Tag Archives: Rightmove

A bed room with wooden furniture and wall painting decorations.

Our top ten tips to add value without breaking the bank

1. Loft conversions 


Loft conversions

Converting an unused attic space can be a really cost-effective way of adding living space to your home. Some sources say a good loft conversion can add up to 20% in value to your property, and with costs ranging upwards of £30,000, you could get a fantastic return on your investment. You don’t usually need planning permission, unless you are extending the roof space or adding height. Also, if you live in a conservation area, you may find additional limitations on what you are allowed to do.Planning ToolTry this clever interactive tool to see at a glance if you need planning permission for your project, and if you’re still not sure, check with your local planning department, who will advise you on the correct procedure.

2. New kitchen New kitchen

Whilst once upon a time, kitchens were built to last decades, (remember your gran’s kitchen, which had probably been there for 30 years?!) nowadays, any kitchen over ten years old is probably starting to look tired.  With investment from just £1500 for a cheap Wickes or Ikea kitchen, you can essentially revamp this very important room for a relatively low sum.  If you’re planning on renovating your kitchen just to make your home more saleable, err on the side of caution, and go for a neutral, light style that won’t put buyers off.

Wickes and IKEA logo

3. Replace blown double-glazed windows

Before and After picture of a garden

Double-glazed windows mist up internally because the sealant around the edges has broken down. This can happen with cheap or badly fitted units, and the ‘misting’ effect gets worse over time.  Unfortunately, this does usually mean replacing the window, as the repair process can be onerous, messy and expensive. However, blown windows are really unsightly, and can cause a buyer to think the house has not been maintained properly. Expect to pay from around £200 a window plus fitting to replace your blown windows, depending on size.

4. New carpets

new carpet

Replacing old, worn or dated carpets can have a huge effect on a property. I’ve seen really tired properties look like they have had a complete makeover, just because they have had their carpets replaced. One lady on a viewing, who had seen the property before the new carpets were laid, was convinced that the house had been redecorated and wouldn’t accept it hadn’t!  Expect to pay from around £2000 for a reasonable quality carpet in a three bedroom house. A word of warning though –  don’t scrimp – cheap carpets just don’t have the same effect, and they can wear really badly, especially if you have pets or children, or both.

5. Garden makeover

garden make over

If you’re selling your house the prospective buyer will quickly form an opinion of what the inside of the house is like, based on the appearance of the front garden and entrance to the house.

Try to imagine what the house looks like to a first-time visitor, take a photo from the entrance and see what this reveals. These simple steps will help to create a smart, stylish exterior:

  • Clear any old leaves and debris, sweep paths, clean windows
  • Move any dustbins or recycling boxes out of sight
  • Remove any flower pots with dead or unattractive plants
  • Replace collections of numerous small plant pots with few larger ones
  • Use plant pots of similar material, type and colour
  • If there is any grass, cut it and trim the edges
  • Cut hedges
  • Fill containers with single colour (much smarter than mixed colours) bedding- plants for a quick fix. Match the flower colour to the paintwork of the house, or choose a contrasting colour.
  • Use light e.g. white or pale yellow flowers, to bounce some light into shady areas.
  • Invest in some smart lollipop-shaped topiary shrubs to place either side of the entrance, and as long as you remember to tell your buyer that they’re not included in the sale, you can take them with you.

Do all of the above, and your garden will sell the house to your buyers before they even walk through the door!

6. Kerb appeal

kerb appeal

Homes are always judged by their exterior façade. If you’re eager to sell your property but its frontage just screams to onlookers that you don’t love your home, you aren’t going to be getting many viewings. People judge within seconds, and a weed-filled lawn will mean viewers don’t even make it to the front door.

The front of your home needs to be edging on picture-perfect; not only does it paint a good impression of the owners, it puts potential buyers in positive spirits before they have stepped in the door. Follow our tips for the prime things you need to have looking pristine before the ‘For Sale’ sign is hammered into your lawn…

Windows – If you have trouble looking past fingerprints and dust on your windows from the inside, people will see that on the outside too. Give them a good clean regularly. Check on your window frames too; if they’re rotten, they aren’t going to look very appealing. Consider replacing them before putting your house on the market. Ensure that they fit in with the look of your home.

Front Door – People are drawn to the front door at first glance. Make sure it stands out by giving it a fresh coat of paint. The colour should fit in with the look of your house, so don’t make it too garish. Bright colours are in at the moment, but vivid pink might make your door a little overstated.

