Despite the similarities between selling homes and selling lots, the two are not the same. Selling homes isn’t always a guarantee of quick success compared to selling vacant lots. The buyers are different, the market is different, and the sales approach and pricing are different. By understanding these distinctive differences and adjusting to them, sellers can be highly successful. Turn what seems like obstacles into advantages.
4 Key Differences Between Selling Homes Versus Selling Lots
As you can see, you must understand the difference between selling a home and a lot. Here are the key differences between selling homes and lots.
1. Buyer Audience
A home buyer and many buyers purchase properties for entirely different reasons. Homebuyers are usually looking for a place to live where they don’t have to do much work. Basically a move-in-ready house. In addition to their deep opinions about furnishings and features, homebuyers aren’t afraid to voice additional hints when they don’t like what they see. Which quality is most important to them? Like a solid house structure. And their lives will be devoted to paying for this property for the next 30 years. Their goal is to avoid making a financial mistake by purchasing a house of cards that will fall when the first storm hits.
Lot buyers, meanwhile, offer a different perspective on the real estate market, which can differ according to whether they are individuals or groups. For example, an individual may be interested in developing a home or purchasing recreational land. The first group would prefer a home site that’s large enough to allow their children to build in one day. Those looking to make money off the ground would look for the right location and type of land. It’s possible they would be looking for land suitable for farming or ranching.
2. Market
Everyone needs a place to sleep at night. Thus, not everyone may be interested in flipping a vacant lot or developing it. And because of that, existing home sales are almost always more active than land sales. There are fewer buyers for vacant lots than homes because fewer potential buyers are looking to purchase raw land. People may not want just land as much as they want a house. Therefore, a vacant piece of land will typically take longer to sell than a home.
3. Sales Process
It’s reasonable to assume that a different sales process may be required if the market size is smaller, the buyer mentality is different, and the product is different. Selling a house typically involves pictures, open houses, and other visual elements. It’s not hard for buyers to visualize a house when they can tour it personally and see it themselves. Their future can be pictured in that house, so they might not have to wait for it to be what they want. It might already be what they want.
The sales process for the vacant lot is different, as the buyer must be able to visualize the property’s potential. Geological surveys can help you get a head start selling land. The buyer can gain a complete understanding of the property’s potential by learning about its details. In guiding the buyer to look beyond what the land currently is, a skilled seller will point out how the land can be used in the future.
4. Pricing
It’s more challenging to price land than to price a house. If the home is in a good neighborhood, it will sell for a lot of money, even if it’s in bad shape. On the other hand, there may be a set price for lots that have been developed in a community based on the prices of other lots that have recently been sold in the same area. There may be fewer sales to compare to when figuring out how much to price for raw land.
Additionally, the final sale price of an undeveloped piece of land can differ enormously depending on the intended use of the buyer. Developers who want to build high-end homes will likely pay more for your land than people who want to create a single home on it.
Conclusion
Despite the similarities, home selling and lot selling are not the same. When compared to the sale of homes, selling lots does not always guarantee instant results. The buyers, the market, and the sales method and pricing are all different from one another. Sellers can be very successful if they know how to deal with these unique differences. When it comes to selling your land, the strategies in this article will be helpful whether you’re just getting started or need a boost in motivation.
