Register Real Estate Advisors

This is a follow up to the Perceived Value blog (part 1, 2, and 3).

In our lifetime, we have all made many purchases. Some were major and required much thought, and others were minor impulsive buys; but they all had one thing in common, benefits. Let’s take the purchase of clothing for example. When shopping for a new jacket, shirt, or whole outfit, many people like to see how it looks on them before they buy. People want to imagine how they will live with it, walk in it, work in it, and of course how others might see them. If they feel good about what they imagine, they will feel good about themselves and make the purchase. So what are they really buying? Is it not the imagination of what benefits might result from purchasing these clothes?

A vehicle is another example. When purchasing a vehicle, many people take it for a test drive before they buy. What is going through their mind when they are on the road? They might wonder how many people they can fit, even imagining who those people are. They might imagine it being parked in their driveway, or they wonder about the reaction and comments co-workers will have when they pull in with a new car. What about taking trips, where are they going and how they look in the drivers’ seat? Where will I put my coffee? They even change the radio to their favorite station imagining that they already own it. So, again, what are they really buying and how do these examples relate to selling property?

When selling property, we have to release the buyer within us and remember how we ourselves are influenced to make a purchase. Many realtors and sellers focus only on the features and amenities of a home such as its spacious living room, newly remodeled kitchen, four bedrooms, hard wood floors, and energy efficient appliances. But how do all these translate to benefit for the buyer? What is it that they are really buying, a house or a home? We can’t forget that it is not the house they are buying but rather it is how they will live in it! (more…)

Before a buyer views the property, and even before the property is listed; sellers should evaluate the property and take note of every aspect of the home including, curb appeal, odors, lighting, finishes, furniture (if occupied), or the need of bringing in furniture to define a space. Take special note of unusual or modified floor plans. Once you have analyzed the property thoroughly, you can now develop a comprehensive presentation plan that includes furniture, art, lighting, and accessories if vacant, and rearrangement and decluttering if occupied. Presenting the property is not simply the rearrangement of furniture, cleaning or decorating. Property presentation is using design and marketing to sell space and a lifestyle that buyers want. It is marketing a product to gain a faster and more profitable sale. Presenting the property allows buyers to see the full potential of the space. It gives them reference as to how their own furnishings will work, and creates an environment that they want as their own. The more a buyer can relate to the space, the higher they perceive the value to be.

The goal then is to let buyers “see” the full potential of every space within a property and allow them to imaging their lives there, giving them justification for aligning their perceived value with your asking price.

The real estate industry is a very “visual” market place. It has been said that 80% of buyers first search online for prospective properties to view. The key word here is “view.” What are they “seeing” when online? How are you presenting your property (product) online? If you are using photographs, ask yourself: do these photographs show the property well? Can prospective buyers see the space? When buyers view these photos, they will form a judgment as to what they perceived the value to be (price and functional value), then make a decision as to request a viewing or not. We want them to view the property, so we need to be sure our photographs show the full potential of the property. It is even more critical at the showing that buyers are able to see this potential as this will be the strongest selling point and the best opportunity for them to form a judgment.

Understanding how people form judgments and make decisions is key to knowing how to present a product to the market. We all make decisions and form judgments based on our visual perception of a product, environment, or situation. Visual perception is our ability to interpret information from our surroundings through the visible light that enters the eye, technically speaking. When talking about marketing and products, the resulting perception allows us to form a perceived value.

As sellers and marketers, we try to create perceived value through a buyers’ visual perception. Now, what is perceived value? When our product makes a touch point with one of the buyers’ five senses, immediately the buyer begins to form an opinion. Is this product attractive, of good quality, useful? Will it help the buyer to stand out or create the lifestyle they want? Although we could talk-up the features of our product, the reality is that customers buy products not for their features but rather for what they perceive the benefits of that product to be. An example I love to use when talking about benefits is a drill bit. When a buyer makes the effort to purchase a drill bit, what do they really want to buy? Is it the drill bit itself? Of course not! What they are truly buying is the benefit a drill bit will provide them, a drilled hole. So when selling property, we must ask ourselves, what are buyers really wanting to buy and how do we stimulate their visual perception and increase the perceived value of our properties?