Investors and real estate developers love nothing more than when everything goes according to plan. But sometimes, plans go south when you’re trying to sell off the plan. That is, before you’ve actually built the investment properties, you might struggle to sell the designs and the promise that you will deliver.
When you’re trying to run a business, struggling to sell off-plan properties can be a little more than problematic. But how do you get around the central problem — the problem that some investors just don’t feel comfortable investing in real estate that isn’t built yet?
That’s what the Cedreo team is going to help you figure out today. In this post, we dive in to the specifics of off-plan properties, on-plan properties and how to sell off-plan properties and keep your business thriving. Read on to get the essential tips and tricks you need to know.
What are Off-Plan and On-Plan Properties?
Off-plan properties and on-plan properties are terms specific to the construction and real estate industries, but to beginners in these fields, they can be a little confusing. For one thing, “off-plan” makes it sound like something has gone wrong, but that’s not even close to true.
All that off-plan means is that the property has not been built yet. These properties are usually no more than concepts with some early designs. Builders and project managers usually pitch them to real estate developers and early-stage investors to seek funding before actually breaking ground.
On-plan properties, on the other hand, are already built. These properties should be completely ready for occupancy or use, including all necessary licensure and inspections. You may see these properties referred to as “ready-built” properties in some contexts.
Both types of properties are defined by their potential for return on investment. Neither is necessarily better than the other, but it is relatively easy to see how some investors would be more comfortable investing in on-plan properties that they can actually see and tour. That’s particularly true if your company is not a well-known name in the industry — investors may have no real confidence that you can deliver the off-plan property project as proposed.
Tips to Sell Off-Plan Properties Fast
Building confidence in off-plan properties to the point that you can sell them should be your top goal as a builder. That’s because selling off-plan properties reduces the risk on your business and instead transfers it to that of the investors. But, as we discussed above, quickly selling off-plan properties can be a challenge for lesser known names in the construction and real estate industries. Here are some tips to fix that problem and sell off-plan properties fast:
Use the Best 3D Renderings
Your prospective investors and buyers can’t tour an off-plan property like they can tour an on-plan property, but you can give them the next best thing. You can generate high-quality 3D renderings that give buyers a real-world feel for what the property will look like.
You can’t just use any 3D rendering. You need quality. Otherwise, your property will look low-resolution, boxy, boring and unsellable. That’s the opposite of what you want. To avoid that, it’s worth investing in a software that creates photorealistic renderings, such as Cedreo.
The alternative to creating your own 3D renderings with floor plan software is outsourcing 3D renderings to design firms. This option is likely to be more expensive and take longer, but for some firms, it works well.
Create a Marketing Brochure
Trying to sell off-plan properties without physical materials to point to is like trying to describe a dream you had to someone — the conversation quickly turns uninteresting because the listener has no visual reference for what you’re talking about. And when these conversations turn boring, the sales process has already failed.
That’s why it is so important to have a marketing brochure for any off-plan property you hope to sell. And don’t just fill the marketing brochure with plain text. Create detailed 3D imagery of the proposed property and insert it into the materials to provide a compelling visual element.
Walk-through the Presentation Document
With a marketing brochure and your 3D renderings created and sent out, you may think you’re done. But you’re not done if what you’re trying to do is sell these off-plan properties. Investors and buyers require a little hand-holding in even the best scenarios, but when you are talking about a project that hasn’t even progressed past pre-construction, they’re going to need a little more than that from you.
That’s why you need to schedule a time to walk the potential buyers through your presentation of the off-plan property. Yes, you can rely on what you have put in the marketing brochure, but you will also need to project high-quality images of the proposed structure from multiple angles. Point out particularly interesting details, back up your statements with facts and figures and sell, sell, sell.
Construct a Hands-On Mood Board
Setting the mood and tone for a proposed property is key to selling it off-plan. That’s because the mood surrounding the project has a profound effect on buyer confidence, and you need to take full control of it. One way you can do that is with an old-fashioned mood board.
A mood board — complete with sample fixtures, surface coverings, colors and more from the property’s 3D rendering — gives buyers something physical they can feel and touch. Remember — the physical is what is missing from the sale of off-plan properties, so filling this gap with a mood board can be a powerful sales tactic.
Design and Construct Onsite Marketing
At the build site of the off-plan property, you need to let the world know that your vision is going to become a reality. That means you need to put up signage that explains what will eventually be built there. And this is a classic case of show, don’t tell — you need to include the 3D renderings of the building on the signage.
Showing images of the off-plan property you plan to build at the site instills confidence in potential buyers and investors. If they are concerned about the deliverability of the project, signage with 3D renderings at the site gives them something to look at and eases their fears.
Conclusion
If the thought of trying to sell off-plan properties fills you with stress, you aren’t alone. You are facing a problem that countless builders and developers face every day. But this is a problem with a solution — several solutions, in fact.
With a few simple tips, you can bring your off-plan property sales strategy to life and start turning property concepts into real revenue for your business. Rely heavily on 3D imagery of proposed properties, hold buyers’ hands through the sales process, double-down on physical marketing materials and set the tone with image-heavy signage at the proposed site. That’s how you’re going to make your next off-plan property sale.
To make it easier to implement these tips and best practices, sign-up with Cedreo. Cedreo is a user-friendly and powerful floor plan and 3D rendering software that cuts design time in half, eliminates the need to outsource 3D rendering work and shortens the off-plan property sales cycle. Ready to grow your business? Try Cedreo today for free.
