The Educated Choice

(386) 316-8687

Proper pricing and marketing is critical to the timely sale of a home.  The Falkenberg Team has an extensive background in business management, sales and marketing.  We will evaluate your situation and perform the necessary actions to sell your home as quickly as possible.

Our customized marketing plans typically includes the following elements:

Pricing a home properly is a combination of both art and science.  A REALTOR^® must be able to analyze the statistics behind historical sales, current listings, and the ever-changing economic factors that influence the housing market.  There is a fine line between pricing a home too low and pricing it too high.  A low-priced home will not yield its true market value, while an over-priced home may result in too few showings to maximize the number of potential buyers who may consider the purchase.  A home must be positioned favorably versus competitive offerings, and the purchase price must be in line with past sales in order to match its appraisal value.  A seller does not want his/her home on the market too long for fear of prospects thinking that something is wrong with it.  Even worse is selling a home for a price later found to be much lower than similar properties sold.

To find your home's true worth, The Falkenberg Team will rely on its experience, knowledge of the current market, and intuition.  In addition, they will run a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) in which your home is evaluated in comparison to past sales and current listings, with your market price adjusted accordingly.

The Falkenberg Team and Better Homes & Properties place listing-specific ads in area publications each week, maximizing distribution and exposure of our listings.  The publications used, depending on the type of home and the listing period, include the following:

Real estate-specific publications are often sought by home buyers to search for a wide variety of listings in specific areas.  For buyers without easy access to the Internet, these booklets are excellent sources of information.  (It should be noted that all of these publications have affiliated websites.)  The publications employed by The Falkenberg Team and Better Homes & Properties, depending on the type of home and the listing period, include:

The Internet plays a tremendous role in the home buying and selling process.  According to "The Florida 2005 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers," a study conducted by the National Association of REALTORS^®, the following was determined:  Although 87% of homebuyers used a real estate professional during their home search, 15% of buyers first found their home on the Internet.  48% of first-time homebuyers used the Internet frequently to search for homes compared with 55% of repeat homebuyers.  In addition, nearly 3 out of 4 sellers used the Internet to market their homes.  Website-based home photos and virtual tours (video, digital photos, and audio) greatly enhance the selling process by allowing potential buyers to view multiple properties without ever leaving the comfort of their own homes.  In addition to the sites referenced above (affiliates of the various publications), The Falkenberg Team and Better Homes & Properties use several Internet sites to feature their listings, including the following:

The MLS is one of the most important tools utilized in the buying and selling of homes.  Although not available to the general public, real estate professionals who are members of the board (designated as REALTORS^®) can access the MLS and easily find homes that match a buyer's parameters.  The power of the MLS becomes obvious when one realizes that each and every listing by REALTORS^® in a given board (area) is available to all other members.  In essence, all board members are working with all of the MLS listings.  It should be noted that the average consumer does have access to a version of the MLS via member and affiliate websites.  This type of access is known as IDX (Internet Data Exchange).  For an example of IDX used by The Falkenberg Team, click on the MLS logo below.

Next to the MLS listings, perhaps the best advertising for the sale of a home is its yard sign.  Many buyers simply drive through desirable neighborhoods and request information on a home via its "For Sale" sign.  An information box is often placed on the sign post, filled with brochures or flyers containing specific information about the home.  This allows "drive-by shoppers" an easy means of comparing homes that they have seen.

A lock box (also known as a key box, Supra ibox, etc.) allows all REALTORS^® in a given board (area) to access a home for sale.  The sales associate simply uses an electronic device (eKey, Palm Pilot, etc.) to open the lock box and retrieve the house key.  For security purposes, the electronic passcode of the device is changed daily, requiring the sales associate to synchronize it with a master passcode each day.  The use of a lock box enables more showings, as all member associates can open a box and they are therefore not forced to travel great distances to pick up house keys.  An electronic lock box tracks each associate's entry into the property.  This not only provides added security, but enables the seller and his broker to know who viewed the home and to contact them for feedback.  In addition, the box can be used to capture visitors' comments about the property which may aid in its sale.  Of course, the use of a lock box is at the seller's discretion.  The Falkenberg Team will be more than happy to be present at all showings, whether or not a lock box is employed.

Better Homes & Properties distributes general brochures which advertise the company name and the various services offered.  Name recognition is important in listing and selling a home, as both customers as well as other real estate professionals know that they are dealing with experienced professionals.  The Falkenberg Team creates listing-specific flyers for each home that it markets.  These flyers are placed in the home for sale and in information boxes on yard signs, and mailed to potential buyers and top agents.

The newsletters that we create and distribute contain relevant market information, newsworthy items pertaining to real estate, company news of interest and listing information.  Our newsletters are not canned copies, but rather are custom-created with specific buyers in mind.

To aggressively promote and sell a listed home, The Falkenberg Team utilizes targeted direct mail in the forms of letters, flyers, brochures, newsletters and postcards.  These mailings are sent to other brokers, top agents in the area, various professionals, past customers, neighbors and people in our sphere of influence.  Direct phone campaigns and general networking are also employed in the selling process.

Open houses are an effective means to showcase properties to potential buyers.  Newspaper ads and strategically-placed signs inform the general public of the locations and times.  The Falkenberg Team also holds Brokers Open Houses, which are geared toward other REALTORS^®, allowing them to preview the properties en masse and identify homes that their contacts may be interested in.  For every new listing by Better Homes & Properties, agent tours ("caravans") are held to allow all of the company's agents to preview the home, comment on its features and price, and offer suggestions.  As a further incentive, Better Homes & Properties offers an "in-house bonus" to company agents who find buyers for Better Homes & Properties listings.

Relocation companies assist both buyers and sellers in their moves to other areas, typically connecting them with real estate companies in their destination locations.