How to sell lifestyle blocks: target one of these 3 types of buyers

Lifestyle blocks appeal to a wide range of different buyers, all with different personalities, wants and needs from your home at sale time. Here are three of the most common you’ll encounter, and advice on how to appeal to their tastes while selling your property. Want to know how to sell rural property? Here's how (and who!):

The Retirement Couple

If you’ve got a slightly smaller lifestyle property with a little less land than your neighbours, then we’ve got good news for you: your home is perfect for the Retirees. These older buyers are downsizers that want a place that is away from the city, where they can get a little more bang for their buck. They’d like a bit of a garden to potter around in, rather than huge tracts of land, and absolute peace and quiet in which to entertain friends and family.

They are probably looking for their last home, and are almost certainly aiming for a smaller bungalow that doesn’t require as much maintenance. To appeal to this buyer, make your home comfortable, but not cluttered. Think soft, comfortable sofas, warm colours, a little bit of staging erring on the side of “homey” rather than “neutral”. The land should be tidy, and you may want to plant some flowers in the land closest to the home as a garden.

The Young Family

The Young Family is similar to the Retirees in that they are likely on the lower end of the price range, but while the Retirees primarily want peace and quiet, the Young Family want room to grow. Specifically in terms of bedrooms and the amount of available square feet, and a little land for the kids to run around in wouldn’t hurt.

If your home has three or more bedrooms and isn’t too far from amenities and schools, you’ll almost certainly get plenty of Young Families visiting. Focus your efforts on highlighting the local shops, parks, sights and schools; child-friendly amusements are a bonus. For the home itself, dress up one of the bedrooms specifically as a child’s room. It’ll allow the Young Family to see your home as theirs and they’ll be more willing to seal the deal on a sale.

The Small Business Owner

Like the Small Farmer, the Small Business Owner is looking at your property as an opportunity. Unlike the Small Farmer, however, the Small Business Owner isn’t planning on doing any farming at all; rather, they are going to use the property or land for an enterprise that is best based rurally, such as horseback riding, a bed and breakfast, clay pigeon shooting or archery.

Depending on the business they are looking at opening, you may need to change your tactics. A bed and breakfast would need a residence with space and unique charm. Someone looking at opening a shooting range, however, would be mostly looking at the land and the placement of your neighbours. Your agent will ask the buyer what they are looking for if you encounter a Small Business Owner—it can be highly variable, so if you target inaccurately, it could cost you a sale.

We hope you’ve found this useful! We’ve also put together a short guide to selling your rural property which has everything you need to know to make the most of your decision to sell. It’s got everything from marketing techniques to what selling method you should use—and much more.