Comparing a Broker Platform vs an Individual Real Estate Agent
If you want to be successful in selling your residence or you are an agent with a new listing, you must have a good marketing approach to make your home standout in the competitive real estate world. Where do you start? Should you choose an established brokerage platform that can increase your home’s visibility? Or do you go for a top real estate agent whether or not they are associated with a brokerage? There are pros and cons to both options. With a reliable brokerage platform, the seller has more power and flexibility.
Additionally, it can generate more attention to the listing and encourage prospective buyers to make an offer. Alternatively, an experienced agent can accurately set the price of the home, which could provoke a bidding competition among interested people. Plus, they will be able to negotiate incoming offers like a professional. So, broker platform or individual real estate agent?
These two roles — the brokerage platform and the individual agent — often feel like the starting-off points of the typical real estate journey.
But when it comes to a foolproof marketing strategy, who or what is more important: the brokerage platform with the big “For Sale” sign staked into your front lawn? Or the individual agent whose face is plastered over benches at the bus stop in your neighborhood?
At Havah, we believe that either one of these options can position your home for a quick and successful sale, which is great news. The key, however, is to hire a talented real estate photographer who can showcase your home in its best possible light.
Real Estate Photographers In Numbers
A professional real estate photographer can be the difference between a stale listing and a quick sale.
The National Association of Realtors agrees. In their recent study, the NAR found that homes with one photo spent an average of 70 days on the market while homes with 20 photos or more were listed for 32 fewer days.
The research showed that houses that had professional real estate photos sold for an extra $5000 than those that didn’t. This demonstrates that using a skilled real estate photographer can make the house more visible, draw in more interested customers, and close the deal more quickly. Moreover, having excellent photos taken by a talented real estate photographer benefits both the broker platform and the individual agent. These outstanding property images add credibility and professionalism to the property page, also increasing the broker platform’s or the agent’s reach, which is great for both!
How To Boost Your Real Estate Marketing
A successful brokerage platform comes fully equipped with countless resources, stellar training programs, and the support of experienced managing members. It also boasts a large number of sales agents within its circle. So you figure that listing agents who are part of this platform have a better chance at closing the deal by working with agents they’re already familiar with.
Similarly, rockstar real estate agents whose faces are featured on billboards above traffic have a lot of clout in their communities. They’ve procured the best deals for their clients time and again. In short, top brokerage platforms and bigwig agents can position the home for a quick and successful sale.
But despite their proven track records of success, it’s good to remember that brokerage platforms and agents will ultimately depend on a professional real estate photographer to make sure that the listing leaps off the screen and attracts potential buyers.
Real estate photography is the home’s first impression. As the NAR reported, amazing real estate photos will draw in more viewers, whereas mediocre ones will polarize them.
In other words, impeccable real estate photography can either make or break the listing, which is why hiring an experienced real estate photographer is crucial to the home’s marketing strategy.
That said, below are some tips on how to boost your marketing efforts with the help of a vetted real estate photographer.
1. Hire a professional real estate photographer
Today’s human attention span is shorter than ever, lasting mere seconds. This means that if you’re not already working with a professional real estate photographer, your listing may be susceptible to a low view count, or it could commit the cardinal sin of real estate by remaining on the market for more than 30 days.
To grab the prospective homebuyer’s attention, you’ll need exquisite real estate photography that leaps off the screen. At Havah, we’ve curated a network of the best real estate photographers to elevate your home’s marketing strategy. Our real estate photographers are personable and professional. They’re also vetted to ensure that they have the right equipment to get the job done, including full-frame DSLR cameras, wide-angle lenses, and aerial drones for capturing all angles of your property in a short time period.
2. Create unique real estate videos
With video content on the rise, real estate videos are effective tools to increase the chance of offers and requests to view the home from potential buyers. Studies have shown that agents who use this marketing strategy see a 30% increase in sales. Additionally, real estate videos help consumers put a face to the brand, making it more relatable. This, in turn, increases sales and boosts the agent’s sphere of influence.
At Havah, our network of real estate photographers and videographers can make your home stand out rather than blend in. Our list of the best videos of 2017 provides some of the most creative examples of real estate videos that rise above the competition. Check them out!
3. Market to millennials
A report by the NAR found that millennials were once again the largest group of homebuyers for the fourth year in a row. So if you aren’t already searching for ways to attract millennial buyers, now’s the time to start.
Marketing to millennial buyers can scale your real estate business more than you think. To jump on the bandwagon, check out our list of suggested ways to target your marketing to millennial homebuyers and sellers, and don’t miss out on this lucrative opportunity.
4. Use property pages
Havah offers a free property page with each package. These are valuable as they let you edit all the listing information, like contacts and pictures of the home. It also allows you to track analytics by seeing how long visitors stayed on the site, where they’re searching from, and more. A property page can also be featured across your social media channels to reach a larger audience.
5. Post on social media
How are you going to get your listing in front of potential homebuyers while competing in today’s digital age? One way is to use social media to your advantage by posting a teaser video of the property that’ll capture your audience’s imagination. A teaser is a quick video that highlights the best features of the home, and our real estate photographers can get this done in no time.
6. Neighborhood tours
Showing off the neighborhood can boost your real estate marketing efforts. For starters, a desirable neighborhood is as important as the home itself. (Location, location, location.) Second, this can help with the agent’s personal branding. Working with the local, friendly, neighborhood realtor appeals to prospective homebuyers. Third, if the home is located in a sought-after neighborhood, and you’re not using this key selling point to your advantage, then the listing is incomplete.
Brokerage Platform or Individual Agent? Answer: Real Estate Photographer
However you choose to market the home — whether you hire an impressive brokerage platform or an all-star agent with an influential name — keep in mind that a professional real estate photographer can offer a great first impression of the property with high-quality real estate photography.
In turn, this increases visibility for the listing, generates more qualified leads, and speeds up the sales process while procuring the highest price for your home.
Ready to get started? Visit our homepage and check out Havah’s services.
