Aug 15, 2017 by - Christina Griffin

How Floor Plans Can Sell Homes

The Real Estate trade often boils down to how well a product can be sold; individuals and families looking to invest in property fully understand exactly how steep the stakes are. If a single misstep occurs, they are entirely likely to carry their business elsewhere. Indeed, the thriving Real Estate market supports such agent-hopping movements; on average, a family may look into thirty homes or so before deciding on which one clicks for them. Such decisions happen to be understandably delicate for many such buyers, since years’ worth of financial budgeting, loans, and paying mortgages might go into owning your own home.  

Alternatively, individuals are finding it exceedingly simple to carry out the property-hunt themselves; Real Estate websites such as Zillow and Trulia garner hundreds of millions of website views monthly. Specific businesses are now even dedicated to apartment-hunting, such as ApartmentGuide. People are now able to skim through prospective options on the go via mobile applications. This makes their research exhaustive, informed, and thorough. By the time they may choose to approach an agent, selling just the right home might prove to be all the more difficult.  

As such, many Real Estate agents, like myself, may resort to a number of often-ineffective marketing gimmicks to attract the interest of prospective buyers. However, unless they have something truly unique to bring to the table, they may find themselves losing clients, and having all their showings rejected. 

So when the market becomes this competitive and complex, what factor may truly sway the decision a buyer has to make? The answer lies in floor plans. I have found that these simple assets are a must-have for making effective sales; not only do floor plans accommodate the cramped schedules of many clients unable to physically view homes, but they also add an extra layer of appeal where pictures and video have become the standard.  Here’s four reasons why you should integrate floor plans into your marketing strategy: 

1. A floor plan provides a comfortable bird’s eye view of any building.

This vantage point proves to be a distinctive approach in selling property. A floor plan details the exact layout and dimensions of a building, and how each room or floor correlates with another. For larger families, such attention to detail may prove to be the selling point, as they view the house in terms of storage and accommodation.  

For individuals looking to purchase apartments, the floor plan of an apartment building or complex would detail the relationship between one apartment and the next, the exact dimensions and advantages of any single story and just how well a builder or architect was able to allot space.  

Floor plans give an accurate sense of dimension and space where physical viewing cannot: buyers are able to view room sizes in comparison to one another, and even go so far as to arrange their belongings and furnishings to see which building offers the most comfortable fit.  

2. Floor plans can quickly confirm whether potential buyers want a physical viewing or not.

After prospective buyers have viewed room orientations and distances (for example: how close a nursery or children’s room may be to the parents’ room) they may go on to the next step and request a physical viewing. This proves to dramatically cut down on how much time is wasted by buyers who would instantly reject the house. For individuals with cramped schedules, a thorough floor plan may prove to be a cooperative tool, and shows how willing an agent is to make sure buyers make the right decisions. 

Another reason why I opt for using floor plans is because if the seller in question inhabits the property, then unnecessary viewings may also make life a lot easier for them. Either way, going the extra mile has personally proven to impress buyers and sellers alike.  

3. Combining technology with property-selling has proven to significantly impress and sway buyers.

Three-dimensional house tours may be attached to the details and photographs section of any listing. Floor plans may incorporate pictures of the listing in user-friendly ways: small icons located in each room detailed on a floor plan may redirect to a real-life picture of the same room.  

For higher listings, I prefer replacing conventional layouts with Matterport designs. The dollhouse view proves to be a favorite among clients.   

4. Displaying the functionality of a home is now as important as all other factors.

I have also experienced that each buyer or family may have different requirements from a home: some may be looking into the aesthetic appeal of a structure, whereas others may focus on the utility and storage space. The age old Real Estate rule of location, location, location may not prove to stand in the digital age any longer. People now place as much thought into how functional a home is, as they do to where it may be located. If a building is not structured satisfactorily, then it gets booted in favor of another.  

Where floor plans can assist buyers in accurately viewing and arranging possible homes, they also aid in adding to a larger aesthetic appeal. Pictures and video have now become a standard marketing strategy, but floor plans may do the real talking. Any room may be spruced up to look its best, but buyers now understand that there is no compromise on an appealing design. Where a kitchen can be re-tiled, and room re-painted, there is no immediate change a buyer can impose on the architectural design of a building. Floor plans detail such designs, alongside their possible utility.  

How to include floor plans into your marketing strategy

Whether to incorporate floor plans onto flyers or websites, I have found this to be a crucial tool in selling homes faster. We recently had a listing in South Tampa, which has now been sold. The original seller managed to add some improvements to the original layout, and the floor plans were provided with the listing details to serious buyers. This happened to save a lot of time and resources, as clients could choose to view or reject the listing based off the additions the floor plan showed. Making major decisions now hinge on more factors than one, and a floor plan’s multipurpose approach meets these changing requirements.  

Quite apart from the utilitarian benefit, I use floor plans to display just how seriously I take my trade; if someone is willing to go the extra mile to ensure a family or buyer makes the correct purchasing decision, then buyers are more likely to stick to you even when they choose to view multiple homes.  

Life in the digital age is now constantly on the go, and good decisions must be made under a time crunch. Floor plans save precious time and effort of any party involved, and go a long way in helping homes sell faster than ever before.  

I highly recommend you consider using floor plans on a listing presentation. Show the seller you will go above and beyond to market the home.  I have included an example of a floor plan that we recently completed. The seller was very persistent the home was larger than the tax records. The floor plan cleared up all of his concerns and helped us seller the home quickly to an out of state buyer. 

Our team uses HomeDepot to order our floorplans. Its only $99 dollars and well worth the expense. Order your floorplan through https://www.homedepotmeasures.com/ they claim to be nationwide. 

Floor plans will engage your potential buyers and leave a lasting impression. Let LabCoat Agents know when you’ve given them a try!

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