A recent post on the blog of zillow.com, a leading US real estate marketplace, talks about how “web appeal” is the new curb appeal. So what exactly is web appeal?

Defining web appeal

Jill Simmons, PR Manager at zillow.com, writes:

“In the past, it was all about curb appeal – a manicured lawn, a brick walkway, a fresh coat of paint. But today, with 90 percent of home buyers looking online, it’s all about Web appeal. You want to attract visitors to your listing, and impress them once they’re there.”

We tend to agree with Jill – most buyers will search online at some point and many make judgements and big decisions based on what they see in an online listing (on a property portal or on an agent or broker’s website).

Spencer Rascoff, CEO of zillow.com said in an interview with ABC News: “A seller needs to worry about Web appeal: When a buyer is browsing on the Web, what is their first impression?”

So how can you give your listings web appeal?

In its blog post, zillow.com offers two key ways to give a home web appeal – the first is to actually list it online in the first place and harness the power of the internet (eg: email your friends and contacts, use social media), and the second is to make the listing as enticing as it can possibly be.

We think web appeal can be created by:

• ensuring that the basics are right, and the listing is accurate in tems of spelling and vital contact information and is updated with open house and relevant info asap.
• making sure the property is listed on the best portals to expose it to the most relevant market – if it is a niche property, think niche portals, but if you’re not on the market leading portal as well, then why not? Read our Top Ten Tips for Choosing a Property Portal here.
• using lots of photos – good quality ones – in a listing. Read our Top Ten Tips for Property Photos here.
• including a floor plan, map and local area information where possible. Read our article on Walk Scores here or more about capturing neighbourhood info here.
• writing a fantastic marketing description about the property, but not going over the top. Read our article Embellishment and Discrimination: The Great Unravellers.
• making sure the description doesn’t leave out any vital selling points or attributes the home might have (eg: period features, pool, etc). Read our article on Writer’s Block here.
• if you plan on including video or slideshows, make sure it’s professional quality. Read our article on using video here.

Outside of these tips, there’s one other thing sellers and agents can do to generate web appeal, according to Spencer Rascoff: “A home that is priced aggressively is going to generate a lot more buyer interest”.

Finally, you can read Simon Baker’s article, What Makes a Good Property Ad.

[image: flickr/okarol]