may be a full member of your family with their own chair at the dining table but they are not for your buyer. Even if a buyer is cat-crazy or doggy-dippy, they cannot be offended by a house that doesn’t have pets, but someone who dislikes animals will be put off by evidence of moggies or pooches as they start to mentally add up the costs of recarpeting, deep cleaning and repairing the imagined damage.

It is amazing how many buyers lack imagination –so do their job for them and ensure your pictures are bright, airy and crisp and show the buyer the very room they could be relaxing in.

Do you get Sam’s Selling Secrets? They’re free! Get yours here https://ift.tt/1gdRtVS

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch

What to read next: The Six Secrets of Fabulous Property Photography

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

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A guide to getting your home ready for viewings Nottingham Estate Agents

Viewings are incredibly important so C J Hole Cheltenham has put together this checklist to help you get your home ready before potential buyers walk through the door A picture speaks a thousand words The first thing that potential buyers see when they enquire about a particular property is the ‘property details’. This is a bespoke […]

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