Offline marketing ideas to sell your property quickly

Over the last decade or so, we have all become obsessed with technology. Nowhere is this more evident than in the UK property market.

There has been a paradigm shift in how we buy and sell homes, largely brought about by the success of portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla. The proliferation of online estate agents has also played a major role.

But what about the old traditional techniques of selling a house? Is it worth having a ‘For Sale’ board outside your property? Is print advertising dead? Are local newspaper ads still worth it?

Why Having a ‘For Sale’ Board is Still Important

These days, some estate agents and owners do not even use a ‘For Sale’ sign. Although it’s true that many buyers now shop for their next property on the internet, evidence suggests that most people still buy within a short distance of where they currently live.  In fact, the average distance of where people chose to move is within nine miles of their existing home.

Also, given that people generally live within a short commute to their work, it seems obvious that not having a ‘For Sale’ board outside is a bad idea.  An absent board outside your property could mean you are missing an opportunity to let local residents know that you’re looking to sell. Perhaps they will see your house up for sale as they move around. Friends and family might also see the board and let them know.

Although the distance people move tends to increase with age and varies across the country the general trend is to remain within the local area.

‘For Sale’ boards would appear to be one of the cheapest ways possible to market your property to local residents given that we know it is most likely that your next buyer will come from your own community.

A well-designed board with bright, engaging colours and clear details of how to find out more should help to get that phone ringing and bring you one step closer to a quick sale of your property. The evidence would suggest that it should play a fundamental part of the marketing strategy in selling your home.

Newspaper Ads and Print Media

So, what of newspapers ads and the print media in general? Why do estate agents still pay to have properties listed in the local press?

The distribution of local press has been declining in recent years. Ofcom report that the readership of printed media has dropped from 40% in 2014 to just 29% by 2016.

However, the readership demographics tell a different story. Whilst young people prefer to consume information online, the older generations still enjoy reading their local newspaper. In fact, 30.9 million people in the UK read local newspapers every week (Source: Johnston Press) and the majority of the readership is over 40.

A survey of 204,000 participants also revealed the median age of newspapers readers to be 53 years old whereas those visiting newspaper sites online were 38.

We know that home ownership levels increase with age so, in terms of targeting the optimum demographic, there is still definitely a place for print media.

So, before we dismiss using offline advertising to sell our homes, let’s remember these vital statistics. Although they appear to be in decline, these methods should still play an important role for homeowners looking to reach the widest audience possible in the hope of finding that elusive buyer for their property.

This post was brought to you by Property Solvers, a ‘hybrid’ estate agency that combines the best of online and offline techniques to ensure the fastest sale of your house. They guarantee to sell your house in 7 to 28 days. They can buy from you directly for cash or list your property on all the major portals through our Express Estate Agency. Contact them for a free valuation and cash offer on 0800 044 3733.