Neighbours – You would think your neighbour’s house wouldn’t matter, but it does. If they have rubbish on the lawn or anything else unattractive that really doesn’t need to be there, ask them politely if you can remove it. To make your plan less obvious, offer a hand; if you’re mowing your lawn, say you’ll do theirs too. The last thing buyers want to see is dirty surrounding houses.

Lighting – Many people might choose to drive by a potential property after dark, and it is essential that your house looks appealing. Having a nice lantern on the porch or a few front garden lights adds a special touch.

Clean & Neat – To give an overall good impression, ensure everything is as clean and spruce as possible. Repaint tired paintwork and railings, get rid of the weeds, trim the lawn, and make sure nothing unsightly is sitting on your drive, such as a skip.

By following such straightforward tips, the front of your home will be screaming with kerb appeal within hours, waiting to attract any interested party that wanders by your house.

Rightmove logo

Get your kerb appeal right, and your home will not only shine from the outside, it will also stand out on Rightmove and the other property portals, which is where you really need to grab buyers’ attention.

7. Lighting

lightning

The lighting you choose for each individual room needs to reflect not only the desired atmosphere but also the practical use of the room. Here are some tips to help you make the right lighting choices:

Living room:

  • This is usually a well-used room, so make sure the general level of lighting is suitable for a variety of different tasks
  • Picking out a feature wall, or else an architectural feature such as cornicing, beams or stonework, with directional spotlight helps to create interest and drama
  • Any ‘hidden’ lighting, for example, under pelmets or behind cabinets, will diffuse the light and create soft uniform lighting
  • Use dimmers to change lighting moods
  • Highlight artwork and plants with individual lighting arrangements
  • Shades on floor, table and hanging fixtures will help soften the glare, and create pools of light
  • Display lighting can draw attention to collections or unusual objects

Dining room:

The lighting you choose for this area depends on your use of the room. An intimate space for entertaining small numbers of friends and family will have different needs to a more open-plan arrangement, perhaps off the kitchen:

  • The lighting in a family dining area should be kept relaxed and easy, with a good level of light, and many sources to create a consistent level.
  • To create a more intimate atmosphere, try hanging a large fitting, such as a chandelier, low over the table, so that a pool of light is created in the centre of the table, whilst the guests are in the dimmer light. This creates a very cosy atmosphere; just right for a small party of dinner guests.
  • Candles are another way of creating a special feel to the room; their light is very flattering to skin tones, so your female guests will thank you!
  • Candles placed near mirrors or by other reflective surfaces will make for really interesting light plays and shadows, and enhance the intimate mood.

Kitchens:

Kitchens need to be really well-lit, with both overhead and directional lighting, for maximum functionality.

  • Overhead lighting is best served by spotlights, either ceiling sunk, or else on a bracket. This way the lighting is well-distributed, uniform and as free from shadows as possible
  • Under-pelmet lighting will light the worksurfaces and sinks so that the chef doesn’t cast a shadow over the food preparation
  • Special features, such as Agas or feature tiling, can be specially lit with directional lighting to enhance them and create interest
  • Shiny kitchen accessories, such as chrome kettle and toaster, will add to the lighting level by sparkling and maximising the existing light

Bedrooms:

  • Keep bedroom lighting low-level to preserve intimacy. Overhead lighting is best controlled by a dimmer switch, and lamps will make bedroom reading easy without raising the overall lighting level too much
  • Keep any wall lighting directed downwards to help create a calm, intimate atmosphere
  • Touch lamps are ideal for bedrooms, as they are so easy to turn on and off when you’re half asleep.

Creative and thoughtful lighting can really transform the dullest darkest house: just think carefully about the mood you’re trying to create and the use for the room and plan accordingly.

8. Repainting

repaiting

 Simple redecoration, like repainting a room to appear more neutral, can help a potential buyer view your property as a blank canvas that they could put their own stamp on. A fresh lick of paint can make a home look new. You can do it yourself on a budget, and still end up with great results, though be prepared for it to take about three times longer than you think it will! Choose colours wisely, and try to stick to neutral colours. This isn’t the time to experiment with darker paints and bold colours, which could deter a buyer. Sarah Beeny’s advice is to keep it really simple: “Neutral colours won’t put any buyer off. Potential buyers walking through your home will be able to plan to put their own stamp on the house without having to remove yours first. If necessary, paint all your home white – yes, it make take a few weeks, but it will be worth it in the end.”

