Hi Everyone,

How Much Would Marketing to Foreign Buyers of Real Estate Cost You?

A big question as answering it would actually affect your decision whether you want to dive into international real estate marketing.

Lots of information on the topic including various real life cases you can find in my ebook on Amazon: How to Plan and Budget for Success in International Property Sales (Sell Real Estate Internationally) by Olga Kellen.

Here we will talk about a much narrower topic: let’s imagine that you are a real estate agent who chooses to sell properties to foreign buyers, and calculate what your marketing expenses would be.

There’s a general understanding that any real estate agent usually spends about 10% of his commission on sale for marketing a property.

Let’s consider you want to sell a property for $400k to a foreign buyer. Of course you have made your homework already and picked a foreign country properly which means that you know that people from this country do buy properties in your area.

Your commission on sale will be 6% which equals $24k. Let’s assume you will share it 50:50 with a buyer’s realtor who will bring a buyer, thus your part will be $12k and the marketing budget of 10% equals $1,200. The usual amount allocated for property online advertising is 40% to 50% of the total budget which is $500 to $600.

We know that usually the marketing budget is being spent for advertising online and offline, printing brochures, installing yard signs, preparing open house events, professional photography and videos, sometimes home staging, etc.

In case of marketing to foreign buyers the structure of expenses will look different with some additional expenses involved, but at the same time some will be eliminated: no open houses, no yard signs, no printing, etc. - your overseas buyers don’t need all of those.

Actually as a listing agent you have two ways to proceed in a foreign buying market:

1. advertise on your own your property for sale online in the foreign language in the foreign internet to attract a buyer from abroad directly (no commission sharing then, keep $24k for yourself, but pay foreign advertising out of the marketing budget of $2,400 which is $1,000 to $1,200 in this case)

or

2. find a cooperating partner or partners in the foreign country who will send you a buyer (initial expenses are lower).

Here we will talk about the second case - commission sharing - thus your expenses will involve finding potential partners, communication with them, translation of the property listing and sales agreement, photos and videos too. Advertising will be on your foreign partners - which is your big upfront saving!

I strongly disagree with some authors on the topic that try to include things like legal expenses for a foreign buyer, concierge services for him, etc. as your responsibility - don’t go for that. It’s the buyer’s expense if he needs such services. Of course you have to have a list of recommended providers on hand just in case for him.

For example, you don’t pay food and lodging for an out of state buyer, do you? And if any buyer needs a property inspection or talking to a lawyer, it’s his own business.

So, if you’re looking for commission based cooperative partners in real estate sales to Russian speaking buyers, I can evaluate your international marketing expenses more or less equal to your usual local advertising expenses that in this case are on your overseas partner, not on you!

Thus the total international marketing of a property would cost not more than marketing locally - just the structure of expenses is different.

And what is even better: your once found international partners in sales will send you more buyers for your other properties in the future and your marketing expenses with them will be even lower!

Need help with marketing to Russian speaking realtors and buyers? Email me.

To your best business success,

Sincerely,