Tag Archives for " off-market property sales "

Leveraging investor reach to boost off-market property sales

We started marketing your development years ago

Off-market property sales in the post-general election era look set to get tougher. The UK and overseas investors may become more hesitant to commit funds to a market that could be unsettled, despite Theresa May’s claims of forming a government to ensure stability. However, while many press headlines in the coming weeks are likely to send shivers through the hearts and minds of some investors, we’ve witnessed an early uptick in positive interest.

Why are our investor clients more positive than the press?

Our investors are savvy people. By the time they invest in off-plan property opportunities, they are highly educated about the UK property market. When others see nothing but dark clouds of pessimism, our client base focuses on the silver lining.

UK property fundamentals remain intact. There are excess demand and a backlog of unsatisfied demand that stretches back years. The economy may be shaken, but is unlikely to be stirred. The nature of the election result will not alter the massive governmental infrastructure spending already pencilled in for the next decade. In fact, it may serve to loosen the purse strings a little, with the potential for greater investment in public services.

We’ve worked hard over many years to educate investors from the UK and overseas about the attractiveness and long-term qualities of UK property investment. And how better to invest than in early-stage off-plan developments?

Our marketing of developments begins months or even years before a client invests. A long time before we have selected the area, outstanding location, and developer and development.

Off-market property sales made with educated confidence

We actively promote property investment education. Our educational resource may be the most extensive, focused solely on property. It is centred on the Gladfish Blog, which consistently ranks in the top 100 investment blogs and websites for investors worldwide. Also, we provide investment education material which includes blogs, articles, newsletters, videos, podcasts, webinars, books and research.

Our Gladfish property consultants help to keep investors grounded. Our market news and commentary removes the BS and sensationalism preferred by traditional media. We tell things like they are, ensuring that investors understand how to analyse news and ignore misplaced views. It helps investors take a long-term view.

Consequently, we find that our clients take advantage of sluggish property markets caused by short-term shocks. They understand that it is the underlying property market fundamentals that drive long-term returns. Also, as we provide free investment education and unbiased market commentary, we build long-term relationships with investors. These investors benefit from our approach to research.

Selecting and recommending the best places to invest in property UK

While we provide investors with the knowledge and tools that enable them to undertake their property research, we, of course, go above and beyond. We do the research for them.

We’ve developed a Ripple Effect Pentagon and unique Hotspots Algorithm, which pinpoint the top performing areas for investment. These tools and techniques are easy for investors to understand, and have proven to be remarkably accurate in their forecasting capability.

We analyse 108 data points across 324 UK areas and identify those areas in which the property fundamentals are strongest. We rank these areas, so our clients can see at a glance the best places to invest in the UK property market. Then we produce detailed investment guides that walk investors through the specifics and dynamics of each area. And we allow investors to download these for free.

Drilling down to specific location

With the best areas identified, we then drill down to pinpoint specific locations. It is where those property fundamentals come most strongly into play. Locations within walking distance of transport – or near shops, for example – rank high on the list of positive pointers for investment potential. With location identified, we then search for the final piece in the jigsaw.

Developer and development – sold!

Throughout our process of education, research, and location selection, our clients’ confidence increases. We ensure that we do things right, and throughout communicate the necessity to be cautious. For example:

• Always undertake extensive research
• Never invest without completing comprehensive due diligence
• Invest with property fundamentals
• Overestimate costs, and underestimate income

The penultimate step in our long-term marketing strategy to connect long-term investors with developers is to carry out due diligence on developers and individual developments. When we put that final piece of marketing in place – offering a specific development to a highly targeted slice of our investor client base – we do so in the knowledge that every piece of the off-plan investment opportunity stacks up.

Our investors are already three-quarters of the way to making a buying decision by the time we market an off-plan property to them. We’ve guided them by:

• Educating, inspiring, and instilling confidence, no matter the market conditions.
• Collecting client data, and learning their investment preferences and objectives.
• Identifying area and location for investment.
• Marketing the best developments from the best developers, in the best locations, to investors who are already warm to the idea of investing upon our recommendation.

We’ve sold over £750 million of property across the UK since 2004. We’ve helped more than 2,500 property investors achieve their goals. And we’re still building. Investors from abroad are making up an increasingly large proportion of our business ­– aided by our international reach (for example, in 2015, we conducted client meetings in 11 different countries across Asia, the Middle East, and here in Europe and the UK).

The marketing of your development has already started. In fact, it began when we first met our investor clients who will buy your development – and that was before your development even hit the drawing board.

Contact us today on + 44 207 923 5680, and we’ll start developing our segmented investor client lists specifically for marketing your new build development.

Live with passion,

Brett Alegre-Wood

5 sales skills needed to boost off-market property sales

What ability does your selling partnership need to sell off-plan units?

