Builders are the lifeblood of communities, providing the homes people need to live in. But with soaring lumber and materials prices, these companies need help to keep sales steady.
A well-known property developer suggests vital services that could help boost home sales:
- Sprucing up the curb appeal
- Upgrading old appliances to energy-efficient ones
- Adding trendy highlights to kitchens and bathrooms
Curb Appeal
Whether a buyer is walking up to a home in person or scrolling through photos online, the exterior of a house is the first thing that will grab their attention. The right curb appeal can help you sell a home quickly and at an optimal price.
A poorly maintained deck, overgrown bushes, and outdoor eyesores like trash cans and utility boxes all send a negative message to prospective buyers. Adding simple projects, like washing the garage door and a fresh coat of paint, can make the whole property look more appealing.
Homes with excellent curb appeal sell for 7% more than comparable properties. Investing in curb appeal is crucial to building trust with your clients and boosting home sales.
Interior Design
The first minute or two a potential home buyer spends in your model home is crucial. They will then decide whether they can see themselves living there. A well-designed interior will appeal to their lifestyle, tastes, and needs.
A good designer can help a builder create a unique design that will sell quickly. They can provide 2D or 3D interior design plans, renderings, product selections, and curated design schemes. They can also assist with field communication and act as a liaison between the builders, architects, engineers, and trade specialists.
A home crafted by a qualified interior designer will age well, saving the owner time and money on costly renovations. This will increase a property’s value and make it a usable work of art that stands the test of time.
Marketing
Builders are highly demanding regarding the products they select for their projects. Price is significant, but they want side perks like customization, delivery, and customer service.
Build your marketing tools with New Home Marketing to address these concerns early on. For example, have your sales team create webinars that aren’t focused solely on your product line but instead on the broader industry.
This lets your team address a builder’s most common questions and concerns about your products. You can then follow up with highly informed phone calls to builders who have demonstrated an interest in your product and meet specific criteria. This isn’t a time- or labour-intensive strategy; it can quickly diversify your builder client pool.
Negotiation
Whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market, it takes skill and a keen awareness of the local real estate market to negotiate the best price and terms when selling homes. This includes setting home prices, negotiating counteroffers, and considering closing costs, loan and occupancy terms, and contingencies.
Understanding buyer psychology is also essential when navigating negotiations. Identifying their desires, priorities, and pain points allows you to tailor offers that align with their goals and guide them toward accepting favourable terms. You can also help boost buyers’ negotiating power by offering to pay closing costs or a mortgage credit. These concessions show you’re serious about buying the home and can take a lot of pressure off sellers. In turn, this can drive bidding wars and record-breaking sale prices.
Customer Service
Customer service has become a key differentiator for businesses, and home builders are no exception. Home buyers and realtors want exceptional experiences with companies they do business with, and those experiences often last long after the sale.
One way to do this is with emails, friendly follow-up calls, or even a personal visit from your sales team. For example, Whitmer Lighting offers home buyers valuable information in exchange for their name and email address on their newsletter signup form.
This information-first marketing approach can help home buyers feel connected to a brand and increase their trust and confidence in purchasing. This can result in shorter warranty claim processes, more positive online reviews, and more sales for the builder.
