How to Market Your Home for Sale

If you are wondering how to market your house for sale, it's important to know where the buyers are. Of all the ways buyers look for homes, searching online is the most popular method (95% of buyers said they looked online while searching for the home they ended up purchasing, per our Consumer Housing Trends Report). Here are some pointers for how to get your home ready for buyers, how to get your house listed online, and some great strategies for both traditional and online promotion of your home.

Prepare before you market your home for sale

Find a seller’s real estate agent

Agents are experts in marketing a house for sale, and Zillow lets you compare profiles to find the right fit for you. Of the 93% of home sellers who worked with an agent, 69% said they did so for the agent’s ability to promote their home and find buyers, according to the Zillow 2024 Consumer Housing Trends Report.

Research your market to set a competitive listing price

Pricing a home correctly is both an art and a science. If your home’s price is too high compared to similar homes in your area, that could turn away potential buyers. And if it’s priced too low, you could miss out on hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Your research should involve checking your home’s Zestimate (Zillow’s estimate of your home’s value).

Pro tip: Claim your home on Zillow so you can track your home’s Zestimate and get pricing options.

Complete necessary home improvements

Take a walk through your house as if you were a buyer. Notice whether any updates need to be made so your home will appeal to a broad range of buyers. Consider the home updates that will have the largest return on investment, but be careful not to over-improve or pick finishes that only appeal to a very specific type of buyer. 

Declutter the space

In addition to giving your house a good cleaning and putting everything back where it belongs, the best places to focus your decluttering efforts are closets and storage areas. Consider half-emptying closets, pantries, and other storage spaces to give the impression that the home has ample storage.

Depersonalize

Remove family photos and keepsakes. Also, take care to remove any evidence of your pets. These simple steps can help buyers visualize what it would be like for their family to call your property home.

Stage your home

After you've decluttered and depersonalized, it's easier to stage your home. Whether you're simply moving furniture around to make rooms feel more spacious, or hiring a full-on professional stager, making the effort to help your home's interior shine can make a big difference when buyers tour your home. Good staging can also set you up to have good digital curb appeal. With 94% of potential home buyers shopping for homes online, it’s important that your house looks its best on screen as well as in person.

Improve curb appeal

How your home looks when potential buyers first pull up, also known as curb appeal, is extremely important. Mow the lawn, pull weeds, clean walkways, and generally spruce up your home's exterior — it's where you'll make your first impression.

Set your home apart with high-return exterior improvements

After you’ve completed any necessary upgrades, consider investing in some exterior home upgrades. There are various changes you can make that will give your home a fresher look and help you sell for more. For example, a new garage door could get you a whopping 194% return on your investment when you sell, according to Remodeling Magazine. Even repainting your front door to a more popular color could put more cash in your bank.

Steps to boost your home listing online

List your home publicly

It's important to get your home listed in as many places as possible, ensuring that a wide range of buyers see it. Your agent can get your home listed on the local multiple listing service (the MLS) as well as websites like Zillow. If you're selling on your own, it's easy to post your home on Zillow yourself. According to a 2025 Zillow/Harris Poll survey,  43% of sellers who listed privately ultimately changed their mind and switched to a public MLS to help them sell.

Hire a professional photographer

Show off your home's best features with professional real estate photography, which will help you compete with other local listings. And load up on the pictures; the average listing on Zillow includes 33 photos. Twenty-seven percent of prospective homebuyers in 2023 said having high-resolution photos is the most important feature a listing could have.

Include a 3D or virtual tour

Incorporating more immersive ways to show off your house can help you sell too. Seventy percent of buyers in 2024 said a virtual tour would give them a better feel for the space than just photos. Check out Zillow's 3D Home tool, which can create a 3D tour of your listing using just an iPhone. Professional photographers will sometimes throw in a 3D tour with their services, so make sure to ask about it. Even a video walkthrough can give buyers a better idea of what your home is like.

List your home using Zillow Showcase

Showcase makes your listing stand out by giving buyers a better feel for your home using virtual tours and interactive floor plans. Homes that are listed using Showcase receive an average of 79% more views, and they sell for 2% more compared to similar listings that don’t use Showcase. If you’re working with an agent, ask them if they have a Showcase subscription. 