Sarah Beeny

9. Add polish to bathrooms

polish

Bathrooms can be hard to maintain when selling your home as they undergo such regular use. Rather than neglecting your bathroom, it should be given regular maintenance to reduce the amount of work required before each viewer is scheduled to arrive:

Abolish the mould

Bathroom mould is unattractive and could be a deal breaker for potential buyers. It indicates damp problems and poor ventilation. Be sure to bleach mould before you put your house on the market and continually practice excellent ventilation when showering and bathing to avoid returning mould. Wipe down the bath and shower quickly after every use to avoid blackening grout and silicone.

Invest in some attractive accessories

Clean, sparkling mirrors can revive a tired bathroom whilst reflecting light to create the illusion of space. Replace any toothpaste-stained toothbrush holders with a new one that is used only when viewers are expected, to prevent it from spoiling.

Wash and fold towels

Wet towels strewn messily over radiators aren’t attractive and can emit a damp odour. Wash and dry towels before every viewing and ensure they’re folded or hung neatly. This will create a pleasant odour and a luxury appearance to your bathroom.

Bathrooms can be a major selling point for a house if presented well. If you have more than one bathroom then perform regular maintenance on them all. Try to put yourself in your viewers’ shoes, if you saw your bathroom in a house would you buy it?

10. Upgrade your bedrooms

upgrade your bedrooms

Bedrooms are so important to buyers, especially the master bedroom; after all, that’s going to be their bedroom! The master bedroom needs to feel as much like a hotel as possible: bedding, lighting, the carpet and curtains – all need to reflect that the room is a calm and stylish place to relax.  The bed itself is hugely important. When did you last change yours? Most people keep their beds long after they should have changed them, and a tired, dated bed can really let a room down.  You don’t have to spend a fortune to buy a new quality bed – online discounters like www.bedsos.co.uk have a terrific range of stylish beds from just £75. They also offer many different sizes, so if your bedrooms aren’t huge, try one of their smaller beds to add the illusion of space to your rooms.

Any renovations and upgrades to your home can make a huge difference to the saleability of your property, and really encourage viewings and offers. And if you’re buying something you can take with you, like a new bed, even better!

Bed Sos logo

This guest post is sponsored by Bed SOS, one of the largest online specialists of tv beds, genuine and faux leather beds, pine beds, metal beds and children’s beds.

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.

A table and chairs outside a house with a flower on top of a table

If your house has been on the market for more than three months, there are some questions you need to ask your estate agent to find out why it hasn’t sold so far, and what to do about it. A good agent will be able to answer all seven – let’s see how many your agent can answer…..

1. Who have you sent our brochure out to? – to what kind of buyers? How many had asked specifically for your property details, and how many had been sent out to their mailing list? How many did they print, and how many do they have left? Sometimes, agents won’t reprint when they run out, preferring instead to keep costs down by printing off the office printer – tacky!

2. Can you show me our Rightmove Performance Report and your analysis? – (see blog post Your Rightmove Property Performance Report). Most agents these days can provide you with one, but can they analyse it? If they can’t – send it to me! [email protected] – I’ll tell you what you need to know.

3. Can you change our main image and test the results? – if your online activity is low, I’d suggest you change your main house shot. However, this is only useful to you if you can then measure the results. If it doesn’t improve your statistics, try another, and keep trying until you get the click-through rate you need (see post as above). Sometimes, a fresh new image improves your rate temporarily, so try changing it regularly to keep your results as high as possible.

4. What did our viewers buy?– this is a great one! Your agent should be keeping in touch with your viewers to discover what they eventually went on to buy. By doing this, you can build up a picture of the types of buyers looking at your house. For example, if they went on to buy a completely different style of property, it could be that your marketing is appealing to the wrong target market. If they bought somewhere very similar, you need to compete better. Even the best agents need nudging to find out this information, so nudge!

5. What’s happening on any comparable properties? – who is achieving viewings, and who isn’t? Which houses have been reduced in price, and has this made any difference? Which are under offer, after how long, and at what kind of value? If you aren’t getting viewings and everyone else is, ask why!

6. How do you think our marketing can be improved? – ask your agent for a marketing review, and analyse as dispassionately as you can, your brochure, photography and online advert. Identify areas that can be improved, and make sure they are acted upon.

