Abstract:
Each type of home buyer looks for a specialized set of requirements in a new home.
Byline:
Nikki Rhodes, Managing Editor
Each type of home buyer looks for a specialized set of requirements in a new home. Empty nesters are no different. In her book Sales and Marketing Checklists, Jan Mitchell gives the following tips on how to show a model to this niche market:
Use irrigations systems, rock gardens and smaller areas of grass to demonstrate easy yard maintenance.
Because many of these customers are downsizing, use garden walls and landscaping so the size of the house isn't so obvious.
Demonstrate security systems.
Use secondary bedrooms as specialized rooms, such as an office, a den or a sewing room.
Show a guest room or a room for elderly parents.
Create the atmosphere that the model is in use. For instance, put food on a bar or cards on a game room table.
Advertising and promotional materials can be tweaked to cater to these buyers. Mitchell’s suggestions include:
Depict an active lifestyle using activities such as golf and tennis.
Create a sense of community by including photos of residents socializing on a walking path or in a gazebo.
Emphasize the low-maintenance lifestyle by using shots of a resident mowing an expansive lawn and then lying on a hammock next to a rock garden near a waterfall.
Offer a year's free service to a lawn and garden company.
