Question: “What makes an attractive listing?”
Christie’s Answer:
Some of the sale listings we see on MLS (Multiple Listing Service) surprise us and NOT in a good way! The photos show the owners’ personal items on the counters or all over the bedrooms, photos are taken vertically instead of horizontally so that less of the rooms are visible, the lighting is poor, the descriptions are uninteresting, the skies are grey, or there are no walkthrough videos or drone videos and photography. Properties are sometimes even mapped incorrectly. We have seen some mapped off-shore in the Caribbean Sea!
In our listings, we take time creating them so that they are accurate, descriptive, and attractive. We have crisp clear photos with most of the personal items removed or hidden, videos to show the property (sometimes including a self-guided 3-D tour), and include any helpful documents such as maps, surveys or plot maps, list of improvements, rules and regulations, and floor plans.
We have sold properties to off island buyers sight unseen, which makes us a little nervous. If the listing has poor photos, or if there’s something our Buyers particularly want to see, we take those photos or videos. Once a Buyer asked for close-up photos of all of the plumbing fixtures. One house was on a rough road, so we took a driving video. We have done FaceTime calls to walk through the property with Buyers answering their questions as we went. The first time they actually saw the house was after it had closed and we handed them the keys!
Contact us with any questions about real estate on St. Croix!
First published on our March 2024 Newsletter