10 Reasons Why Floor Plans Are Essential

REASON #1: Home Buyers Want Floor Plans
Floor plans are the 2nd most desired feature in real estate marketing. Floor plans are viewed more frequently than maps.

REASON #2: Most home buyers view homes online before deciding to schedule appointments to visit. In essence, buyers are “virtually visiting” homes before they actually set foot inside any of them. Floor plans make those “virtual visits” more meaningful.

REASON #3: Photographs vs Floor Plans
Buying a home is an emotional and analytical decision.

1. To appeal to emotion, attractive photographs are needed.
2. To appeal to analysis, floor plans are needed.

Photographs: Photographs are a colorful & attractive representation of a home. However, today’s home buyers are keenly aware that photographs don’t tell the whole story.

• Photographs are staged to depict the home in its most attractive manner.
• Photographs feature the homeowner’s furnishings which are not part of what is being offered for sale.
• And wide angle photography often makes rooms appear larger than they actually are.

Floor Plans: Floor plans, on the other hand, are a neutral, analytical and measurable representation of a home. With floor plans, buyers can clearly see the shape, size and location of the rooms to assess whether the home suits their needs.

REASON #4: Buyers spend much more time viewing listings with floor plans than listings that do not have floor plans. Homes displaying both quality photographs & floor plans generate more interest than homes displaying only photographs. Floor plans have the power to visually stimulate buyers and generate interest. And for buyers who are searching from afar, floor plans are absolutely essential.

REASON #5: Floor Plans Reduce Time On The Market
A floor plan serves as a convenient notepad for buyers to jot down thoughts about each room as they walk through the home.

Including a floor plan in the marketing literature accelerates the buyer’s ability to make a decision and, therefore, reduces time on the market.

REASON #6: Visualizing Potential
Some home buyers might be planning to reconfigure a home to suit their needs. For those buyers, floor plans are helpful in analyzing the possibilities for remodeling the home (i.e. removing walls, adding rooms, adding doors and windows, etc.). Floor plans enable these buyers to visualize the home’s potential.

REASON #7: Furniture Placement
Floor plans are useful in determining where the buyer’s furniture can be positioned. A floor plan can be used as a template for designing the interior layout.

Empty nesters (who are downsizing) are particularly concerned about where to place the family heirlooms they hope to bring from their former larger homes.

REASON #8: Floor Plans Serve As A “Silent Salesperson”
Floor plans help buyers recall & evaluate the functionality of a home long after they have viewed it. In essence, a floor plan continues to sell your home even after the buyers are back home sitting on their living room sofa thinking things over.

After visiting a dozen homes in a single day, it is difficult for buyers to remember the features and layouts of all of the homes. Floor plans ensure that the features of your home are not overlooked or forgotten. (i.e. lofts, basements, closets, pantries, cupboards and storage areas where the space might be put to better use.) A floor plan helps buyers recall these valuable but sometimes overlooked areas of your home.

REASON #9: Total Useable Square Footage
Having a home measured and depicted on a floor plan eliminates the guess work and confirms the square footage being cited in the listing details.

REASON #10: Home Value
A floor plan clearly depicts the useable heated areas (square footage) & helps to support the home’s value for home buyers and appraisers.