A realtor’s new listing is much like a child. It needs nurturing, full attention and skill to see it to fruition.
Realtors commonly use professional photographers in order to market and portray the property in the best possible light and sellers spend countless hours decluttering and investing sizable sums refurbishing, cleaning and painting, all in order to bring the highest possible offer for their homes.
These are always good ideas to maximize the property’s worth, but don’t forget to stimulate, not only the sight of a listing, but excite the other senses as well.
Baking cookies prior to a showing helps to give the viewing buyer a warm, homey feeling and smell can be the most effective sense to help evoke pleasant family memories. But don’t stop now, time to enlist the often-neglected sense of sound.
Movie makers have, for years, incorporated music to enhance the emotional attachment to scenes. Music can provide a backdrop to a particularly dramatic moment. Who could forget the deep bass tones in the movie, Jaws, to warn of impending doom or the pennywhistle solo in Titanic to portray the carefree, youthful exuberance of young lovers eager to press forward into the future.
Most homeowners have integrated sound systems or a nice stereo that could be used to help maximize the showing. If the sound system conveys, background music not only spotlights an often-forgotten feature of the listing but enhances the auditory experience as well, but sellers should be careful to choose the right music.
Here is a list of suggestions that may enhance the viewing experience:
Make sure the tone and tempo are paced to make the viewer feel relaxed and unhurried.
Make sure it is not so loud that it is distracting, but is loud enough to be heard as a pleasant background.
Choose music that matches the design and theme of the home. For example, a stately mansion in an older, prestigious neighborhood might incorporate classical music, while a contemporary loft might want to use jazz.
Use music that appeals to the most common denominator. The owners of a ranch home in Texas would probably be best suited to a Country and Western genre, where owners of a trendy beach home might have better luck with light rock and roll.
By Dylan Kennedy
Dylan Kennedy is the managing broker of Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty in Flagstaff, located at 1750 S Woodlands Village Blvd. #200. Reach Dylan at 928-779-5966 or Dylan.kennedy@russlyon.com
