Make Me Move is the real estate site Zillow’s popular feature of being able to play the housing market without committing to selling your house. It allows you to post what you’d be willing to sell your home for and see how willing people are to pay it.
This feature is best used by people who plan on selling their house for a high price so they can see how the market will react. Those who can best make use of the Make Me Move feature on Zillow need to know what it is and how it works, which this article will help you do.
What Does Make Me Move mean on Zillow?
Zillow Make Me Move is a feature that lets you notify prospective homebuyers how much you'd be willing to sell your house for. Make Me Move is not a feature for those who are ready to sell their house – it has no actual listings on it. However, those who are ready and willing to see how the market will react to a potential listing of their property can play the field using Zillow's Make Me Move feature.
Why not just list it? If you’re planning on asking a high price or if you’re in no hurry to sell, your listing may become stale after sitting there for a while. One of the first things you have to realize about online real estate is that a listing that’s been around for a while has a kiss of death – people who see it think the listing is inaccurate or the property is undesirable, somehow.
One of the main ideas behind Zillow Make Me Move is being able to list, without listing, to see the market’s reaction to your property without committing to a sale or risking a stale listing. Since Zillow is the biggest real estate website in the US, with a 70% market share in terms of online searches, it's a natural place to explore such a feature as listing on Zillow means getting your listing seen by as many potential buyers as possible.
Why not just use an FSBO listing?
For-sale-by-owner listings on Zillow (or FSBO) have a significant disadvantage in terms of your ability to compile your leads and see how your listing will perform on the market when you put it out there for real. The problem with FSBO listings is that Zillow does their best to collect the info of your potential leads and sell it to agents through their contact form.
By contrast, a Make Me Move listing sends the clients to you, the homeowner. Getting exposure for your property and generating leads that you can evaluate, and control puts you in the driver’s seat of your listing. By waiting on contacting real estate agents until you’re ready to commit to a sale, you can manage your listing however you choose.
Are there any downsides?
Any good review of Zillow Make Me Move should address the potential downsides of the application to those that are willing to list their house. The main one is that just putting your information on the Zillow site doesn’t mean that you’ll appear in all of Zillow’s searches. Since Make Me Move listings aren’t truly on the market, you won’t have as much traffic.
There’s also the possibility of getting attention from real estate agents through cold calls, so keep that in mind before you post. Many reviews of Zillow Make Me Move mention an overwhelming amount of unsolicited calls from agents trying to get the listing as an exclusive. This is not out of the ordinary, as realtors are always on the hunt for new business.
Zillow Make Me Move might not be for people who aren’t ready to sell right away since it will start the ball rolling on the marketplace’s reaction to your property and the potential attention from real estate agents that accelerates the process.
How to Use Zillow Make Me Move
It’s essential to know how to make a post to Make Me Move because one potential downside to using the application is that people will think you’re not serious about selling.
Once you’ve figured out what Make Me Move means on Zillow, made your way to the page, and made a Zillow account, you need to know how to make a listing that will matter. Follow these basic rules on how to do that.
Know how to interpret your listing information
People are looking for value, luxury, and comfort, no matter their price range. A good listing spins factual information into a comforting narrative for the reader. For example, your home shouldn’t “have” 2,300 sq. ft. – it should “offer” 2,300 sq. ft. of “spacious living room.” You want your listing to sound like a house that will benefit the buyer.
This is true for negatives about your listing as well, though keep in mind that you will never sell a property that you are untruthful about – your buyer’s expectations will be shattered when they see it. Framing negative information isn’t about lying but about helping people see the bright side. Instead of saying that your neighbors are too close, say that you have a cozy, close-knit neighborhood.
Know your features
People will be looking for specific accommodations when they search for your house. Figure out what people in your price range might search for and tailor your listing to those desires.
For instance, your house may “boast” (not “have”) a designer kitchen. Describe it in detail. Or if your property has a spacious yard, you may want to define its possibilities for the people buying. Make them imagine what they could use it for.
Don’t get carried away with creative language, but don’t list your house like a lexicon either. You need to help your potential buyers see themselves in your home with the features that they’re looking for.
Information
Making sure your information is accurate and up to date is a must, as are professional-looking photos that don’t leave anything out.
The Takeaway
This review of Zillow Make Me Move is intended to get you started on making your listing count by walking you through the reasons people use the application instead of making an official listing.
Knowing how to frame information on your listing is essential to its success. You need to understand how to attract clients. Even more importantly, however, you need to know your needs. You need to know how ready you are to sell your house beforehand, but Make Me Move is a great way to evaluate your options and play the field before committing to a price.