There’s a reason why estate agents sell bucket loads of existing homes and far fewer new builds: the process of selling is different. When it comes to selling off-plan units, a more comprehensive property marketing framework is needed. And with off-market property sales mostly made to investors – tending to be a harder sell than new builds to homebuyers – different negotiating and communication skills are used in the sales process.

Here are five of the sales skills we insist our agents embed in their armoury:

1. Listening to and understanding the property investor’s needs

The agent needs to listen to what the investor is saying, and use appropriate open and closed questioning to drill down to exact requirements. Then it’s a question of presenting the off-plan units in line with those needs.

2. Communicating concisely with clarity

The agent will help the investor see how the off-plan units for sale can fit needs. The agent must have the communication skills to sell the vision – off-plan units may be no more than a drawing, and taking that drawing and creating the full picture is an art. The investor needs to be inspired not only by the property for sale, but by the development, location, and nearby amenities.

Photographs of previous developments help give the investor the vision of what the developer is capable of producing.

3. Know how to sell the product

Off-market property sales are different to sales of existing homes because there is more emphasis on selling the product. It’s not the same as ‘getting into bed’ with a homebuyer: new build off-plan units are sold by selling the product, lifestyle, and investment potential.

4. In-depth product knowledge

An estate agent, who is selling homes, is really matching a buyer up with something that is already there. To be successful in off-market property sales, the agent must know the product inside out, back to front, and upside down. They need to be able to explain all the options available.

They also need to know and understand the terms and conditions applied to sales contracts and have the ability to answer queries and combat objections immediately.

5. Negotiating skills

Finally, the agent will need to use all their negotiating skills to close the deal, offering low or no-cost options to encourage investment while helping the buyer to move through to completion.

Our team is not only experienced in off-market property sales but also benefit from the comprehensive continuation of personal development and focused product training for every development sourced and offered to the waiting investors. Feel free to give the team a call on +44 207 923 5680 and find out how our experience and specialisations can benefit your development and increase sales of off-plan units.

What’s the most important skill in your view?

Live with Passion,

Brett Alegre-Wood

How to drive demand for your off-plan units

Innovative strategies for higher off-market property sales

Developers wanting to drive off-plan property sales up to and above their sales targets need a few key elements in place. A  well organised and well orchestrated property marketing framework is key and as is being innovative in the sales process. This is especially true when the developer wants to kick-start a new development and drive demand for property with off-market property sales.

There are a number of tried and tested marketing strategies used to promote off-plan units. This includes blogs, property investment seminars, reaching out through social media, early-stage site tours and rebranding. Here I want to look at three of these in a little more detail. You never know, one of these could be the spark for you to create a new, innovative off-market property sales strategy – especially if you have a strong USP, too.

Sell sustainability

In this age of green and clean homes, sustainability is a key selling point for many investors and homebuyers. Often, the green features that complement a new home are expensive. If you can offer sustainability and source green fixtures and fittings in bulk, there is no reason why you shouldn’t sell value by taking a different approach to the sales walkthrough.

Why not encourage would-be investors to come behind the scenes, visiting the development site with off-plan units at various stages of completion? Perhaps even invite them to meet with suppliers (who are experts in their own products – use them to sell the benefits of sustainable green homes) and your off-plan property sales will react accordingly.

And the USP? Affordable, efficient and sustainable lifestyle. That’s your angle.

Selling a new concept

Homes are getting smaller, and people are living closer to where the action is. Yet, at the heart of a home is the need for it to provide adequate space for its inhabitants. The New Home Company in the United States has been innovating design for living for a while and has been successful in predicting and even leading lifestyle trends. The latest concept is the ‘family office’, a space that is digitally connected and provides plenty of storage space and desktop work surfaces.

The company was first contracted to provide a family office for a client, and from there it floated the idea to focus groups before rolling out as a flexible design feature.

And the USP? It involves the interior design company early in the process of off-market property sales, with investors able to meet and speak to its representatives and better understand the benefits.

Reaching out to the audience

When investing in off-plan units, investors want to feel fully informed. What better way to produce educative material across a variety of channels – blogs, social media, and trade and local print media.

Investors and homebuyers often have a mental block when it comes to buying new property versus old. They just don’t get the benefits of buying new. By producing articles, blogs, eBooks, and being active on social media, you can set yourself apart as the expert in the new build before the real business of selling off-plan units begins.

And the USP? People identify with an expert and discuss the merits of off-market property sales with others. Soon, you have an army of self-declared experts marketing by word-of-mouth.

These three ideas are just a few of the ways in which developers are connecting with investors and promoting their off-market property sales. When we discuss marketing with a developer, we’ll always look for the USP that will make their product stand out from the crowd − and then we can market off-plan units in the best way possible, to maximise off-market property sales. Feel free to contact the team on +44 207 923 5680.

Live with Passion,

Brett Alegre-Wood