Dee Greene Hill

Philadelphia Area REALTOR®

Real Estate

Case Study: Social Media Selling for Real Estate

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Most people you know are on social media. Maybe it’s Facebook or Instagram. Maybe they stick to LinkedIn and keep their online socializing professional. Either way, social media has become a dominant force in terms of communication. Pinterest alone has taken 1/3 of all searches away from Google, proving that social media is here to stay.

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Recently, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to list a beautiful 2BR w/den, 1.5 BA condo at 921 N. 4th Street in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia.  This property was completely renovated about 8 years ago.  Located on the first floor, it has gorgeous hardwood floors and a private back yard oasis.   I am a firm believer in social media selling – especially for real estate. I posted information about the open house across all of my social media channels. You could find home photos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. I posted about the property listing and open house multiple times with a myriad of beautiful photos and a very detailed description of the home. Within 2 weeks of acquiring the listing, the home was SOLD!  Actively marketing the property to other agents and driving traffic certainly played a role in getting the property sold.  However, I firmly believe that social media marketing was a huge factor in finding the perfect buyer for this home.

Here’s why social media selling is crucial whenever you are looking to sell your home.

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First, by sharing the professional photos of the home on my social media accounts, I expanded the reach and got more impressions. I used relevant hashtags and marketed to the perfect target audience. I spread the word about how amazing this home was by sharing it on social media.

I was also able to sell to people without selling to people. I could put gorgeous home photos and valuable information in front of the people who needed it the most while it felt organic and natural.

Next time you consider selling your home, ensure that your REALTOR is implementing a social media marketing strategy. Social media selling is going to help ensure your open house is filled and buyers are ready to put an offer in before they walk through the door.

You Will Need to Sell Your Home Twice

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A recent post on “The Home Story”, a site published by Fannie Mae, explained the difference between the price a seller may get for their home and the value an appraiser might assign the property.

The Sales Price

Of course, most sellers want to maximize the value they get for the house. However, the price they set might not be reflective of the other comparable homes in the neighborhood. As the article stated:

“People tend to view their homes emotionally, and that can become quickly apparent when they decide to sell.”

That doesn’t mean that the home won’t necessarily sell for that price. A seller can set an asking price and actually have a buyer agree to that price. However, that value may not be necessarily in agreement with what most buyers are willing to pay. For example, one person can view a property, determine it is exactly what they are looking for and well worth the asking price, whereas another person could look at the same property and feel the asking price is too high. Steven Corbin, Director of Valuation in Fannie Mae’s CPM Real Estate division gives an example:

 “Someone may have driven by the property countless times, and they really want to live in that house. So in reality they may overbid for that property. This would be a situation where the actions of a specific buyer do not represent the actions of a typical buyer.”

The Appraised Value (or Market Value)

Fannie Mae explains what they look for when appraising the house:

“When a contract is established on a property, an appraised value is determined by a professional real estate appraiser. The appraiser works on the lender’s behalf to determine that value by taking many factors into consideration, including the neighborhood, the value of properties of similar size and construction, and even such things as the type of fixtures on the premises and layout of the floor plan.”

 Corbin adds:

“From a lending perspective, a bank would want to know the probable price a typical buyer would offer for the property. That’s what an appraiser would set as the market value.”

The Challenge when Sales Price and Appraisal Value are Different

If the appraiser comes in with a value that is below the agreed upon sales price, the lending institution might not authorize the mortgage for the full amount a buyer would need to complete the transaction. Quicken Loans actually releases a Home Price Perception Index (HPPI) that quantifies the difference between what sellers and appraisers believe regarding value. The HPPI represents the difference between appraisers’ and homeowners’ opinions of home values. Currently, there is approximately a 2% difference between what homeowners believe their home to be worth and what appraisers value that same home. On a $300,000 sale that would be a $6,000 difference. That could be a challenge that might prevent the home sale proceeding to the closing table. Quicken Loans Chief Economist Bob Walters recently commented on this issue:

“The more homeowners are in line with appraisers, the easier it will be to refinance their mortgage and easier for those looking to buy a home. If the two are aligned, it eliminates one of the top stumbling blocks in the mortgage process.”

Bottom Line

Every house on the market has to be sold twice; once to a prospective buyer and then to the bank (through the bank’s appraisal). In a housing market where supply is very low and demand is very high, home values increase rapidly. One major challenge in such a market is the bank appraisal. If prices are jumping, it is difficult for appraisers to find adequate comparable sales (similar houses in the neighborhood that closed recently) to defend the price when performing the appraisal for the bank. With escalating prices, the second sale might be even more difficult than the first. 

That is why we suggest that you use an experienced real estate professional to help set your listing price.

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