Have a Stale Listing? Here’s How to Revive It

As a listing agent, one of the most frustrating feelings is when the listing you’ve worked so hard to put up generates less interest than expected.

But this doesn’t mean all your efforts have gone to waste. Sometimes, making a few small tweaks is all that’s needed to breathe new life into your stale listings and get them back on track. Here are some ways to do that.

Reassess pricing

One of the most common reasons the listing might be sitting in the market is its pricing. While you probably conducted a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) to determine its initial price, this might not be the most optimal price now, given how fast the market moves. For example, there may have been a sudden spike in inventory, or recent sales in the neighbourhood of similar properties, which can affect the value of your listing.

It is worth doing another CMA to see if the price needs adjustment. Look at the comps in the area when doing this. Another thing to consider is whether open houses held for the listing were well-attended. If they were, then high or unreasonable pricing might be the culprit for why prospects did not follow through.

Further, be mindful of seasonal pricing trends. If the listing was originally put up during peak season, it may require a price adjustment as demand naturally decreases.

Try professional staging and enhance curb appeal

According to NAR, 81% of buyer’s agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. With that in mind, consider taking the listing off the market for a while and hiring a professional stager to make some adjustments to the property. Whether it’s rearranging furniture or bringing in accessories to add a pop of colour – staging will ensure that the best parts of the home shine.

Photo by Kara Eads on Unsplash

Nowadays, virtual staging is also available, which allows you to create images of a furnished home without having to physically alter the property.

Aside from staging, you should also enhance curb appeal. This can include things like mowing the lawn, adding lighting fixtures, decorating the porch with flowerpots or upgrading the front door with a fresh layer of paint – anything that improves its exterior appearance. Consider comments from open houses while making these adjustments.

Level-up the visuals

Take a hard look at the current selection of photos of the property and consider if anything is missing or could be changed. Think about it from the perspective of potential buyers who are scrolling down a platform filled with listings: what kind of visuals will get them to stop scrolling?

Pictures should be professionally taken and should showcase the property from a variety of angles. Include neighbourhood pictures to better show the lifestyle aspects. Ideally, the pictures will also be in season – so for example, if you uploaded the original listing during summer but it is now autumn, then you should include updated pictures that show the outside of the property in autumn.

We also recommend adding twilight pictures if you haven’t already. The breathtaking colours during twilight create an exclusive feel that photos in the daytime can’t – and the shadows can emphasise the architecture of the property in a flattering way.

Photo by Brian Babb on Unsplash

You should also always upload a floor plan, as they are useful to help buyers visualise the space and its full potential.

Refresh the listing description

Aside from enhancing the property’s visual appeal and updating the photos, it’s important to review and potentially revise your original listing description. Here are some key things to ask:

• Is the title captivating? Hook people in with adjectives that capture the property’s key features or selling points.
• Are you providing a narrative? Describe the property as if conducting a walkthrough, rather than listing features. Use visual imagery – e.g. ‘enjoy sweeping city views from your private roof during sunset’
• Is it wordy? Keep it short and sweet so people get the gist of the property quickly. Enlist the help of ChatGPT if needed to rephrase long-winded descriptions.
• Are you using vague descriptions? If so, make it as specific as possible, and highlight standout features – e.g. premium materials, smart home tech, appliance brands, etc. If there are outdoor spaces, also emphasize how it can be used in different seasons (e.g. barbeques in the summer/festive gatherings in the wintertime)

It’s important to leverage feedback from previous showings at this point. For example, if someone mentioned being confused about a certain feature, you can use the new listing description to clarify this.

Change your marketing angle

If you’ve previously shared the listing through standard promotional social media or ads, it might be time to consider a different approach. Here are two effective approaches to try.

Focus on the neighbourhood and lifestyle benefits

For instance, consider posting videos on social media to give a sense of what it’s like to live in that area. You could talk about why it’s an up-and-coming destination or why it’s somewhere people should consider purchasing a property. Highlight nearby landmarks, shops, entertainment options, and local businesses – and even collaborate with local businesses to share your content.

You can do something similar through longer-form blog articles or dedicated neighbourhood guides on your website. Include location-based keywords to increase your website’s SEO ranking, so those researching specific locations can find you easily. This article can also be recycled as fresh newsletter material or promoted via socials.

Adopt a more personalised approach

Instead of sending a generic email about the property to everyone in your network or promoting it widely on social media, focus on building connections with high-potential leads.

It can be hard to determine which contacts are “high potential”. That’s why Property Raptor CRM was built with two distinctive features, Prospect Match and Advanced Match to streamline this process. These features provide two-way matching capabilities that analyse the profiles and preferences of contacts across your entire CRM, ensuring precise, data-driven matches between clients and any listing.

An example of a list of Prospect Matches under a listing in Property Raptor

The Prospect Match feature pinpoints leads whose search criteria perfectly align with the listing in question, whereas the Advanced Match conducts AI analysis to uncover high-potential matches, even if their criteria are slightly different.

This information eliminates the guesswork, allowing you to directly reach out to and focus more of your efforts on leads that are most likely to purchase the property. To help them envision how the listing suits their needs, consider taking time to explain specific property features/benefits in greater detail, or arranging in-person meetings for exclusive viewings or open houses.

Learn more here about how Property Raptor CRM can help you find the best clients for your specific listing.

It can be frustrating when a listing turns stale – but there is a lot that can be done to change the situation. By following the simple strategies we’ve outlined, whether its reassessing pricing, enhancing curb appeal or taking your marketing approach in a different direction, you can better capture the property’s true potential and effectively communicate its value to buyers.