Hi there,

I'm a marketing specialist with absolutely no experience in the real estate end of things. I'm trying to help my grandmother's estate get some buying interest, as it has been sitting on the market for 3 years and hasn't had so much as a bite. (nibbles here and there, but nothing serious). Are there any tips for marketing the property that I should be utilizing? I should also note that I'm 3,000 Kms away, so most of my help will most likely be the online areas. I've posted a few ads on craigslist already, and the property is posted on realtor.ca, but as far as I'm aware that is the extent of it.

Any ideas would be appreciated! The estate is a 3bedroom/2bath lakefront property in Northern Ontario. approx. 3 acres, with an additional 2bed/1bath apartment above a workshop/garage. It's a great property for the right person.. We just need to know how to get it out there!

http://www.realtor.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?&PropertyId=10326257&PidKey=34433765

Thanks in advance!

If you're a marketing specialist, wouldn't it make sense to approach it as one?

Figure out who your demographic is... Figure out whether the property is priced properly for the location/demographic/etc. (this would be something your agent should have done already)... Figure out how to reach your demographic, what the problems with reaching it are, and what problems the demographic may encounter with the property...

if you're doing online stuff, then create a decent online presence, not just MLS (and realtor.ca is just MLS)...

You're trying to sell something for a million dollars and have 6 pictures up, half of them of the outside... is this meant to be a full-time residence for locals? Is it meant as a vacation property? A retirement place? It has large footage, but only 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms...

As a marketing specialist these would be the areas where I'd start to look... Maybe some experienced agents would give you more ideas...

Thanks! Yes, I have started thinking about my audience/demographic. I think my question is more of WHERE to reach these people. As in what websites or magazines, etc.

My clients are largely musicians and artists that need branding, social media campaigns, etc. This project is just a favour to my family... So I'm feeling a bit out of my league, I guess!

I also really need them to get better photos. I have no idea who took those, but they really are terrible.

If it's been on the market for 3 years, you need to do two things.

1. Fire the agent and hire another one.

2. Lower the price to market value.

Yes, if it has been on the market for over 3 years then you will need to look at price. I am not from that area but a quick search shows that nothing around it seems to be assessed nearly at what that one is and the assessed value is MUCH lower than the list price. I do realize that it varies around Ontario as to the amount of difference between the assessed values and sales prices so I would want to get a couple of different opinions from experts in that area as to the value.

What do you mean "where" to reach them? First decide "who" you are reaching... if this is a vacation home, then "they" would likely be in Toronto or in another metro area not too far from this place... if you're talking about people who are retiring and moving into the area, again, they wouldn't be there already, highly likely in a large metro area...

I don't think it matter who your clients are currently... obviously, you won't be able to use the same exact marketing here, but you start at the same place - product, place, price, promotion... well, and that 5th P - people (i.e. your demographic)... once you know these things, you come up with a strategy...

I would guess that your r.e. agent should be the one doing these things, and if the house isn't selling, the price is probably wrong (as MHT said, the homes around seem to be cheaper... so either this home must be sold so that people believe that it's worth so much more (not sure how easy that is), or the price must be lowered...