Upwards of 90% of homebuyers today use the internet as a primary tool in their real estate search, but a clear understanding of how real estate on the internet works can maximize the effectiveness of your homes' internet advertising.
The two primary portals for buyers onto the real estate internet are the local Realtor MLS’s (multiple listing services) and real estate property search websites like Realtor.com, the most popular real estate web site in the world. Both of these types of tools are indispensable in marketing your home. The first step in an aggressive internet marketing campaign is to maximize the use of these tools by putting as many attractive photos, floor plans, maps and other images into these databases as possible. Similarly you should list as many positive selling features of the home as space allows. In my local database, this means using all 400 characters (80 words), and on Realtor.com this means using 25 photos to show off a home. For many homes, though, this is simply not enough space to adequately display the home’s features. How do I get around these limitations?
Property specific websites! With a custom website built specifically for your home, we can feature as many selling features, photos, floor plans, maps, and virtual tours as we want. We don’t need to leave any selling feature out! Then the website can be mentioned prominently in the local MLS database and on Realtor.com to supplement all of the materials on those sites. You can mention a website on a custom flyer, on a business card, on a TV ad, in a newspaper or trade publication ad. I can even mention it here: go to http://www.2972oldarcataroad.com/ to see what I’m talking about.
So don’t let the system limitations stop you from showing off your home to the 90% of buyers using the internet every day. Go the extra mile with a property specific website, and hook the heart and mind of those buyers so that your home stands out above the rest.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Get Your Money’s Worth
If you have a $1M house, you're going to pay your Realtor $60,000 to sell it for you. That's a lot of money! What are you getting for all that cash? I met with a couple of clients yesterday and had that discussion, and was reminded how much clients love to see my Custom Marketing Plan, which lays out everything I'm going to do for them in exchange for the commission I receive. Here it is; tell me what you think about it!
o Complementary Staging
o Input into the local MLS
o Yard sign with Spotlights and a Flyer box
o Double-sided, glossy Flyers with Floorplan on the back
o Business Card Flyers
o Tri-fold/Brochure explaining features of the property
o 2 property specific Websites– branded & unbranded (see http://www.2972oldarcataroad.com/ as an example)
o Virtual Walk-throughs (http://www.visualtour.com/applets/flashviewer2/viewer.asp?t=1987120&sk=30&dm=visualtour.com)
o YouTube videos (http://www.290barley.com/290bvid/vidindex.html)
o National Print Advertising in the Elegant Homes Report, the DuPont Registry, and the Wall Street Journal.
o Internet advertising on Realtor.com (& over 12 other websites)
o Open House/Party to feature your home to qualified buyers in your area
o Complementary Staging
o Input into the local MLS
o Yard sign with Spotlights and a Flyer box
o Double-sided, glossy Flyers with Floorplan on the back
o Tri-fold/Brochure explaining features of the property
o 2 property specific Websites– branded & unbranded (see http://www.2972oldarcataroad.com/ as an example)
o Virtual Walk-throughs (http://www.visualtour.com/applets/flashviewer2/viewer.asp?t=1987120&sk=30&dm=visualtour.com)
o YouTube videos (http://www.290barley.com/290bvid/vidindex.html)
o National Print Advertising in the Elegant Homes Report, the DuPont Registry, and the Wall Street Journal.
o Internet advertising on Realtor.com (& over 12 other websites)
o Open House/Party to feature your home to qualified buyers in your area
Thursday, March 11, 2010
3 Key Elements to Selling Your Home
Selling your home, when you boil it down, is really about 3 things: the Property, the Promotion, and the Price.
The Property is the one thing over which you, the Seller, have control. It is your house. You have complete control over the color, the carpet, the landscaping, the décor, the features…simply put, it’s your house. As a Realtor, I’m happy to walk through your home with you and make suggestions that will make it more desirable, but ultimately your home is…well, your home. You have control over the condition, appearance and features in your home.
The Promotion, or marketing, is the one thing over which I, the Realtor, have control. This is what you pay a Realtor for – to get the facts and features of your home out into the marketplace so that qualified buyers can see it and decide to take the next step and come see the home in person. For a $250,000 home, you’ll pay a Realtor somewhere in the neighborhood of $15,000. That’s a lot of money! And the main reason you’re paying him this huge amount is to market your home so that you can get the best sales price possible. What is his marketing plan? Get it in writing, and get it guaranteed! Get samples of his work from previous listings. If he is unable or unwilling to offer these, move on. You’re not getting your money’s worth.