7. Why hasn’t our house sold – other than the price?– I have often asked agents this question, and listened to them trying to come up with an answer. The truth is, there are often several reasons, and it’s highly likely that none of those reasons will be the asking price! Ask your agent for constructive ways you can help him to attract viewers, and make sure he knows he can be honest. If he can’t come up with anything, call me, and I’ll tell you!

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.

Cups of coffee with an opened book and a metal glass candle holder facing the fireplace.

For our clients, we focus fully on achieving the highest sale price possible. Here are three reasons not to drop your asking price:

  • If you don’t believe in your asking price, why should your buyer? Be confident your home is worth what you’re asking. Your confidence will be infectious, and be transmitted to your viewers via your agents.
  • It’s a downward spiral – where will it all end? You don’t want to give it away. Make sure you sell on value, not on price.
  • It doesn’t work! Sellers who contact us have almost always already dropped their price, sometimes several times, but they still haven’t sold their homes. Who wants to buy something at a falling price?

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.

A comfy living room with a coffee set and a vase of flowers on top of a table

When your buyer is searching for their new home, there are several steps they will take. By knowing a little more about what’s going on in their mind, you may be able to influence their behaviour, and persuade them to at least view your house:

Step 1: they choose their portal

There are around 30 major property portals in the UK, but only four of them are truly worth being listed on. The majority of home searchers will sooner or later, find themselves searching on one of these four:

Rightmove: the biggest and in my opinion, the best. Great for properties in rural England.

FindaProperty: a bit clunky, but it’s where most of the good rental properties are listed.

Primelocation: some London agents and buyers prefer this over Rightmove.

Zoopla: the new kids on the block; just merged with the two above, so the jury is still out as to whether they will continue in their current state.

If your property is listed on these four portals, you can be sure that it will be found online. (Read my post on portals for more information and comment.)

Step 2: they filter

All four of the portals allow searchers to filter their results by:

Area: can be searched by postcode, town or region. Rightmove also has a ‘Draw a Search’ feature where a searcher can specify a chosen area by drawing it on a map.

Price: all but FindaProperty have price search parameters, which are worth getting to grips with before deciding on your asking price (see my post on Clever Pricing). Most buyers will set their upper price limit around £50,000 above their actual limit, to see what is available above their budget, and to allow for negotiation, so if they can only afford £700,000, they will search up to £750,000.

Bedrooms: in essence, an indicator of size; buyers will usually only select the minimum number. Make sure your property is listed correctly in this section, as it will make a significant difference to the number of searches you show up in.

Property Type: generally this is limited to houses, flats or bungalows, and as only one can be selected, the majority of buyers leave this section blank to include all. Worth noting too that Primelocation and Zoopla also allow a keyword search, so check which ones your agent has allocated for your property.

Step 3: they browse

Once a buyer has a list of properties, they will simply scroll through the results.

FindaProperty default number of properties on a page is 20, though this can be altered. Rightmove, Primelocation and Zoopla are all set at 10 properties per page. These results can be ordered by newest and price, though the standard default is highest price first.

During their browsing, they are looking at four main elements: image, price, area and keywords, usually in that order.

Image: is it striking and attractive?  Only the most flattering of photos will get a second look. Research shows that each of these thumbnails receives no more than a second of attention, so your picture really needs to ‘snag’ a buyer’s glance before they move on to the next one.

Price: a quick glance at the price will allow a buyer to ascertain whether the image matches the price.  It’s a split second judgment in which they will decide “is it worth that?” Another reason for making sure your main photograph is as appealing as possible.

Area: again, a quick glance ensures the property isn’t in an undesirable location. Obviously, any search area will include highlights and lowlights, so a buyer is keeping an eye on location during their search.

Keywords: they may be looking for specific words such as ‘contemporary’, ‘land’ or ‘annexe’ so if a feature is an integral part of the value of your home, this is where you need to convey that information.

Step 4: they click

If the four elements above all receive a mental ‘tick’, a buyer will click on the property. What they do next depends on the portal and its design, but generally it will involve scrolling through all the images first. It’s important therefore, to have the right number of photographs showcasing your house, and that they are all attractive and flattering. As a general rule of thumb, less than 10 images is too few (unless it is a flat or very small house) and more than 20 will leave a buyer feeling they have seen the whole house. (See my post ‘How many photos is too many?)

