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Green Tips for Selling to Annapolis Area Home Buyers

ANNAPOLIS, DAVIDSONVILLE, EDGEWATER, ARNOLD AND SEVERNA PARK REAL ESTATE

Selling an Annapolis area home quickly and for a good price means attracting the broadest range of qualified home buyers. That can depend on identifying as many appeal points as possible, then showing them off through an energetic marketing program. One increasingly prominent marketing point is one that used to be an unexploited side issue: green features. Just watch some of the latest TV commercials, and you’ll see what Madison Avenue’s researchers have decided—today’s consumers increasingly respond to eco-friendly product features.

Selling a home in the Annapolis area can benefit by incorporating the kind of green features that just a short while ago used to be underplayed (or overlooked entirely). But today’s buyers also tend to be a sophisticated crew. It’s no longer enough to simply sprinkle buzzwords in a listing or tear sheet. Here are some tips gleaned from successful appeals to green home buyers:

Focus on the Numbers

Typical green home buyers aren’t just thrifty—some studies conclude that saving money is their primary focus. The NAR finds that heating and cooling costs are at least somewhat important to 85% of today’s home buyers. Selling to value-minded home buyers in the Annapolis area means that listing and supplementary materials should emphasize concrete data on the savings to be had from a property’s energy-efficient features. The way to do that? Gather the manufacturer’s information for operating cost saving projections. Green is ‘green’ in more ways than one!

Be Specific

What’s called “green washing” by marketers has left buyers more willing to dismiss vague environmental benefits that are more sizzle than steak. Use precise information to break through the marketing fog of green buzzwords—to make a pitch that resonates with sophisticated prospects. A little research will yield specific eco-friendly details: for instance, when listing features like doors and windows, using technically precise terms like “low-e glass” instead of “energy saving windows.” Likewise, rather than promoting “efficient appliances,” cite the “Energy Star-rated dishwasher.”

Provide Documentation

To demonstrate that a home’s green pedigree is more than just sloganeering, making available copies of the original documentation of eco-friendly materials and appliances can be a difference-maker. If possible, haul out the old energy bills to demonstrate “before and after” utility consumption figures. Energy certifications, performance specifications and environmental ratings provided by manufacturers can quash objections from even the most sales resistant green home buyers.

I like to set up a small display with those kinds of materials during open houses for my clients whose Annapolis area homes sport valuable green attributes. If your home has strong eco-friendly sales points—or if you are in the market for one—give me a call today!

DEBORAH LAGGINI, Long and Foster Real Estate, Annapolis, MD 21403

CELL 410.991.6560

EMAIL [email protected]

REALTOR, Annapolis, Davidsonville, Edgewater, and Surrounding Communities

REAL ESTATE, Waterfront, Luxury Homes, New Construction, Relocation

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