Every estate agent marketing in the same place, in the same way, may have been the case a few years ago. But in today’s housing market, this couldn’t be further from the truth. If an agent says this in their pitch for your business, they are out of touch with today’s buyers. There is no way that this agent is going to do an outstanding job, when it comes to selling your home.

Up until the last few years, it was generally accepted by both the public and by agents that portals such as Rightmove, Zoopla, On The Market, etc. mattered in the property market. The wealth of new portals that have been added to the list in the past couple of years, would at first glance, appear to confirm this as very much being the case. If an agent discusses with you how they are listed on all the major portals, this is a good thing, portals are a tool in an estate agents marketing toolkit.

However, if an agent tells you that their competitor isn’t on one or more the major portals, do not assume this is a bad thing. Nor should you discount the competitor.

The perception that you have to be listed on all of the major portals to show it to the most people and get the best price. Therefore it doesn’t matter which estate agent puts your home on the market as all estate agents advertise in the same place (ie the portals).

If this was the case, why do agents fees vary so? why do they claim they can sell your home faster, smarter and for a better price than their competitors?

If we were all fishing from the samel pool of buyers. Waiting for one of them to get “hooked” on our listing. Surely buyer demand would be for us to all charge the lowest fee possible. Therefore, no agent would be better than another at selling. There would be no skill involved, no strategy. It would all be down to gaining listings of properties and getting the listing price right.

Sadly, this is why some agents are focused (and rewarded via their commisson) on the amount of properties they get onto the market. As opposed to being rewarded for the amount of homes they sell.

Agents have become quite reliant on Rightmove and the like. Properties that are listed straight onto the portals are only showing to the buyers who are registered with those portals. These buyers are looking at every property listed that day, regardless of which agent shared it. With the lack of houses coming onto the market currently, when a good, correctly priced house that meets their needs is listed, they will call in for a viewing. As will everyone else that sees that house go online.

There are lots of potential buyers that are waiting for a house like yours to be listed. All you have to do is select an agent that will make your house look at good as possible online. Then all being well you’ll get lots of viewings. Followed by a flood of offers and you’ll sell you house for well in excess of the asking price, right?

Wrong!

The potential reach of the portals is huge, the trouble is they cast their net wide and pull everything in. Signed up for portal alerts are not just good to go buyers. By good to go we mean one’s that have all of their finances in place. Who have sold their own home or have no property to sell. The portals bring those that are not yet “good to go” The people who have a property that is on the market but not yet under offer. People who want to find somewhere before they put their property on the market. The people who like to see what’s on the market locally to get an idea of what their property is worth. The day dreamers, and of course the nosey neighbours.

The proportion of people that are able to put in an offer may be small compared to everyone that is signed up to the alert. Buyers that are ready to offer are there and they will snap up any suitable house that comes along as quickly as they can. An agent that markets properties through portals alone would argue if the buyers are there, why do I need to do anything else?

This may be true, but some buyers have moved on…

Rightmove and co have been around for 15+ years in mainstream estate agency. Whilst it’s sounds like it’s still young, think how attitudes and technology have moved on in that time. Even if you only consider that the introduction of the smart phone, apps and social media.

Buyers are no longer all lurking in one place. Waiting for a portal alert to notify them of something new that’s come onto the market. They have moved on. They want to see property before it hits the portals and has fierce competition, particularly in today’s busy market place. These buyers are not waiting, they are finding new ways to find properties ahead of the competition. They have everything in place to ensure that when their dream home comes onto the market that they are in the ideal position to make a genuine offer. And, if that offer is accepted, that they are able to proceed with the purchase.

Whilst these buyers are proactive, motivated and want to buy. They are also busy people. They don’t want to be ringing agents asking what properties the have coming up. Or viewing properties that don’t match their criteria, because the agent strongly recommended they took a look.

These buyers want solutions. The solution being a suitable property that matches their budget and requirements, delivered to their phone/device before it is shown to other competitive buyers that are still waiting for a property alert to go off. These buyers are wanting to buy homes before they go online to the portals.

In recent years, estate agent suppliers and technology firms have been developing technology to streamline the housing industry and make the role of a agent more proactive. Giving them additional platforms to find buyers and engage with them. The “PropTech” industry has sped up with the arrival of Covid-19 and the need to limit viewings and/or conduct them remotely.

Early adopters of the wealth of technology that is out there currently, have seen massive changes in the way they sell houses. One of the biggest changes is the speed in which they can reach serious buyers. Many agents are now reporting that they are selling properties before they are listed online. Some agents are ditching the portals all together.

Innovation and technology are making some huge changes to the property industry currently. We think it’s a very exciting time. Which can only raise standards, and enable us to give a better service to their clients. There maybe some agents that say it’ll never change. All buyers will remain with the portals and the new technology is a fad or gimmick. But then, there were many agents, not so long ago that said the property portals would never take off either!

At Harrisons Homes we sell the majority of our properties “behind the scenes”. Before they are listed on the property portals. We do this via our Heads Up Property Alerts service and via our social media networks. We know that not all buyers are tech savvy. But we also know that motivated buyers will want to know what is new to the market. So we ensure we keep a personal touch for those that would prefer a phone call.

If you would like to know more about how Harrisons can sell your home, please call our team today on 01795 474848.