Oh - You're selling your house?

Just thought I would end the week with a little dose of reality.

When you sell your house, do you know where Buyers will most likely be EXPOSED to information about your house? Many Sellers believe that the good ole Newspaper Ads and Real Estate Magazines will do the trick . . . This is CLEARLY not so.

Based on a recent study, more than 36% of all Buyers find their homes by working with a REALTOR. REALTORS have finally become comfortable enough with the internet revolution that they are learning how to optimize that medium to sell homes . . . Realtors have also learned in the recent Market Shift that NETWORKING with other REALTORS might even be a more powerful marketing tool than ANYTHING.

Over 20% of Buyers find their homes on the internet (Most of those ultimately use a REALTOR to transact the deal) . . . and guess how the properties got on the internet in the first place? A REALTOR lists the house and proliferates the internet with information about that listing. In my group, we post our listings to the internet search engine @ every 2 days for optimal exposure. The "hard cost" of this medium is relatively low (A newspaper ad typically costs @ $100) . . . But this mode of advertising IS somewhat time intensive . . . The internet savvy REALTOR generally has to hire a support person to manage this marketing effort on the internet.

20% of Buyers find their homes from the Real Estate SIGNS in the yards. They know the neighborhoods of interest and are cruising the streets . . . and they call from the signs. If you are selling your home, you MUST put a sign in the yard - Do NOT be incognito.

If you're doing the math, you know that 76% of the Buyers find their homes by DIRECT REALTOR actions (Networking, the internet, and Signage) . . . the remaining 24% find their homes through ALL of the other marketing combined.

Clearly, print advertising is passe . . . Open Houses are random (though they DO provide a good source for Buyer leads for REALTORS) . . . a Small percentage of houses sell because of referrals and neighbors who bring the Buyer into the neighborhood.

My point? In the 15+ years I have worked as a Real Estate Professional, there has NEVER been a time when the role of the REALTOR has been more critical than now. It used to be that the REALTOR could run a bunch of ads and sell the house . . . Today's market demands a whole different (more professional) approach which ostensibly does not "cost" as much but CLEARLY requires more skill - Social skills and time management . . . Networking to sell houses takes MUCH more effort than running flashy ads in the newspaper.

Don't push your REALTOR to run ads and host Open Houses . . .If you want to push Your REALTOR, ask him/her how you can help them attract people to view your house . . . Offer to host a party for prospects and other REALTORS . . . Do some networking yourself and drive any leads you capture to your REALTOR.

We're all in this thing together. If you want to get the highest price with the best terms, team up with your REALTOR and trust the process :-)

We, the Owen Group, have this whole thing boiled down to a science and hope you will contact us when you have a real estate need.

Best,
b
Barry Owen
Principal Broker
Keller Williams Realty - Nashville, TN - Green Hills
www.theowengroup.net
www.activerain.com/barryo
Simply & BOLDLY Living the FourFold Way in Open Space!