Spent $2,750 on marketing for a rental sale, and none of it shows

Sold a 1970s three bedroom in a soft suburban submarket in the spring. Agent's standard package was included, and I paid an extra $2,750 out of pocket for what got sold to me as the premium treatment. Twilight photos, a 90 second walkthrough video with a voiceover, a floor plan, a written listing story instead of a bullet list, and three weeks of social promotion on the brokerage channels.

What happened. Listed at $289,000. 22 showings in the first two weeks, which sounded good. Three offers, all under ask. Closed at $276,500 after 47 days and a $3,100 repair credit.

The comparison I have is imperfect but it's what I have. A near identical unit two streets over, same builder, listed with phone photos and a nine word description, closed at $274,000 in 51 days. So my $2,750 bought me $2,500 more price and four fewer days.

The part that actually bothers me is I asked the agent up front how the package usually moves the number and got a story about a different house in a different price band. I accepted that because the total was small next to the sale price, which is exactly the reasoning that gets people to spend money on anything.

What I'd do differently. I'd ask for the last ten listings that used the package and the last ten that didn't, in the same price band, with days on market and list to close ratio. If the brokerage can't produce that, they don't know either, and I'd buy the photos alone and skip the rest. Photos I still believe in. The video and the social push I can't defend.

3 replies

1aaron_fitz10 Get yoursPRO6

Your comparison is one house. That's not enough to conclude anything, and I think you know that. What it does prove is that the package didn't produce an obvious jump, which is a different and still useful finding.

The piece I'd push on is the 22 showings. If the marketing pulled traffic and the traffic didn't convert to strong offers, the content did its job and the price or the condition did not. A $3,100 repair credit at closing suggests the house had something the twilight photos were working around.

1derekj19SB1B

Twilight photos on a 1970s three bed in a soft submarket is a package built for a different house. Somebody sold you the top tier because the top tier exists, not because it fit.

1tonyv88SO4CPRO6

I manage rentals rather than sales, so take the transfer with a grain of salt, but the thing that consistently moves days on market for us is the first three photos and the price. Everything else is decoration. We tested video walkthroughs across about 60 turnovers a couple of years ago and the effect was small enough that I couldn't separate it from seasonality.

What I'd add to your list for next time is asking who actually publishes the social promotion and to how many people. Three weeks on a brokerage account with 1,400 followers, most of them other agents, is worth close to nothing and it's usually the cheapest line item for them to include.

Spent $2,750 on marketing for a rental sale, and none of it shows

3 replies