Next, they will read the first part of the introduction, and click on a floorplan if there is one. A well-drawn floorplan can be a real asset to your property advert, as it will attract only the buyers who feel your house is appropriate to their needs, so reducing timewasting viewings.

Agents who include reams of written description on this page are really doing themselves a disservice, as the brochure link, if there is one, can often get lost in all the wording. Rightmove, for some reason, post the link to a pdf brochure below the written description, so some buyers won’t find this at all.

Not all agents use pdf brochure links, but I think they are vital in the quest to present a property in the most attractive format possible, without being limited by the portals’ page style. It’s the place to get creative, and make sure your home really jumps off the page to a buyer. If they have downloaded your details, it’s a really good indication of their increased interest.

Step 5: they take action

Frustratingly for a seller, most searches on property portals end at this point. It may be that the browser was just, well, browsing, (think of it as window shopping), or they might not be ready to take the next step, which is booking a viewing. Perhaps they have not yet sold their own property, secured a mortgage or persuaded a partner. Whatever it is, we know statistically your property has to show up in around 300 searches a day to be in with a chance of getting viewings. This figure varies by region, time of year and market buoyancy, but as a general rule of thumb it is a good indication there are enough buyers around at your price level.

If they are ready to take the next step, a buyer will contact the agent, by phone or email, to ask questions and book a viewing. It’s worth checking out these two forms of contact to ensure that your agent is actively responding to these requests, and in a timely and efficient manner. Try clicking on the ‘request details’ button on all four portals using different email addresses, and keep a note of what happens next. Ask a friend to call the agent whilst you listen, to see how they respond to a buyer enquiry. If necessary, give constructive feedback to your agent, and if they don’t respond positively, consider a change of agent. After all, a buyer who has followed all of the steps above and who is still keen enough to want to view your home, deserves to be treated like the very valued buyer they may well become. Don’t lose them at this point!

Remember the post AIDA?  Attention – interest – desire – action. It’s no good having the first three if you can’t convert a browser into a viewer, and then in to a buyer. Try it for yourself: get familiar with the property portals; make them your friend. Only by understanding how they work will you get into your buyer’s mind, and see what they are searching for.

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.

A bedroom with a window view that highlights various elements such as the curtains, pillows, cabinets, a flower vase, and a wall-mounted candle chandelier.

A bedroom with a window view that highlights various elements such as the curtains, pillows, cabinets, a flower vase, and a wall-mounted candle chandelier.

Your house is finally on the market: it’s looking wonderful, your photography looks great, your brochure enticing; time to sit back and wait for an offer, right?

Wrong!

When it comes to selling your home, patience is not the virtue it’s cracked up to be, and the most successful sales are always the early ones. It’s vital to spend some time each week to ensure you’re doing all you can to keep interest in your property as high as possible. Here’s my 20 minute weekly workout for home sellers:

Call your agent – make sure you speak to them every week, without fail. It’s so important to keep your house in their minds, and keep the relationship as warm as possible. You should know all the staff on first name terms, and even if you just call to ask how the market is doing, your house will be the first one they mention to their next enquirer.  5 minutes

Check your sale board – is it straight? Is it clean? A grubby, damaged board sends all the wrong signals so make sure it looks as if it was only just put up. 2 minutes

Monitor your Rightmove Property Performance Report – make sure your agent knows to send it to you every week, and watch the trends. If interest starts to dip, ask your agent to swap the leading image, and try a new headline.  Test and assess the results on a regular basis to make sure your property is getting the attention it deserves. (Find our more about your Performance Report here) 5 minutes

Check out your competition – spend some time on Rightmove and the other property portals each week, so you can see what’s just come to the market, what properties have gone under offer, and how they compare with yours. 4 minutes

Clean your front door – and make sure any plants at the front of your house are looking their best. Take away dead leaves, wipe down pots and check your doorbell works.   2 minutes

Check for any light bulbs that might have gone around your home; extractor fan lights and underlighting in kitchens are the usual culprits. 2 minutes

Spend just 20 minutes on your house sale each week and it’ll most likely be 20 minutes more than your competitors are spending. It’s all about standing out, in all the positive ways you can stand out. Snag your buyer’s attention long enough to pique their interest, create a desire and with a little bit of luck, they will take the right action – to buy your house!

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.

A peek of a bedroom with blurry pillows and a focused heart-shaped keychain hanging on the door knob.

