Sell More Homes By Tapping Consumer Needs

You do not need to be a property search expert or a data junkie to understand how homebuyers choose homes. Location, price, beds, baths... in that order. If you look on any consumer property search website, the search criteria are lined out just like that. Choose an area, choose a price.

Most consumers stop refining their search there when they are early on in the selection process. Call it home browsing. When they get a little more defined in their process, they begin to put in bedrooms and baths and particular amenities – even define the radius of their search.

Here is a data point that is very important to consumers that you probably did not think about--heating and cooling costs. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 87% of consumers consider heating and cooling costs as a key piece of information in choosing a home.

If you look in the MLS, you are unlikely to find a field for heating and cooling costs. In some way, that is great news. It creates an opportunity for innovation. Indeed, you can make it a mantra – like Going Green in 2013.

Have all of your listing agents collect utility costs. Get an estimate of heating and cooling costs. Make note of energy efficient appliances, energy efficient lighting, and landscaping for energy and water conservation.

Once you have the information, you can use it for marketing and lead generation. Publish a lead form on your website to allow buyers to "Request Heating and Cooling Costs." If you tie consumer information demand to lead generation, you find a sweet spot where the needs of the brokerage and the needs of the consumer are met.

It may not be so easy to do this. First, you will need your lawyer to put the appropriate disclaimers in place that indicates that the brokerage is not representing the accuracy of the information in any way.

Secondly, unless you are a big broker, you are going to spend a lot of time chasing utility costs from other agents. You may want to ask your MLS or Association of REALTORS® to try to build a relationship with utility companies that would enable a homeowner to consent to authorizing the sharing of the last year of data with their REALTOR®.