18 Creative Ways to Market a House For Sale (By Owner Homes)

✍️ Editor’s Note: Houzeo is America’s most advanced For Sale By Owner (FSBO) platform. Almost $3.5 billion worth of properties were listed by home owners on Houzeo.com in 2021. This guide summarizes the creative ways to market a house for sale.

Marketing a house for sale is not easy and requires time and effort. While being online is surely the best way to advertise a house, sellers may look for creative ways to market their house to increase sale probability.

What are the Creative Ways to Market a House for Sale?

Considering the marketing outburst in recent years, the internet has played a vital role—not only as a means of communication but also for promoting businesses across different spheres.

Today, 72% of the public uses the internet for social media which makes it a powerful tool for marketing. Real estate businesses, for instance, also take advantage of the web to promote properties and attract buyers and investors. However, sellers are always on the lookout for the best way to advertise a house for sale which could be either online or offline. A real estate listing marketing plan can do wonders.

So, what are some of the creative ways to sell a house which are fast and easy? Or, how can you market your real estate listings so that they get sold easily? Let’s take a look at some of the creative yet doable ways to market a house for sale.

1. List Your Home on FSBO Websites

The most straightforward way to sell your house is by hiring a real estate agent. With a Realtor by your side, you don’t have to worry about wide exposure (as a Realtor will list your property on the MLS), documentation, negotiations, and the closing process.

The problem? Hefty Realtor commissions!

As a seller you may have to shell out a huge sum in commissions (average: 5%-6%). Here, as a seller, you can take help of For Sale By Owner (FSBO) websites. The FSBO websites help in giving your house proper real estate market exposure that otherwise is not easy if you are going out all alone.

Popular websites like Houzeo and Zillow with FSBO listing options can give your property a decent boost in the real estate market. The prospective buyers can come to these websites and check for the relevant houses easily.

Some FSBO websites don’t charge a penny while some of them ask for a nominal flat fee. In both cases it is worth listing your property.

2. List Your Home on the MLS

One of the creative yet simplest ways to market a house for sale is by listing your property on the MLS. As stated earlier, listing your property on the MLS can give your house a wide exposure. This is because both the listing and buyer agents have access to the MLS.

MLS or Multiple Listing Service is a local database that real estate agents use to list properties. MLS can be accessed by licensed real estate agents only which makes it exclusive. Generally, MLS contains all the properties that are up for sale giving them the maximum exposure.

There are 600+ MLS’ in the US and the related properties are listed on their local MLS.

With high Realtor commission rates, sellers look for alternate ways to get their listing on the MLS. Flat Fee MLS companies help you save huge Realtor commissions while giving you an option to list on the MLS. They give you a range of options right from listing your property on the MLS and popular real estate sites to providing additional features like lockbox, Yard Sign, and more.

» More: How to List on MLS For Sale By Owner Without a Realtor

The Flat Fee MLS platforms like Houzeo have a range of packages from which a seller can choose based on his/her requirements. These packages may vary across states but are much more economical than the traditional Realtor commissions.

3. Buy a Yard Sign (For Sale By Owner Yard Signs)

You can make use of Yard Sign to announce that your property is up for grabs. You can either get your own Yard Sign or use the Yard Sign provided by Flat Fee MLS companies. In both cases, a “For Sale By Owner” Yard Sign is helpful.

Try to be creative with your Yard Sign (though there may be limitations as far as Yard Signs from Flat Fee MLS companies are concerned).

If you are planning to buy your own Yard Sign, you can add a punch line that demonstrates what your house is all about. You can move away from the traditional yard sign and design one of your own. This could be bigger and of a different color. The idea is to keep it attractive and unique enough to produce positive distraction.

» Note: In case of Flat Fee MLS companies, you may ask them to custom design your Yard Sign.

Keeping a Yard Sign will attract people in your neighborhood. This can help in spreading the word about your property to more people. Also, having a Yard Sign will attract passers-by creating an instant impact.

4. Utilize Power of Social Media

Social Media is by far the most powerful source to advertise anything. If you have decent number of followers on various social media channels, you can easily market your property.

