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| May 3, 2006 |
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The real estate industry has moved on-line with good reason -- that's where today's tech-savvy and Internet oriented homebuyers have gone. Real estate sales methods are being redefined, as people increasingly rely on search engines to locate precisely the house they want. An ever-increasing percentage of buyers (53 percent) search the Internet as part of their house hunt; and 75 percent found the agent they used on-line. Technology improvements that help buyers find the perfect fit keep getting better and better. By comparison, yellow page ads and newspapers are declining in usage. Those preferences have fundamentally changed the way real estate agents tell the world about the listings they have. Homes that aren't easily found on-line are likely to be missed -- and sell slowly. Expect Internet reliance for real estate to increase further, because computer- and Internet-savvy buyers find answers that way (no matter what they're buying). Studies show web searchers tend to have higher education and incomes, and are more likely to buy. To gain credibility with Internet-oriented buyers, agents must demonstrate they understand what's wanted -- not just homes, but HOW they prefer to buy them. The pressing challenge among real-estate firms is to find even better ways to serve buyers and sellers online. Simply sticking a listing on-line doesn't make it easy to find. It's too easy to get lost in the pack. Novel exposure for a listing is hard to come by. Firms employing effective online methods out-perform the rest, by delivering answers in the way buyers prefer: ample pictures, simple and direct facts, and easy-to-find online information. According to N.A.R., nearly three-quarters of real estate firms have a website. Many provide a catalog of their current listings. Finding a home from among all those offered from real estate websites can be overwhelming. So it's way too easy for a particular listing to get lost. Not only that, Internet usability studies show that people quickly lose interest on websites which make them click around too much before finding what they're looking to find. There's an easy answer that avoids a property being lost. Provide each of your listings its own totally unique website, (in addition to the usual treatment), entirely devoted to one particular property. The domain name? It's location, of course: www.1122MainStreet.com. Take a peek. No question about where it's located. The home stands out in a high-impact way. People notice. And its front yard sign sends passers-by to the unique website for all the particulars. The website stays up until the home is sold. It seems like a lot of trouble and expense for just one home. But advances in technology and new solutions mean it's not. The real estate office can provide such high-impact exposure to every listing, not just the million dollar ones, at no cost to the seller. Leave a high perceived value without it breaking your advertising budget. Any property offered from its very own website rates extra attention -- and gets it. Realtors are learning they don't need to know any technical stuff at all, to produce a well-designed, one-of-a-kind website. Today's web marketing solutions now employ easy-to-follow 'wizards' that help even the most technology-challenged Realtor to create a unique site within minutes. Each property appears under its own domain name (the street address) and provides a comprehensive resource about a single listing. Each seller receives their very own website, for the duration of the sales process. It is also important to deliver convenience in a way that appeals to both sellers and buyers. To the oft-quoted real estate phrase, "location, location, location," add "convenience, convenience, convenience." Nowadays, that's what everyone looks for. As improbable as it would seem, individual sites for each listing are convenient and simple. The unique marketing strategy gives any property a competitive advantage. But it also provides the agent a valuable advantage during the listing interview. One that can really help a sales agent stand out. Sellers want their property to sell quickly and easily. They expect their agent to make their property stand out from similar homes. Providing maximum Internet exposure guides buyers directly to their property. And it's so fast it's not dependent on customary printing or newspaper schedules. The address takes them to the website, with numerous pictures and all the property specs. No need to click through numerous listings that don't interest them. It's much easier to find the home that "rings their bell," without needing to visit the property initially. Individual websites expedite the whole sales cycle. Since properties sell faster, it's easier to focus their energies on getting them closed. When courting sellers, it's a powerful distinction. Also, it maximizes open-house activity. Cindie Day, an agent with Piele Realtors of Denver, claims it's much easier to sell a property with its own website. "Sellers share the site information with friends and co-workers. It looks so deluxe and impressive, people assume it's expensive. But it's much cheaper than newspaper ads. I'm putting all my listings on their own site since they sell faster that way." When it comes time for a seller to choose which agent brings "something extra," offering Sellers their own buyer-oriented website (for no cost to them) counts as a noteworthy listing tool. That's the kind of edge that will nail more listings. And it provides a degree of visibility that other agents won't be able to match. Paul Eastwood is the founder of two dynamic marketing companies, Blue Fire Group Inc., and Single Property Sites Inc. that are dedicated to creating innovative marketing solutions using Internet technology for real estate professionals. He is a passionate and engaging speaker on a variety of strategic marketing and technology subjects, from the processes and disciplines of Internet marketing to the more pragmatic discipline of teaching technology tools. He is actively engaged by the real estate community and has presented more than 50 seminars to REALTORS® within the last three years. He is an established Educator for Stewart Title's 'Technology Center' at the annual NAR conferences, as well speaking and educating at other Real Estate events such as REAL TRENDS and Denver's Realtor Rally. He may be reached at or via his websites at Single Property Sites and Blue Fire Group. |
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