Selling land is a lucrative endeavor if you know how to get it right and sell it to the best buyer. But it’s important to remember that selling land versus selling a traditional property is vastly different.
These two markets have distinct variations, so you need to develop a selling strategy to suit your ideal buyer. If you’re a landowner looking to sell, this guide highlights what you need to know.
How the Land Market Differs From the Property Market
The lot and land market is in no way similar to selling property. Land buyers have different goals, needs, and perspectives in terms of what they’re looking for.
Selling land requires a range of different sales techniques. This is because you don’t have pretty or photogenic façades to work with. Instead, you probably have an empty, undeveloped swath of land that doesn’t say very much at all.
To add to this, the land market is far less active than the property market. Quite simply — there are far fewer land buyers out there when compared to home buyers.
If you’re looking to sell the land now, you may be better off with a more realistic view and timeline of what it takes.
Selling land to the right buyer takes time. But there are a few tactics that can help you bag the best deal.
7 Must-Know Tips on Selling Land
While the land and housing markets are very different, there are a few similarities between the sale strategies of both. Here’s how to tailor your land sale strategy:
1. Understand and Target Your Ideal Buyer
Home sellers have the upper hand because they know who their target market is based on price range. Selling land is a little different in that you must evaluate who your buyers could be, based on certain factors.
Buyer profile could depend on the type of land you’re selling, whether it’s developed or not, land location, and market conditions. Your most likely buyers include individuals looking to build their own home, real estate developers, or business owners looking to develop a new project.
After conducting market research on these types of buyers in your area, it’s time to create a message that resonates with them.
Make sure your marketing includes information about local schools, shopping areas, zoning information, land capacity, and water and sewer services.
2. Prepare the Land Accordingly
When it comes to first impressions in real estate, it’s all the same no matter what you’re trying to sell. It’s crucial that you prepare your land so that is has a better chance of selling — as you would with any other property.
You may need to do a little landscaping, cut the grass, pull out weeds, pick up trash, or remove rubble. You could even plant new trees or wildflowers to make your lot of land more appealing. Just like staging a home, you’re staging your land.
It’s also worthwhile to have a survey of your land conducted in advance. This outlines property boundaries to prevent any confusion or setbacks for potential buyers.
3. Carefully Consider Your Selling Price
The price of your land is make or break when trying to close a good deal or attract potential buyers. Pricing it too high could drive away your target audience, but pricing it too low could also put doubt into their minds.
Bear in mind that developed lots of land have a very clear market price that is often based on the recent sale of similar-sized land. Raw land has fewer comparable sales prices. So you need to be extra mindful when establishing your sales price.
Take your own needs into consideration when pricing. But don’t neglect how pricing could impact buyer interest. Ultimately, good land pricing requires you to understand the land market as a whole.
4. Target Your Online Listing Accordingly
This may seem like a no-brainer, but don’t make the mistake of marketing your land to homebuyers. Even if you think there’s a chance a homebuyer may want to build their own home.
Instead, make sure your online marketing is keenly targeted towards lot and land buyers, only. MLS is used by real estate agents when marketing a new home listing. While you can also use the MLS platform to market your land, it shouldn’t be your only marketing tool.
Take the time to create a detailed advertisement of your land on LotNetwork.com. This site is specifically designed for selling residential lots and land. This way, you’re most likely to target potential land buyers, developers, builders, and investors.
5. Market Your Property At Its Best
Marketing a vacant lot of land comes with its fair share of challenges. It’s easier to market a new home because you have layout, décor, and furniture to showcase it at its best. When it comes to the marketing of your land, you don’t have much to work with, but there are tools you can use to your advantage.
Use visual tools in your online listing to showcase your land in a detailed and beautiful way. You can use maps, surveys, aerial, and landscape photography to show off its assets. Clearly mark out property boundaries to create a good visual idea of the size of your land for potential buyers.
It may not be an open house, but you should always offer a walk-through of your property, too.
6. Put Real Effort Into Your Advertising Signage
The online listing is not the only place to market your land. Physical signage is also a great way to showcase your offer. But it’s important to create effective signage that catches the eye. A standard ”for sale” sign just won’t cut it.
Have a custom-designed sign made specifically for the sale of your land. Tell the story of what you have to offer by including key information, such as acreage, stand-out features, and land potential.
7. Create a Focused Marketing Strategy
Do you have neighbors or property owners close to your piece of land? By connecting with them, this is another effective way of sourcing potential land buyers in the area.
It’s worth calling on your closet neighbor to see if they could be interested in buying your land, too. They may want the land for expansion or an additional buffer. Directly contacting active builders in your area could also lead to a worthwhile deal!
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