How to market your real estate in a tough market

Our marketing efforts often vary from account to account. Certainly the most crucial, we feel is the presence in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). This data base will engage the over 3000 real estate agents in the Capital Region. It’s where we all look first to find properties for our buyer clients.

Times have changed our approach in advertising with the advent of the internet… and more importantly the internet being so available to so many. While we do advertise in newspapers and some of the Homes magazines we are finding that the overwhelming majority of our buyers are surfing the web. We are very proud of our database www.realtyusa.com This site gets over 180,000 unique visitors a month according to our IT people. The way our site is set up, a procedure occurs every early morning whereas our site visits the MLS database and imports all the new entries and any changes that may have occurred. This constant updating has made our site a favorite with savvy buyers who check in regularly.

To supplement our efforts we of course engage direct mail marketing .. neighborhood announcement… open houses… virtual tours, etc.

The interesting phenomenon that we are watching take place is the fact that more and more people are visiting your house without visiting your house! Before this technology was available the only way we could know what a house looked like on the inside was to actually, physically, visit it! This new luxury of being able to look at still interior photos or virtual tours without leaving our desk chair or comfy apartment is good and bad. It’s good because we feel it saves us time. It’s bad because sometimes the pictures don’t do the subject property justice. Maybe the agent didn’t get as good a pic as they could have or maybe the property is just hard to get pics… whatever the reason is a web-surfer may glance at the pics and dismiss the idea of actually going in. I have had clients visit a property after having more or less pooh-poohed it on line and expressed amazement that it “looks way better in person!”. By the same token, we have looked at pics on line and decided to visit the property and we look at each other and say “Is the right house????”

Another resource a good Realtor uses is to do the research to see who in the real estate business is active in your area and make direct contact with them to promote the property.

The trick to marketing real estate these days is to have a well-rounded and open approach. One of my agents stopped in the office today and told me he sold a house in the far reaches of the Capital Region because he advertised in the local Pennysaver! He was amazed at the response he got from that little ad, but as it turns out EVERYone in that town reads the Pennysaver!

So count on us to take an approach to marketing your real estate in an account by account way. Each and every account will warrant a unique approach... count on it!

What Do You Want ?

What is it you REALLY want from your agent ? You want them to sell the house, right? Or find you the best deal there is around, as the case may be! Right?

Now, if you think for one moment your agent is not all about that, then switch. But, who do you switch to? Let's face it, we all have good days and bad days! There are days when I feel like my clients have really gotten EVERYthing from me. And there are days when I maybe could've done more...

So I'm not suggesting that your agent get fired because one day he or she didn't call you back in less than ten minutes.

But, here is what I think you should expect. Your agent should use all the resources available to them. RealtyUSA agents have fantastic marketing department that can design and publish top notch pieces and campaigns. The Internet and web offer countless opportunities to get your property promoted, not to mention there is an incredible database of homes for you as a buyer! Automatic emailing should be the norm when you're looking for a home. How about single property websites... try this one: www.31keeler.info

How about Facebook? How about Linkedin ? Is your agent utilizing all the servers such as Trulia, Yahoo!, MSN.com ,etc.

Here's a sample of some work done by one of my agents here in Loudonville, New York :

http://video214.com/play/DXUdHcf5wVChQnGaArIUdA/s/dark

He's putting this up in places like YouTube.. Facebook, Google, etc. Your agent can do this sort of thing, but the next step is understanding how to use keywords and methods that will garner the most views possible!


There are many services available to assist real estate agents in helping to promote their listings (read: YOUR house)... These opportunities also are there to help agents find properties for their clients!

So what do you want from your agent? You want them to understand today's technology and resources... to increase your chances of a satisfactory outcome in your real estate endeavors.

That's what you want! Demand it!

CONFIDENCE

You know, I had an opportunity the other day to visit some folks who were considering selling their house. They had been given my name by a past client and they wanted to meet me. So, I went to their place and they gave me the tour. And we talked about what they wanted to do. In the course of our meeting I explained what my role was, what resources I had available to me and what I would do for them.

They told me, on the way out that they were also going to interview another agent. I know most of the agents who are "really" in the business, as I have been doing this since 1982. I did not recognize the name and they told me that she was a friend and co-worker who does this part time.

Now, I told them I don't blame them for giving her a shot. In fact, I would expect that a prudent person would interview more than one agent. But I also told them that I have in the past, observed people use someone else, for various reasons... "they're my friend"... "it's my brother's neighbor"... "they gave me a really good rate".... That kind of stuff. And I have had times when I genuinely felt sorry for them, because I knew that they would not get as good representation as they deserve. This also happens from time to time when one of my agents tells me the seller (or buyer) chose to work with someone else. I KNOW we can do the best job. I also have become aware of individuals and organizations who do not seem to embrace the same work ethic as we do. I, however, would never throw anyone in... it's just not very classy and I feel is bad business.

So I told my wife about what I said... I tell her EVERYTHING. She said that would have turned her off. Now, my daughter who is 25 was listening in and she said that she would want to hear that. She pointed out to her mother that you want someone who is confident.

So, that is what I'm blogging to you today... Look for confidence in your agent. Someone who KNOWS they can get the job done. You might be paying a little more than others might charge, but you want someone to get the job done and get it done efficiently and in in a timely and professional manner!

Good luck... email me or call me if you have any questions or thoughts!