What Santa Cruz Homeowners Need to Know About Home Selling Apps

Today, you can find an app for just about anything. And that, of course, includes apps for selling your home. Home selling apps streamline the selling process, making everything easier and more convenient, but they don’t offer certain benefits you can get by working with a real estate agent. To help you make your decision, here’s what Santa Cruz homeowners need to know about home selling apps.

Overview of Home Selling Apps

Home selling apps or real estate apps provide a one-stop shop for home buyers, home sellers, investors, and tenants, as well as for people who just like to browse listings. These apps consist of databases with many thousands of properties in many locations, much like a giant multiple listing service (MLS).

These (typically mobile) apps make money by charging a listing fee, by selling ad space to agents or contractors, and/or by getting a cut of the sale price. Some apps operate under the umbrella or real estate companies or brokerages while others are independent entities.

When it comes to the various types of home selling apps, you’ll find that most focus on house hunting and renting. They provide an online venue where buyers can browse homes for sale and where sellers can do market research and list properties for sale. There are also various areas of focus, for example, commercial properties, directories for agents and brokerages, and real estate investing.

How to Use Home Selling Apps

If you decide to use one of these home selling apps, there are a few things to keep in mind . . . 

Do Some Research and Choose the Top Three

There are just too many home selling apps available today for Santa Cruz homeowners to use more than a few. So the best course is to do some research and determine which two or three will best meet your selling needs and help you accomplish your goals. A targeted approach will be more effective.

Some of the things to consider when selecting an app include how well it fits your budget and how user-friendly the interface is. Currently, the biggest and most popular apps are Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, and Homesnap.

Get Top-Notch Photos

Yes, home selling apps do much of the heavy lifting involved in selling your home, but you still have to do your part. And one of the most important things to do is to get plenty of top-notch, professional-quality listing photos. 

With apps, potential buyers are shopping online, and the only thing they have to go on with respect to the appearance of your home is the listing photos. That’s why top-quality photos are so critical. For this reason, many sellers choose to hire a professional real estate photographer. You can contact a Santa Cruz agent at 831-588-2334 to find out about the best photographers in your area.

Write a Compelling Description with Plenty of Information

Home selling apps have a space where you can describe the property and include pertinent, important information. That description must be both arresting and compelling in order to compete with the other thousands of listings for similar homes in the area. Again, you can consult a Santa Cruz agent for assistance with this critical aspect of app selling.

Do More Marketing

One common misconception Santa Cruz homeowners have about home selling apps is that they can just fill in the info and sit back and wait for the offers to come in. That approach may work, but not always.

You’ll be better off if you do what you can to spread the word about your for-sale home. Besides relying on what the app can do for you, you should also tell friends, family, and neighbors, as well as leveraging the marketing power of social media. The wider you cast your marketing net, the more likely you’ll sell quickly and at the price you want.

Real Estate Agent vs. Home Selling Apps

Certainly, using one of the top apps is a viable way for Santa Cruz homeowners to sell a home. But using a [market-city] agent offers benefits you just don’t get with home selling apps. Here’s what an experienced agent can do for you . . . 

  • Price your home optimally to minimize selling time and maximize profit
  • Provide access to the multiple listing service (MLS)
  • Help you list your home
  • Provide staging advice and/or assistance
    • At Fox Realty Group, we offer complimentary cleaning & staging services
  • Craft and implement marketing strategies and tactics
    • At Fox Realty Group, we offer creative and professional home tour videos to get more eyes on your property. We invite 500 of your neighbors to your Open House. We create a beautiful property website with professional photos. And so much more!
  • Host open houses and conduct showings
    • At Fox Realty Group, we offer creative and fun Broker’s Tour Open Houses to get more Realtors to see your property and share with their clients
  • Coordinate with vendors and other necessary professionals such as appraisers, inspectors, and title companies
    • At Fox Realty Group, we offer you our rolodex of professional vendors who specialize in the Santa Cruz Area.
  • Negotiate the best deal possible
  • Utilize their connections with other Realtors in the Santa Cruz Community
    • At Fox Realty Group, we send your listing and send a Broker’s Tour Invite to other local Realtors
  • Ultimately, help you sell more quickly and for a better price

Where to Find a Great Agent

Whether you use an app or an agent is entirely up to you. Each has its own advantages though using an agent has benefits you just can’t get with an app. Most Santa Cruz homeowners find that the best route is to use an agent. But even if you don’t, an experienced agent can guide you in using apps. So whether you want a top-notch agent or want to use one of the home-selling apps, don’t hesitate to contact us at 831-588-2334.

If you’d like additional information or a market evaluation for your specific property, or if you’d like to get started on a search for your dream home right here in Santa Cruz, please feel free to reach out for a complimentary confidential consultation. I’m Shemeika Fox, your Santa Cruz Real Estate Expert and Your Personalized Real Estate Concierge. And as always, I’m here to help.

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