Property pricing is of paramount important these days. I don’t mean the question of ‘value’ – but instead the art of setting the right price so that the portal searches are optimised. For example: you have a house to sell worth approximately £1 million. The agent suggests an asking price of £999,999. “It’s a psychological price point” they tell you. I don’t agree. At all. I say – market at £1,000,000, and here’s why:

  • £999,999 is a cheap ploy – an ‘Asda’ price. Your buyers aren’t daft, so don’t treat them as if they are! Give them some respect and a ‘Harrods’ price. Make it £1 million straight.
  • £1 million is actually an aspirational price point – your buyers WANT to spend one million pounds on a house, and tell their friends and family that they have done;
  • £1 million is a very confident price – it says “my house is worth a million pounds”  £999,999 is apologetic, humble: it says “make me an offer”;
  • £1 million gets your property shown in more searches. At £999,999 on Rightmove, your property will only appear in searches up to £1 million. At £1,000,000 straight, it appears not only in searches up to £1 million, but also those over: potentially doubling traffic to your property advert.

After all, as my Dad would have said, “Look after the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves”.

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.

A puzzle and books on a table, wall decorations, basket with firewood beside the fireplace, and a tall lampshade

“Price on application” is a tag applied to some properties on the market, the price of which, for one reason or another, the agent or owner wants to keep secret. The theory is that an interested buyer will make the effort to call the agent, to find out the price, and even then, agents can prove to be cagey, to say the least.

So what is POA all about, why are some properties marketed this way, and most importantly, does it work?

A price can be kept secret for a number of reasons: the owner could have requested it, perhaps to keep this information from his neighbours or family; he could be a celebrity, and value his privacy generally, so this is just a natural extension of his cautiousness. There is usually only one reason for an agent to choose to market a house at POA: if he has absolutely no idea what it’s worth. He doesn’t want to commit himself to an asking price, so by marking the property without a price, in essence, he may hope to generate enquiries to help him gauge the likely interest and so determine a suitable asking price.

But – and it is a big but – if this property is marketed on the internet, POA doesn’t work! Once upon a time when the internet was just a baby (and so were most of today’s agents) an agent could make up an asking price on the spot when challenged by a buyer. These days, nothing is secret thanks to the internet. You see, when a property is uploaded to a property portal, POA is merely the descriptor; an asking price has to be selected. Therefore, all a buyer needs to do is to enter a wide search, in terms of asking prices and area, and the so-called secretly-priced property will magically appear in the slot allocated by the uploaded asking price.

Let me give you an example: if I enter ‘Reigate’ into Rightmove, with no upper price limit, I may get a list of properties with a POA property right at the top, with no way of knowing its real asking price. If however, I extend the area to say, 10 miles of Reigate, the POA property will then show in order and I will be able to see roughly where it sits. The reason the POA will probably show at the top of my list by the way, is that POAs tend to be in the upper price brackets, typically at more than £2.5 million.

POA is in my opinion, a little bit arrogant, misguided and it doesn’t work. Can you imagine if next time you go into your local newsagent, all the stickers on the cans of Coke and the baked beans simply say ‘price on application’?!

If you’re a seller with a unique, hard-to-price house for sale, don’t let your agent talk you into it, and if you’re an agent, re-educate your client so they understand why it’s such a bad idea.

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.

Do you know what a Rightmove Property Performance Report is?

Well done those if you do! But if you think it sounds like an investor report, you may want to read on. Particularly if you’re trying to sell your house, and you’ve never been shown this very useful report.

The Rightmove Property Performance Report is available to all those estate agents who use Rightmove.co.uk to advertise their properties. What this report can show is:

  • How well your property is ‘performing’ in terms of the number of times it appears in a buyer’s search on Rightmove
  • How your property compares with the performance of similar properties on Rightmove
  • These statistics over the last week, fortnight or thirty days.

Statistically, there is a direct correlation between the number of times your property listing is clicked on, and the viewings generated on it. So, it’s really important that you get as many clicks as possible.

First things first, ask your estate agent for your Rightmove Property Performance Report.

This is data your estate agent has access to, inside the Rightmove console. If they are not using Rightmove, they will be able to access similar statistics within Zoopla, On the Market or Prime Location. Property listings with images and floorplans, that are updated regularly, have the best performance metrics on Rightmove and the other portals. This Report also shows the number of times your property listing was clicked on over the last 7, 14 or 30 days, together with a comparable against the previous period. Additionally, this statistic can be compared against similar property listings on Rightmove, so you can see whether your property advert is competing well or not. A ‘similar’ listing is typically what a searcher would see alongside your property when they search on Rightmove, and therefore could be considered as your ‘competition’.

