While we don’t see so many mailings when the marketing budgets shrink, now is the time to send more, not less, to your “farm.” One of the pieces that has been overused and it simply not effective is “Free Market Analysis.” If you’d like to get some response to your mailings, try this approach.

Find a subdivision, town home or condo complex, in which the models were built with only slight variations. Many will have model names and will differ only in amenities like basement, fireplace, etc. Gather the sold, active, pending, and expired data by model for the past two years and you’re ready to send the following note or card:

“Hi,
I’ve just finished my analysis of (complex or subdivision name) and the average sold price has (whatever). While the market remains (blah, blah), there are several sales to report: (here you might give numbers, high price, low price, time on market, etc.).

If you’d like to know the current market value of your (home or unit), just give me a call.

As always, if you or any of your friends have a real estate question, I’ll be happy to help.

Regards,”

When a call comes in you will simply ask for the model name or description to let you identify the home and flip to that page of your data. You’ll be able to tell them recent sales information, what didn’t sell, how long the average time on market, and follow with the line, “Of course it will depend on condition, but that’s the current range.”

It’s important to repeat the mailing three or four times a year, always with the same message, and you’ll be amazed at the response which tends to increase with each mailing. As time passes you’ll also get familiar with the names of the homeowners and come to be recognized as an area “expert.”

Many agents and companies offer a “free market analysis.” This is different, what you’re saying is, “I know what your home is worth, if you’d like to know just give me a call.”  Mike Cromie