Selling a SW Florida Home to Savvy Green-Conscious Buyers. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Marco Island, Lehigh Acres, Estero

Selling a SW Florida Home to Savvy Green-Conscious Buyers. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Marco Island, Lehigh Acres, Estero. Selling a SW Florida home quickly and for a good price means attracting the broadest range of qualified home buyers. That can depend on identifying as many appeal points as possible, then showing them off through an energetic marketing program. One increasingly prominent marketing point is one that used to be an unexploited side issue: green features. Just watch some of the latest TV commercials, and you’ll see what Madison Avenue’s researchers have decided—today’s consumers increasingly respond to eco-friendly product features.
Selling a home in SW Florida can benefit by incorporating the kind of green features that just a short while ago used to be underplayed (or overlooked entirely). But today’s buyers also tend to be a sophisticated crew. It’s no longer enough to simply sprinkle buzzwords in a listing or tear sheet. Here are some tips gleaned from successful appeals to green home buyers:
Focus on the Numbers
Typical green home buyers aren’t just thrifty—some studies conclude that saving money is their primary focus. The NAR finds that heating and cooling costs are at least somewhat important to 85% of today’s home buyers. Selling to value-minded home buyers in SW Florida means that listing and supplementary materials should emphasize concrete data on the savings to be had from a property’s energy-efficient features. The way to do that? Gather the manufacturer’s information for operating cost saving projections. Green is ‘green’ in more ways than one!
Be Specific
What’s called “green washing” by marketers has left buyers more willing to dismiss vague environmental benefits that are more sizzle than steak. Use precise information to break through the marketing fog of green buzzwords—to make a pitch that resonates with sophisticated prospects. A little research will yield specific eco-friendly details: for instance, when listing features like doors and windows, using technically precise terms like “low-e glass” instead of “energy saving windows.” Likewise, rather than promoting “efficient appliances,” cite the “Energy Star-rated dishwasher.”
Provide Documentation
To demonstrate that a home’s green pedigree is more than just sloganeering, making available copies of the original documentation of eco-friendly materials and appliances can be a difference-maker. If possible, haul out the old energy bills to demonstrate “before and after” utility consumption figures. Energy certifications, performance specifications and environmental ratings provided by manufacturers can quash objections from even the most sales resistant green home buyers.
Selling a SW Florida Home to Savvy Green-Conscious Buyers. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Marco Island, Lehigh Acres, Estero. I like to set up a small display with those kinds of materials during open houses for my clients whose SW Florida homes sport valuable green attributes. If your home has strong eco-friendly sales points—or if you are in the market for one—give me a call today!

Swooping and Diving into Our SW Florida Real Estate Future. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Isles Of Capri, Golden Gate.

Swooping and Diving into Our SW Florida Real Estate Future. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Isles Of Capri, Golden Gate. When you hear the word “drone,” you’re more likely to think military target than SW Florida residential listing. But drones could be the Next Big Thing in real estate photography—that is, if they don’t run afoul of the law.
Technically known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), drones have swooped and dived into the public consciousness in a big way within the past year. In addition to the amusing tiny model helicopters that have been found under many a Christmas tree over the few holiday seasons, their more ambitious cousins, remote-controlled, lightweight flying vehicles have begun to be used by firefighters, filmmakers, and the military. And as the technology becomes less and less expensive, everyone expects to see drones in more applications than you could imagine—for instance, CBS’s 60 Minutes report that previewed Amazon.com’s plans to test online purchase deliveries via driveway drop-offs by creepy four-rotor drones.
What’s the connection with SW Florida real estate? Just ask commercial photographers, who think the lightweight vehicles would be their key to the perfect high production value property shots. Think of it: instead of chartering an expensive helicopter flight to photograph a site from the air, a real estate photographer could use a much cheaper and more easily controlled lightweight drone. The result? Dramatic, breath-taking shots that used to be only rarely seen in listing video tours (and then, only in million-dollar listings). With more than 90% of prospective home buyers now using the Internet, those kinds of shots could make the difference between a stagnant listing and a quick turnaround.
But don’t hold your breath for the rise of drone-based real estate photography—at least not yet. The Federal Aviation Administration requires a permit for each flight whose goal is the “commercial use of airspace”—even by small devices like photography drones. As a consequence, the National Association of REALTORS® is advising real estate pros not to use drone-based photography until next year, when new FAA guidelines will be announced. Until then, a special FAA waiver has to be obtained for each flight (and you can bet a local property would have already been sold long before that came to pass!)
While we may heave a sigh over the exciting drone videos that might have been, the real possibility that drones will become a factor in SW Florida’s residential real estate reinforces the importance of having your home sale-ready from all angles. Imagine the fallout if drone photos revealed a leaky roof—or an unkempt backyard!
Bottom line: it’s always going to remain vital to prep a property to shine in more than just the “curb appeal” photo.

Swooping and Diving into Our SW Florida Real Estate Future. Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Isles Of Capri, Golden Gate. That planning can start with a call to my office for a no-obligation review of how to set into motion a proven marketing plan that gets your SW Florida home sold!