It started about two months ago. Realty Times quietly informed the thousands of brokers who subscribe to its monthly Real Estate Update newsletter that they can now participate in a new service, our iMarketing Program™.

Huh? What is this new thing and why should anyone care?

The New Marketplace

A house is still a house, but what has also changed is the marketing process. Stick a sign in the front lawn and most potential prospects will never know a home is for sale. Yes, people still drive through neighborhoods looking for homes, but increasingly they first check the Internet to identify both houses and brokers. According to Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors, the association now estimates that "over 50 percent" of all buyers go online looking for real estate information. And where the buyers are, that's where there should be brokers.

The Brokerage Dilemma

For those in real estate the changed marketing process raises a question: How do you capture business in this new environment at the lowest possible cost?

In the language of the industry, brokers routinely work a "farm" -- a local subdivision, condo complex, or a downtown block. They become the community experts.

As with any business, to market successfully you must continually be in front of prospective clients and customers. Brokers use newspaper ads, direct marketing, open houses, the MLS, newsletters, professional contacts, and now, of course, the Internet. They work their farms by establishing themselves as authority figures, experts who know and understand real estate transactions and their complexities.

But what if brokers could do more? Real estate trends change in response to local events, interest rate shifts, past sales, and current inventory movements. Given that brokers are the local community experts, why can't they explain what's happening in area markets?

The Realty Times iMarketing Program allows brokers to detail community changes, to include data and news, and to explain why the local market is acting as it does.

This is valuable information for consumers, marketplace knowledge that can be accessed like newspaper classifieds, without cost or commitment on Realty Times, HomeAdvisor, and other leading Internet sites. In effect, the Realty Times iMarketing Program helps consumers better understand the local marketplace and identifies who to contact when it comes time to buy, sell or rent.

The Broker's Perspective

The Realty Times iMarketing Program allows brokers to post local information directly online. In effect, brokers become community reporters who specialize in a highly-localized real estate beat.

But online real estate marketing efforts have often suffered from high costs and minimal utility. How is this system different?

There is no additional cost for newsletter subscribers. (Or, seen the other way, brokers can subscribe to the Realty Times iMarketing Program and get the electronic version of the newsletter at no additional cost.)

Brokers do not pay referral fees to Realty Times. Not a percentage and not a flat fee, nothing based on performance.

There is no complex paperwork for brokers. No one asks how many homes you sold last year or what you charge as a requirement to use the Realty Times iMarketing Program.

Like newspaper classifieds, there is no requirement for consumers to register.

Communication is direct between brokers and consumers. When consumers want to get in touch, they contact the broker by e-mail or visit the broker's web site. What they don't do is contact Realty Times.

Content

A number of brokers have asked how best to use the system. In brief terms, the best approach looks like this:

In the same way that newspapers want fresh content, so do consumers on the Web. Thus it makes sense to post regularly, say once a week for each community being served.

The other reason to post regularly is this: In a community with several subscribing broker's, the last message posted is automatically placed at the top of the display.

As to content, the best approach is to include "actionable" information -- facts and details consumers can use. For instance:

• Recent sale statistics.

• How's the market compared to last year or the last quarter?

• Community information. How will a school opening or funding for a new road impact the local market?

• Marketing distinctions by price. Are entry-level properties moving with greater speed than homes at the top of the price ladder?

• Is the market segmented by style? How are detached homes selling compared with townhouses or apartment-style flats?

• New listings.

• Brief commentaries. What's impacting the marketplace? Interest rate changes? National political events? The opening of a new mall?

Postings which seem especially compelling will be considered for use on the front page of Realty Times and to the portals and thousands of sites we serve. Merit counts -- there's no additional charge for the postings we feature on the front page. Instead, we rely on basic editorial standards and try to find the items most likely to interest readers.

Published: January 29, 2002

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