What's Love Got to do with Real Estate?

Valentine’s Day in the United States focuses on people in love. Tina Turner belted the now famous song:  “What’s Love Got To Do With It” and on this special day think of how this theme applies to real estate. Is there any place for love in the purchase and sale of real property? Often there is. There is an old saying that most people buy on emotion and justify the decision on logic.

An alert agent will notice the glimmer of love in the eye of a buyer when looking at homes. There is usually something about the home that triggers a positive memory or hopeful future. One couple with two young daughters paid particular attention to the photos of the owners’ two daughters. This knowledge created a bond to the home for the buyers as they could visualize what it would be like to raise their girls in that setting. 

Another example is a couple with two boys looking for more space for them to play sports. She didn’t want a cookie cutter typical home for the area, rather was looking for something charming. What could be more “charming” than a farm house with a porch that expanded across the front?  Truly for her it was “love at first sight.” When we talked later she recalled that the home was very much like the one she grew up in; complete with the front porch where family and friends sat to relax and visit, rocking in the swing or in chairs. She could see herself there reading a book enjoying a cup of coffee as she waited for her boys to come off the bus after school.

What does love “got to do with it” for sellers?  Honestly, have you ever had a pet owner that didn’t just think his dog is adorable? Every pet owner I know believes that her pet is special. This is the same emotion sellers often feel about their home. Logic just seems to go out the window! A professional agent seeks first to understand what a seller loves about their home. When that emotion is tapped into, it can be used to influence and nurture the same love in a purchaser.

Research supports that people buy on emotions, and that most of those feelings are hidden from us. Harvard Business School Professor Gerald Zaltman states that 95% of our purchase decisions happen in our subconscious. It is an alert real estate agent that picks up on these love signals and then assists buyers and sellers in understanding the logic that supports the purchase or sale.  http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/the-subconscious-mind-of-the-consumer-and-how-to-reach-it

Karen Briscoe with HBC Group at Keller Williams is an active and experienced Realtor® in the Northern Virginia market place.  Karen, alongside her partner Lizzy Conroy and team, works with sellers, buyers, investors and builders in all price ranges.    www.HBCGroupKW.com, 703-734-0192, Homes@HBCGroupKW.com.