Selling a house is an art in itself. An important part of the job is real estate communication. For houses in France this is a lot more complex than in many other European countries. The market in France is much less transparent, with real estate agents trying to outdo each other and also having to compete with both the notaries and their clients: the private sellers themselves. After all, many owners try to save 5 to 6% commission by finding a buyer themselves – without a broker.
As a result of the fierce competition between brokers, there is no site that – like for instance Funda.nl in the Netherlands – makes the market almost 100% transparent. Real estate agents do not want to share their portfolio online without restrictions, for fear that their competitors will try to poach their clients.
Real estate communication is too much of an investment
Another important problem is that brokers in France are not prepared to invest in their clients. With a few exceptions, especially in the higher price ranges. We can see the lack of motivation from the presentations that the real estate agents produce in the field of real estate communication. Poor pictures, brief descriptions, no presentation advice, for example with home styling. In other countries this is much more evolved. As a result, all the houses on sites outside of France are neatly arranged and super clean on the photo, with only tasteful (and noncommittal) art on the walls.
Why don’t the brokers in France invest more in their ‘product’? Well, because a lot of people sell their house through various brokers. Each of these brokers therefore risks not selling the house, so that every investment can become a loss. Read more about the financial quagmire in my article ‘Why are the brokers in France so expensive?‘.
French shy away from real estate communication with foreigners
It will help you understand why it is a big risk for real estate agents to invest in good real estate communication. Moreover, international advertising is not their strong suit. Many real estate agents speak only French and therefore prefer not to bother to attract potential buyers from abroad. Imagine that an Englishman who doesn’t speak French reacts! Then the French real estate agent has to start speaking English! No, they prefer to sell only to their fellow countrymen.
English speaking sellers of well located, well-maintained (holiday) home in France would do well to look a little further than the nearest real estate agents for their real estate communication. Precisely because their house, the furnishing and the location will logically appeal to other British people (and perhaps also Dutch, Belgians and Swiss). They can put their French house for sale at Immogo, for example. Immogo offers the following advantages:
We understand real estate communication
Founder of Immogo (me) is a Dutch copywriter with 32 years of experience in writing promotional texts. Of which 20 years from France. I know about advertising, and especially about online communication. That’s because I write a lot of web texts for my Dutch clients. I founded Immogo in 2007 and have been active in online property sales for 12 years. Immogo customers benefit from this experience.
Multinational advertising
From the outset, Immogo has had its own ‘translator’s pool’. A team of professional translators who each serve Immogo online from their own country. Since this year, we have been translating every advertisement into three languages, so that all of Immogo’s advertisements come online in Dutch, English, German and, of course, French. Every potential buyer is therefore served in his or her own language.
Use all channels
As a copywriter and advertiser I am well informed about the different media and how to use them. Immogo makes optimal use of the search engines and Facebook, including ‘sponsored’ articles. This allows us to approach certain target groups selectively and with great precision. For example, people who love horses, hikers, or beachgoers. And of course a geographical approach is also possible. Particularly via Facebook, we can offer a promotion very precisely to residents of Geneva, Lyon or Paris, or to Londoners or inhabitants of Brussels. Together with the seller, we determine which target group is the most suitable, in order to then focus the real estate communication exactly on that target group.
What don’t we do?
Immogo is not a real estate agent. We don’t have a real estate agent’s licence and are therefore not allowed to interfere in the entire process. For example, we do not give advice on technical details or the value or pricing of a house. We also do not mediate between buyer and seller. At Immogo, as a seller, you do business directly with the buyer. Without the ‘help’ of a real estate agent, and therefore without the extra costs.
What do we do?
If you place an advertisement with us, we will assist in editing all texts and advise on the quality of the presentation. We look at a logical sequence of photos and discuss the use of a Facebook campaign. We can also always advise you on everything that has to do with the property communication, the advertising for your home. After all, these services do not fall under the broker privilege. And would you like to know something else about the sales process and the various laws and regulations? Even then you can always contact us. After 12 years of activities in the real estate communication and the real estate market (including a trial we won against the French real estate association) we have quite a bit of knowledge in this field.