How a launch works
How 140,000 people saw a home before it reached Rightmove
Most homes meet their buyers on Rightmove first, as one small photograph among thirty on a phone screen. The buyer decides in a few seconds whether to look closer, usually on price and bedroom count alone. The Oak House in Houghton Conquest met its buyers differently.
The house
It is a green oak frame home built to an EPC rating of A, with an air source heat pump, solar panels with battery storage and whole-house ventilation with heat recovery. There are four bedrooms and a self-contained annexe. On a portal, that becomes a list of features. On film, it becomes a way of living, which is what a buyer of a house like this is really looking for.
The order we launched it in
Before the house appeared on any portal, we shot a presenter-led film and released a short preview on Facebook. The preview has now been watched more than 140,000 times. Only then did the full listing and the cinematic tour go live.
Launching in that order does three things. Buyers who come to the listing have already seen the house moving, with its light and its scale. The ones who book a viewing have already decided they like it, so viewings are fewer and more serious. And the owners hear, early on, how the market is responding, before a single price conversation.
What it means for your home
The first fortnight of a launch does most of the work. How many of the right buyers see your home in that window, and how they see it, sets the price more than the figure on the listing does.
If you would like to see how we would launch yours, our Pre-Market Report sets it out, with the price we would launch at and why.
Request a Pre-Market ReportJames Kendall
Founder, James Kendall & Co