creative farming idea

While we don’t see nearly as many mailings when marketing budgets shrink, now is the time to send more, not less, to your “farm.” One of the pieces that has been overused and simply not effective is “Free Market Analysis.” If you want to get some response to your emails, try this approach.

Find a subdivision, townhome, or condominium complex where the blueprints were built with only slight variations. Many will have model names and differ only in amenities like basement, fireplace, etc. Gather the data sold, active, pending, and expired by model for the past two years, and you’re ready to send that next note or card:

“Hello, I just finished my analysis of (complex or subdivision name) and the average price sold has (whatever). While the market remains (blah-blah), there are several sales to report: (here you can give numbers , high price, low price, time on the market, etc.).

If you want to know the current market value of your (home or unit), just give me a call.

As always, if you or any of your friends have a real estate question, I’d be happy to help.

Regards,”

When a call comes in, it will simply ask for the model name or description to allow you to identify the house and go to that page of your data. You’ll be able to tell them recent sales info, what didn’t sell, how long it averaged on the market, and go with the line, “Of course it will depend on condition, but that’s the current range.”

It is important to repeat the mailing three or four times a year, always with the same message, and you will be surprised at the response that tends to increase with each mailing. As time goes by, you will also become familiar with the names of the owners and come to be recognized as an “insider” of the area.

Many brokers and companies offer a “free market analysis.” This is different, what you are saying is: “I know how much your house is worth, if you want to know, call me.”