The last element of the sale of your home is the Price. Neither you as the Seller, nor I as the Realtor, have any control over the sales price of your home. You can determine the price at which your home will NOT sell, simply by saying, “No, I will not accept that offer.” I will advise you on the price where your home is likely to sell, based on recent comparable homes sold and current market conditions. But neither you nor I can fix a certain sales price. If we could, you and I would agree to sell your home for $100,000,000, and we’d just go do it. But if the market will not support a price, then we won’t be able to sell it at that price.
So what determines the sales price of your home? The Market determines sales prices for homes. The market is the pool of buyers and sellers currently active in the home market place, and fair market price is the price at which 2 potential buyers are willing to argue over your home. Two buyers are important; if we have only one buyer, he is arguing over the price with you, the Seller, and he’s arguing down. If you have two buyers, they are arguing with each other, and they are arguing the price up! That’s what you want! Many times I’ve seen a Seller list his home higher than fair market value, get very few showings, and one low-ball offer. Then he ends up selling his home for less than he had to because he only had one interested buyer. Conversely, I’ve often seen a seller list his home at an aggressive price in line with the fair market value, and receive two or more offers, and ultimately sell his home for more than he was asking.
So, don’t pick an agent based upon the sales price he says he can get for your home. There are agents out there who will “Buy a Listing.” That is, they will suggest a value of the home way above fair market value to entice a Seller to list the home with them, and then they’ll spend the next 6 months trying to work the Seller down to a realistic sales price. You should hire an agent primarily on the marketing he will do to Promote your home, and secondarily on his counsel in preparing and Pricing the Property for sale.
The Property is the one thing over which you, the Seller, have control. It is your house. You have complete control over the color, the carpet, the landscaping, the décor, the features…simply put, it’s your house. As a Realtor, I’m happy to walk through your home with you and make suggestions that will make it more desirable, but ultimately your home is…well, your home. You have control over the condition, appearance and features in your home.
The Promotion, or marketing, is the one thing over which I, the Realtor, have control. This is what you pay a Realtor for – to get the facts and features of your home out into the marketplace so that qualified buyers can see it and decide to take the next step and come see the home in person. For a $250,000 home, you’ll pay a Realtor somewhere in the neighborhood of $15,000. That’s a lot of money! And the main reason you’re paying him this huge amount is to market your home so that you can get the best sales price possible. What is his marketing plan? Get it in writing, and get it guaranteed! Get samples of his work from previous listings. If he is unable or unwilling to offer these, move on. You’re not getting your money’s worth.
The last element of the sale of your home is the Price. Neither you as the Seller, nor I as the Realtor, have any control over the sales price of your home. You can determine the price at which your home will NOT sell, simply by saying, “No, I will not accept that offer.” I will advise you on the price where your home is likely to sell, based on recent comparable homes sold and current market conditions. But neither you nor I can fix a certain sales price. If we could, you and I would agree to sell your home for $100,000,000, and we’d just go do it. But if the market will not support a price, then we won’t be able to sell it at that price.
So what determines the sales price of your home? The Market determines sales prices for homes. The market is the pool of buyers and sellers currently active in the home market place, and fair market price is the price at which 2 potential buyers are willing to argue over your home. Two buyers are important; if we have only one buyer, he is arguing over the price with you, the Seller, and he’s arguing down. If you have two buyers, they are arguing with each other, and they are arguing the price up! That’s what you want! Many times I’ve seen a Seller list his home higher than fair market value, get very few showings, and one low-ball offer. Then he ends up selling his home for less than he had to because he only had one interested buyer. Conversely, I’ve often seen a seller list his home at an aggressive price in line with the fair market value, and receive two or more offers, and ultimately sell his home for more than he was asking.
So, don’t pick an agent based upon the sales price he says he can get for your home. There are agents out there who will “Buy a Listing.” That is, they will suggest a value of the home way above fair market value to entice a Seller to list the home with them, and then they’ll spend the next 6 months trying to work the Seller down to a realistic sales price. You should hire an agent primarily on the marketing he will do to Promote your home, and secondarily on his counsel in preparing and Pricing the Property for sale.
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