A real estate agent lists a home for sale and then markets the home so that it sells fast and for the highest possible price. Is that process and art or a science?

Let’s look at some parts of that process:

A home is listed in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and displayed in Realtor.com, Zillow.com, Trulia.com and other major real estate website directories. (Science)

Beautiful house photos, drone photography, and compelling property descriptions are created to show and tell how attractive and appealing the property is. (Art)

A comparable market analysis (CMA) of active, pending and sold properties , using analytical software,  is compiled and presented to the seller to determine price range and listing price. (Science)

An agent might visit the property’s most comparable competition to confirm price compare value, and analyze emotions based upon physical observation. (Art)

A home’s list price might be determined by  a review of comparable market activity for the past 12 months, all homes that have similar square footage, layout, number of bedrooms and baths, number of additional rooms and lot size. (Science)

Adding to the above , the price determination might be further modified to take into account additional property attributes – condition, appliances, lighting, flooring, painting, decorating, furnishings, special features and the view. (Art)

A luxury $3 million plantation home with its own boat slip and views of marina, sound, sunrise and sunset might not be marketed in the same way as a $400K plantation home with a golf and wooded view. (Science)

In the above example, conventional real estate marketing can be supplemented by “outside-the-box” advertising and marketing to reach and target specific market segments and potential buys. (Art)

I believe that selling real estate is both an art and a science – and more of an art when a home is very unique and has many special features. While there are effective software programs that can help price and market a property, buying a home is emotional.

How many times have you said or heard, “I love this home” or “I don’t like this home”? That is where “art” comes in – making a home look as attractive and appealing as possible and creatively expanding exposure to showcase the property to more potential, ready and willing buyers.

Larry Stoller is a broker and Realtor with Real Estate Five of the Lowcountry. Larry@RealEstateFive.com, RealEstateFive.com, SunCityOpenHouses247.com