With lean times come creative minds...and obviously, real estate sales are no different.  As a real estate virtual assistant my antenna is always in the 'up' position to be alerted to creative selling.  I've collected a few tidbits I'd like to share with our readers.

As you know, in a soft market residents must try that much harder to sell their properties if they want to relocate. I saw a news program recently about the increase in home swapping.   One family listed their home on Craigslist in the 'home swap' category.  I checked it out and it was true!  One such ad was a swap for a home in the Tulsa, OK area for a home in Little Rock, AR. 

Paulia Kennedy emailed me last month that she and her husband and real estate partner/guru, Jeff had made some incredible land swaps, which of course still meant fantastic commissions on the deal.  When I asked her to elaborate, she wrote, "...about the only thing different that we've been doing is focusing on trading properties among sellers. Since the homes aren't selling as fast, we've found that if we can hook up the right 2 sellers that are interested in trading their homes, land, or even multiple properties ... it ends up a great deal for everyone. We just did a huge swap that resulted in a little over $5 million in sales last month. It took lots of work putting all the right properties together with the perfect 2 sellers -- but it turned out great!"  (And this, readers is precisely the reason why the Kennedy Team has been recognized in their July press release, "...by the prestigious Institute for Luxury Home Marketing for their recent performance in the million-dollar and above luxury home market within Hot Springs, Arkansas.") 

Another creative advertisement which piqued my interest appeared on my local news.  A Florida homeowner painted 'For Sale' on his roof so that the advertisement could be seen by commuters from a nearby bridge. He was forced to remove the sign by his homeowners association but he was able to obtain the TV and print press he was looking for.

I have also read about "2 for 1" sales with some folks offering a plot of land with the sale of the home or in one case the sale of the main home included the 'freebie' of a smaller bungalow elsewhere.  Other intriguing sales ads I have noticed include a car with the purchase of the home and another offered the plasma TV. 

One of my neighbors, who owns a landscaping business offered a year's worth of landscaping services with the sale of his property.  This home seems to have more traffic than other homes in our subdivision and the owner tells me his own business has picked-up new clients as a result of this creative offer.  I don't believe the home has sold as of late but I applaud his creativity.

One Florida real estate agent team offers free air-conditioned bus tours of foreclosures and was featured on my local news as well.  Many of these foreclosure tours have sprouted up around the country and offer a great way to learn about buying a foreclosure as the title and insurance agents are seated on the same bus ride with the participants! 

I'm interested in knowing about other ways to creatively sell real estate.  What are some creative selling techniques that have been used in your area?

Janine Gregor
Real Estate Virtual Assistant to Paulia Kennedy