When you’re selling a homestead in a rural area, it’s important to be aware that it is not like selling a typical property. Selling a home in a rural area is different. And if you want a fast sale for the right price, you do need to think about taking the right steps to accomplish it.
There are a variety of important details that you need to know that could help you here from the right sale techniques to preparing your home and even marketing the dream. You do need to know what buyers want to hear because otherwise they’re going to decide hey, maybe living in the country isn’t the right decision to make. So, let’s get started by thinking about the way to approach marketing.
Selling A Homestead In A Rural Area
Marketing And Promoting The Rural Home
You might think that these days all you need to do to sell your home is to get it set up online and you’re sorted. Some home sellers even decide that they don’t need a real estate agent to sell their home. Instead, they take a few pictures, write their own ad and post it on the free to use sites online. This hardly ever works because immediately, your home sale looks unprofessional. People might even assume that you were unable to get an estate agent to represent your property. You can see why this would be an issue. But that’s not the only problem for the rural home seller.
You see, when you are selling a homestead in a rural area, there’s a good chance that people aren’t looking for a house in your local area. Instead, they are doing a more general location search. This includes all the towns and villages around a specific city. That’s a problem because if you’re only advertising online, there’s a good chance they never see your listing.
That’s why the best real estate agents still use the older more traditional ways to market a property as well. If you look at sites like LJHooker.co.nz, you’ll see that they still post homes in their company windows. That’s important because, for a staggering amount of home buyers, this is the first point of call. Particularly, if they are house hunting in a rural area.
Can modern web marketing work for rural homes? Of course, but do make sure you use a professional agent. They need to be using local SEO tactics and offline measures to get your property on the map.
You can also consider more unique options for sale like auctioning. Auctioning can be a great option for selling a homestead in a rural area. And don’t worry, this isn’t like eBay. The starting point is close to the market value, so even if things go wrong, you won’t sell at a loss.
Know The USPs (Unique Selling Points)
Every home has a USP, but for rural homebuyers, the answer is often quite specific. So, what type of selling points are the rural homebuyers looking for?
Peace and quiet is a big one. People don’t want to move to the middle of nowhere and find they are still haunted by traffic noise pollution. Make sure you mention how far away your house is from the nearest main road, how quiet the neighbors are and how peaceful it is at night. Buyers moving to the country will love these ideas.
Of course, some buyers will also be looking for that somewhat cliche, rural village community feel. If you live in an area where this exists, make sure you drop it in casually: “If you do move here, the neighbors throw some fantastic BBQs.” Or “the village market sells some of the best meat around every Wednesday at noon.” Buyers love the idea that they are essentially moving into a thriving community.
What about space? There are plenty of ways to accentuate just how much space your home will offer a new buyer. For instance, you need to cut the grass short. A landscaper like SecondNature.co.nz can help you out here. This does have a perceptual effect and keeping the garden clear is also a great option. In fact, you should make sure that you are keeping every area of the home as clear as possible without reaching the point where it seems bare.
Remember, one of the biggest selling points of the rural lifestyle is that the homes are massive. And compared to the size, fantastic value for money. Why is space so important? A lot of people who are moving to the country are looking to start a family. Make sure you point out how safe the neighborhood is. Kids can ride up and down the streets or play on the front lawn and parents have no need to worry. You need to sell it as the dream place to live.
Does Appearance Matter?
A lot of rural home sellers think that property on sale can look old-fashioned and outdated. The hope is that you can pass the property off as ‘vintage’ or ‘cozy.’ These are two of the buzzwords you’ll often see in ads from property agents that mean sellers haven’t made any attempts to renovate. The same sellers then wonder why their property isn’t selling at a high market value.
The answer is that buyers want to have their cake and eat it too. Rather, they want the modern home in the rural setting and if you don’t give it to them, someone else will. This is perhaps where rural home and typical home marketing tend to merge. The areas you need to focus on are the same. For instance, imagine how perfect your rural home would look with an updated countertop and grand French doors, leading out into a stunning garden. Features like this are sure to impress home buyers. Of course, sometimes vintage can certainly work and look stunning.
As you can see then, there are a number of things that you will need to take into account when you selling a homestead in a rural setting. One final tip would be to make sure that you are selling in the summer. Winter is always a bad time to sell a home. But for rural properties, it can be even worse with icy, ungritted roads and wet patches of green that make even the dream home a hard sell.
Do you have some tips for selling a homestead in a rural area? Please leave me your comments in the box below.