I take pride in creating complete and coordinated marketing plans that sell property at the highest price in the shortest amount of time, while standing up to the closest scrutiny of the court and other interested parties. My plan starts with a market analysis, involving touring other properties similar to yours, studying market trends in your area, and pinpointing the right price that will generate the most interest in your property.

Market Analysis

Prior to meeting with you, I will:

  1. Tour other properties in the neighborhood to “size up” the competition. What was the condition of recently sold properties? Did they “stage” theirs? What is the rehab market in the area?
  2. Prepare a Comparative Market Analysis to price the property to create the most interest and Market Trends Report to assess where the market is going and who our most likely buyer will be.
  3. At our meeting we’ll discuss: 1) Your needs and concerns and 2) The properties qualities and features. Then 3) We’ll decide on how and when to proceed.

Broad-based Marketing

I will send out a professional photographer to take photos, create a virtual walk through, custom website, floor plan and a drone video to increase the impact.

We may decide to take advantage of the impact staging can create. If so, I’ll coordinate this effort.

Once your property hits the market, I’ll utilize broad-based, targeted and online marketing to make sure it stands out among the competition. My strategy includes listing your property online via major national and local real estate portals, and advertising in open house sections of major news media, both in print and online. These tactics ensure that your property will be seen by thousands of potential buyers.

  1. Place in the multiple listing services seen by almost all Realtors in the greater Bay Area.
  2. Load a photo tour on my web site www.michaelstephens.net, the multiple listing service and all web sites possible.
  3. Schedule broker tours to inform the real estate community of the selling points of the property.
  4. Schedule Sunday open houses to generate interest with buyers.
  5. Advertise in the major local newspaper’s open house sections, the general listings of the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle real estate section and its online service SFGate.com, Craigslist.com, etc. The response from this source is amazing!

Target Marketing

I also include more personal touches in my marketing plan: sharing your property with all contractors and builders I know, visiting neighbors to inform them of upcoming open houses, and preparing an electronic announcement for you to send to your own list of contacts. I send weekly email updates to you summarizing all activity for that week, such as open house attendance, calls, disclosures sent out, and hits on the MLS and all other websites.</>

  1. Place a distinctive Highland Partners sign at the sidewalk with my phone number, Email and web site.
  2. Send announcements to my farm area and personal list of buyers, sellers and past clients.
  3. Contact all contractors and owner/builders I know personally. I have an ongoing program for this group of buyers.
  4. Send a mailer to the neighborhood announcing the house is for sale. Many times people want family members to move in to a home close by.
  5. Visit the neighbors to inform them of the Sunday open houses and create goodwill. This is very simple and effective.
  6. Send an HTML Email announcement prepared exclusively for your own address book. This will make sure all of your contacts, friends and co-workers know the property is for sale.
  7. Track all real estate agents who have shown the property to clients and call them to access interest.
  8. Weekly update will be sent to you, via email, of all activity such as open house attendance, calls, disclosures sent out, hits on the MLS and all other websites.

These efforts, when combined with the benefits of preparing the property for sale, whether remodeling, staging, lightening and brightening or selective repairs will make your property stand out in the market place.

I will also prepare a complete file of all the marketing efforts for any interested parties.

Internet Marketing: The Power of Multiple Websites

  • MichaelStephens.net
  • MichaelStephensProbate.com
  • Yahoo.com
  • Realtor.com
  • Homes.com
  • AOL.com
  • SFgate.com
  • 123 Main Street.com ( your custom web site )
  • Zillow.com
  • Trulia.com
  • Craigslist.com
  • Loopnet.com (The premier investment property site)
  • 90%+ of home buyers start their search on the internet.

The Internet is a major source of information for homebuyers. Listings are available online through major national and local real estate portals, exposing your home to hundreds of thousands of potential buyers.

Potential buyers can access your home listing via major national real estate portals including AOL.com, the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com, Knight-Ridder’s BayArea.com, and Realtor.com, as well as my proprietary website.

Facts about Internet homebuyers:

  • 90 percent of homebuyers use the Internet as the first step in their home search.
  • 72 percent drove by/visited a home they saw online.
  • Users tend to be younger and earn more than non-Internet users
  • “Real Estate” is one of the most searched terms on major search engines.

I will expose your listing to the widest possible audience.