Facebook	You can upload pictures and 3D tour videos of your property on Facebook with a catchy description. Ask your friends to share the post as much as possible for wide exposure. Joining real estate related groups and posting your property details on them can also be a great strategy to market a home. A Facebook page can be a good idea to market your property. Or, you can also post your property for sale on Facebook Marketplace which is one of the biggest online markets. Facebook also provides an option of paid ads to target a specific audience. Paid ads could be costly but they will prioritize your listing so that it reaches the maximum audience. ✍️ Facebook has 2.7 billion users which mean lots of opportunities to find prospective buyers.
Instagram	Instagram can be a great option to market your listing. You can come up with multiple creative ways to market your house for sale using Instagram. Just like Facebook, you can upload pictures and videos of your real estate on this channel and apply relevant hashtags to gain good exposure. You can ask owners of relevant pages/groups to list your property. Statistically, Instagram has traffic of almost 1 billion in a month and thus it makes sense to be on the platform. Just like Facebook, Instagram also provides the option of paid promotions. This can be really helpful to market your property on a large scale. ✍️ Creating short and targeted videos can attract buyers. Make sure you pay focus on the time limit and not create too lengthy ones.
Twitter	Twitter is a social networking service that is now used by many leading brands. You can tweet with relevant hashtags (#fsbo #homeseller #realtor) to promote and interact with buyers on the platform. You can use Twitter Explore  to browse for more popular hashtags that you can include in your tweet. Don’t forget to engage with other users so they know you’re active.
Pinterest	Pinterest can be a great tool for real estate promotion. It’s a social web space where people browse for home ideas, style inspiration, recipes, and more. Pinterest is one of the perfect social platforms that most users find easy and user-friendly to navigate. All you have to do is browse and pinboards you love.
LinkedIn	LinkedIn is a business and employment-based service but can be a great platform to advertise your home. Over 800 million people are available on LinkedIn which makes it a good platform to market your property. You can start by publishing regular posts related to real estate and the local market. Create “Showcase Page” which will help showcase your property and connect with buyers. You can also build separate pages relating to your listing just like a company page. In your posts, you can tag the Showcase page or also to the specific landing page that you have created for your listing thereby initiating a CTA.

✍️ By 2023, it is expected that 82% of the online traffic will cater to videos. This means that you have high chance of selling your property by focusing on videos.

You can incorporate the best feature of your home, and pitch why it’s best to live here. In real estate marketing, a video can be a powerful tool to sway buyers to visit your home.

5. Try Craigslist

Just like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist is considered as one of the top marketing websites in the US. The platform is multi-niche and can be used as a For Sale by Owner (FSBO) platform to market real estate properties. With over 50 billion page views per month, you may not want to miss listing your property on this website.

» More: How to sell a house on Craigslist

6. Hire a Professional Photographer

An experienced photographer can help highlight the best features of your home which you may not be able to do. Through the help of planned real estate photography, wide-angle lens, and editing, you can easily grab buyers’ attention. A professional photographer will target all the important areas (fireplace, living room with antiques, etc.) of your house narrating a story.

For a creative look, you can include a picture of your swimming pool with a party theme. Or, you may add a snap of yours lying on the hammock with a book. Ultimately, a presentable online listing photo can make all the difference and can gain you an interested buyer in no time.

7. Create a Virtual Tour

360 degrees virtual tours are the future of real estate. Your clients will be delighted to take a virtual walk-through of your listed property. Tidy up every corner, TV cables, kitchen top, and rooms. Make sure you re-organize the furniture and decorations, giving a more breathable space for tours.  After the shoot, review the videos and edit them if needed.

8. Host a Unique Open House

An open house is another fun way to create a buzz and one of the creative ways to market a house for sale. Try live streaming on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook since most of the buyers prefer being online.

Make your open house into a party with a theme—and pop-up shops. This may just bring out different and sophisticated features of the house. You can offer giveaways like water bottles, sweets, or memorabilia to attract people. Don’t forget to highlight your new home upgrades and the best features.

You can also leverage real estate websites like Zillow, Houzeo, and many others to list and announce “Open House”.

