Listing photos - make sure they are good
South Africa - ReMax
According to research, most buyers will start looking for property online before they go to any other source. What this means is that the first impression buyers will have of a home is its online listing photo. Adrian Goslett of REMAX says that this shows the importance of using listings photos that highlight the home's top features to entice buyers to want to look further.
"An attractive, highly marketable home can be overlooked by buyers if the listing images are poor quality or don't showcase the property's selling points. For this reason, it is imperative that listing photos are high-quality images that draw in buyers' attention and provide them with insight into what the property has to offer."
"Buyers are not going to take the time to see the home in person if they are not interested in what the images portray online. Sellers should ensure that they are completely satisfied with the images that the agent uses to market their home," advises Goslett.
Listing photos
The metamorphosis of the estate agency
South Africa - IolProperty
Traditional real estate agents are under fire from every angle: attorneys selling property; real estate start-ups helping you save traditional estate agent costs by offering a 1.5% commission rate; website and mobile apps that seek to connect landlords and tenants to an auction mechanism for rentals; fast-moving technology.
But estate agencies say they have stood the test of time and will continue to do so "as long as we continue to evolve and innovate our offerings, both to our clients and our agents".
One of the biggest challenges traditional agencies face - disruptors who have come onto the market offering huge savings to the consumer as far as commissions go - anything from zero to 1.5% as opposed to estate agencies' commissions of up to 7.5% - often cutting out the estate agent.
IolProperty
Foreigner buying of domestic residential property
South Africa - FNB
Indications are that the level of foreign citizens’ buying of domestic residential properties may have declined recently. But it isn’t clear whether this would be due to significant Rand recovery since a year ago, or due to recent resurgence in negative sentiment following downgrades of certain of South Africa’s country ratings to “junk status”, and the negative hype that accompanied this.
Property barometer
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