Write an appealing listing description

In addition to great photos, a listing description that highlights the home features buyers love can give you a big boost. Ask your real estate agent for the most popular keywords in your area. Nationally, some of the most popular listing terms include soapstone countertops, wet rooms, and outdoor showers.

Traditional real estate marketing techniques

Post promotional signage

Post yard signs, print flyers to hand out at open houses or stick on community boards, and send mailers around the neighborhood. If you're working with an agent, they'll take care of these items for you, but if you're going the FSBO route, you'll want to take these tasks on yourself.

Host an open house

Even with all the online tools at their disposal, today's buyers still want to see your home in person; 51% of buyers in 2024 said they would not feel confident making an offer on a house they haven’t seen. You can prep for your open house by cleaning, opening up blinds, and putting out snacks. You could also consider collaborating with nearby for-sale homes for an ‘open house crawl’ where buyers can visit multiple houses in the area, potentially expanding your pool of interested shoppers. 

Leverage your networks for a broad reach 

Promote on social media

Your social networks like Facebook, Nextdoor, and Instagram are great places to get the word out. Post a link to your listing, include pictures and videos, and ask people to share. If you're listing your home on your own, you might even consider some paid placements that target potential buyers in your neighborhood. Share posts regularly — not just about the property itself, but also about the neighborhood, local amenities, and any recent renovations. This approach not only draws attention to your home repeatedly, but it also helps potential buyers envision themselves living there.

Partner with local businesses

Consider the places your community frequents, like cafes, fitness centers, or shops. Their established customer base could be the perfect audience for your home. Ask those business owners about collaborating. For example, you might organize a competition where sharing your listing on social media could win someone a gift card to a popular local eatery. This approach not only boosts your property's exposure, but also fosters a positive connection with the community, making your home all the more appealing to potential buyers.

Encourage word of mouth

Reach out to your friends, family, clubs, and coworkers, and let them know you're selling your home. Encourage them to share your listing and consider offering a referral reward to anyone who helps you find a buyer. A personal recommendation from someone a buyer can trust can be surprisingly effective.

Team up with a local influencer

With a strong local following, influencers can extend your home’s reach to a more captivated audience. Find influencers whose style and audience match your property's profile. For instance, if you're selling a contemporary, eco-conscious home, connect with influencers who spotlight sustainable living or innovative architecture. Invite them to experience your property and share their visit with their followers. Their unique perspective can ignite interest and excitement, potentially leading to a swift and successful sale. Whether through a blog, YouTube, or TikTok, influencer collaborations can spotlight your property to new eyes, increasing the chances of a sale.

Find an agent who uses creative marketing

Agents should be experts in getting their clients’ homes sold. And every agent takes a different approach to selling, so before you commit to working with a specific agent, make sure you ask them plenty of questions, including how they plan to market your home. 

Unique marketing strategies if you’re listing FSBO

Advertise in online classified ads

The more places you can advertise, the better, so consider spending a little time, and perhaps a small amount of money, to list your home on online sites like Craigslist, eBay or sites specifically geared toward for sale by owner listings, if that's the direction you're taking.

Purchase banner ads

There are multiple websites that not only help you create great online banner ads, but they place them across the Internet for you. The advantage of banner ads is that they can be hyper-targeted to people who might be interested in your home. It's an outside-the-box online property marketing strategy that can be both affordable and effective.

Advertise via Google AdWords

Using similar targeting as banner ads, Google AdWords placements are text-only ads that show up along with search results. They're affordable to schedule and you can pick keywords that play on your home's best features: “Seattle homes with water views,” for example.

Effectively marketing your home for sale requires a multi-faceted approach. There are numerous ways to reach potential buyers. Whether you choose to enlist the help of a real estate professional or take the lead yourself, understanding the current market and employing the right tactics can significantly impact how quickly and successfully your home sells. Ultimately, a well-executed marketing plan can lead to a more favorable outcome in your home selling journey.