Back to the Basics - The Timeless Rule of the 3 Ps

It is hard to believe that real estate as we know it today is not even 25 years old. When I started my career as an agent in 2001, Realtors were the only source for real estate information and many agents were still using a DOS-based system to access property information. While Realtor.com and Homes.com were around in basic form in the late 1990s, Zillow did not launch until December, 2004, providing widespread data access for all.

Many Realtors, tired of juggling multiple Thomas Guide maps, gladly paid hundreds of dollars for the first practical GPS systems. I distinctly remember the day I made my commitment to get one: I was driving a group of clients in my van to view homes, holding maps with one hand and driving with the other. When my Blackberry phone rang, an audible gasp from someone in the back was all the incentive I needed.

It is hard to believe how far we have come in less than a quarter of a century.

Ironically, while much has changed, three fundamental things have not. We call them the 3-Ps – Preparation, Pricing and Promotion. Like three legs on a stool, all three are equally important if you want the best results. Even with all of the modern tools that we have, everything still comes down to those three main categories – handle all three correctly and you stand a good chance of success. 

Preparation: It is a widely accepted reality that homes that are effectively prepared typically sell for more than those that are sold “AS-IS.” If done correctly, it is even possible to recoup multiple dollars for every dollar spent on improvements. 

Pricing: Thanks to all of the data now online, couple with automated valuations on most of the major real estate portals, buyers have become extremely price-savvy. Not only will they not make an offer on a home they believe is overpriced (believing anyone setting a high price might be unreasonable), they will often not show up for a visit.

Promotion: Selling a home has become like online dating: you have 7-10 seconds to make a good impression on someone’s device. Excellent photos and staging set the stage for effective offers. If they do not like what they see online, chances are they will never show up.

The simple truth is this: master the 3 Ps and your chances of ultimate success will dramatically increase.

Carl Medford is a licensed Realtor with Keller Williams Realty and a licensed general contractor.