9. Partner With Your Local Influencers

Micro-influencers are those individuals who have a decent number of followers and are usually regarded as industry or niche experts. To widen your reach, you can team up with local influencers. For example, you can tag a local popular architect against your attractive living space and in return ask him/her to promote your property. In a nutshell, you both are promoting individual benefits. This works like a charm!

10. Build a Landing Page

As per a report in 2019, approximately 98% of older millennial homebuyers browse online websites and 80% of younger millennials and 78% of Generation X found properties through mobile searches. That means an SEO-optimized and user-friendly site can help get new leads and accrue home sales.

Instead of a dedicated website, you can create an attractive landing page with a CTA. A prospective buyer can come on the page, read all the features of the property, and can feed in his/her details so that you can contact him/her. Your landing page could also have the option to schedule the house showing on which you can take action.

Make sure you promote your landing page with the right marketing description on social media and also tell your friends and relatives about it to get a wide exposure.

11. Create Email Marketing Campaigns

Emails still work! Creating attractive campaigns can make a difference in selling your property. You can ask your friends to forward the marketing emails to their relatives and friends. You may also tie-up with a local agent to advertise your home through emailers.

With the help of email marketing tools like Mailchimp, you can create advanced mailers which are accompanied by virtual video tours, appealing photos, and staging views. These email marketing tools make the job easier by automating the emails and scheduling them.

12. Tell a Story Through Flyers

People love stories. You can create two-sided house flyers where you can share the history of your local area while also including some of the best photos of your house. Reach out to an agent or go to a museum/library to find more information on the history of the area. Or, if the house is new, you can add the “before” and “now” of the nearby attractions and renowned places.

You can then circulate the flyers in your area and ask your neighbors to spread the word. You may also team up with an agent to get your job done.

13. Utilize Real Estate Websites

One of the creative ways to market a house for sale is through Zillow, the biggest real estate player in the US. Zillow taps into the home selling market providing great exposure to the listed properties. You can list your house on Zillow as For Sale By Owner (FSBO) totally free.

Similarly, you can create a profile on real estate web spaces like Trulia, Realtor.com, and many others to get decent exposure for your property.

14. Get Your Own Business Card

You can order to get business cards created that contain information about your property. Of course, they should contain your contact details as well. You can post your business cards on the local bulletin boards to reach out to prospective buyers. This is a great way to promote your real estate listing.

15. Set Up an Auction

One of the creative ways to sell a house fast is to go for an auction. Auctions are hot in the home selling market. You can list your property on platforms like eBay to sell your house. Although an auction is different from FSBO, both options can give you more control over the selling process.

16. Build a Google My Business Page

Though unconventional, you can set up a temporary Google My Business account so buyers or users can easily find you on Google Maps, Google Search, and Google+. It helps you show up and stand out among competitors. And, you can actually rank higher and appear in customer searches.

17. Share GIFs or Memes

Since a large number of millennials are into memes and gifs, it’s pretty understandable to include them as part of a social media handle with your property listing. Hook prospective buyers with witty memes or shareable gifs that advertise your home in a fun way still keeping the importance of promotion in place.

18. Market Around Oddball Days

Just like companies come out with exclusive offers on special days, the same can be done with your real estate listing. Whether it is a national holiday or something like Earth Day or National Donut Day, you can make use of the situation and promote your house for selling.

You can depict the greenery around your house or let prospective buyers know about the closest donut shops. Such creative ways to market a house for sale can attract customers creating an impact.

Final Thoughts

There are multiple creative ways to market a house for sale but they require your time and efforts. Thinking out of the box is what is required. The seller needs to understand the psyche of the buyer and put him in his shoes. While these creative methods will surely aid in advertizing your home, you will have to pick the ones that are feasible for you.

These methods will make sure that your listing stands out from others. Still, if you realize that you are lacking, you may choose the option to go with a Realtor and give your property a good exposure. Or, you may go with a best real estate website like Houzeo that provide Flat Fee MLS listings at a flat rate and a lot of other features as well.

» Houzeo Reviews: See what others have to say about the flat fee platform in the U.S.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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