If your home listing is not performing or competing well, it could be a strong indicator of the reason you’re not getting viewings on your house. Here’s my checklist to try, before you rush to reduce the price on a house that’s not getting interest:

  1. Check your photographs – do they really show your home at its best, and are they up to date? If your outside images reflect a different season than the current one, ask your estate agent to re-photograph your house and garden. Then check your next performance report to see if your numbers have increased.

  2. Revisit your property description.  Firstly, draw up a profile of the kind of person you think is most likely to buy your home.  Age, status, motivation for moving, and so on.  Then write down a list of adjectives about your house that you think would most appeal to these target buyers.  Look at your property description – does it need rewriting to incorporate these key words? Your agent can help you with this. I’ve changed property listings in the past to better appeal to a family, or to someone looking for a change in lifestyle. Words matter, so make sure your written description best sells the primary features of your home, to the person most likely to be attracted to those features. Kaletra AIDS, HIV, Covid-19 Kaletra official site – Buy Kaletra without a prescription!

  3. Make sure your listing is complete – eg does it have a floorplan that can be viewed easily, even on a mobile? The best floorplans are colour-coded, able to zoom in on, and include a compass showing the direction of the sun on the house.

If these three steps still don’t improve your listing performance, try these tips:

  • Change the main listing property description to just one snappy headline. A question is always eye-catching: eg “wouldn’t you love to watch the sun go down sitting on this balcony?”
  • Change the main listing image for one which doesn’t show the property at all, but instead just the front door, or name plate.
  • Include some information in the front-page introduction, eg ‘The only home in the Lake District with a well in the downstairs toilet’ (probably best you make your statement truthful)

Before your agent makes any changes to your advert, ask them to produce a report as a benchmark, then compare it in say a week, with the new click-through rate to see if there’s been any improvement in it.

So, if you haven’t seen a Rightmove Property Performance Report before, call your agent right away and ask for yours.  If they seem a bit clueless on the subject, you might want to think about finding a new agent.  After all, this is the digital age, and informed sellers will always have the edge.

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.

Happy selling!

Sam

A wooden bed with a lamp and a face figurine beside a window that brightens the room

Whichever of the four main property portals your house had been listed on – Rightmove, Primelocation, Zoopla or OntheMarket – you need to make sure it is working for you. Check that it is:

  • Punchy – does it stand out above the other properties?
  • Good front shot – is it stale?  Is it seasonal? Can it be improved?
  • 6-8 photographs – too few is not enough to whet a buyer’s appetite, but too many and they will think they don’t need to view.  Are your internal images good enough?
  • Brochure download – can your brochure be downloaded and printed as a pdf?
  • Floorplan download – check your floorplan loads large enough to read, and print it out to ensure it’s clear enough

Think of your online advert as an extension of your brochure; it needs to really sell your house, and encourage a buyer to book a viewing. After all, that’s what it’s there to do!

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.

A lamp and a candle on top of the wooden table beside a bed with a floral designed pillow

A lamp and a candle on top of the wooden table beside a bed with a floral designed pillow

No, I’m not being personal, I’m talking about your online property advert!

Take a moment to find your house on Rightmove or one of the other property portals, and tell me what can see, without scrolling down the page. Web developers call this ‘above the fold’ and it receives far more traffic than the bottom section of the webpage.

If your agent has included, as he should have done, a link to the pdf of your brochure, on Rightmove this link will appear at the bottom. If there is reams and reams of description about your house, a buyer may have two scroll down two, three or more times before they even come to it. Most will just not bother, statistics tell us, and your lovely brochure will go unnoticed.

The solution is easy: ask your agent to chop down your description until you can see your brochure link without scrolling down. It appears just above your EPC (energy performance certificate) so edit your copy carefully until you estimate it fits here nicely. Then send the revised description to your agent, and ask them to update the portals accordingly.

Don’t worry about this loss of description; your online advert is not the place to go into detail about what your property has; think of it as a newspaper advert, and only include a brief but punchy write up that will tempt your buyer to pick up the phone and book a viewing; after all, that really is the purpose of your online advert, isn’t it?

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.