Online Property Marketing – Crucial for your Selling Success

If you are thinking about selling your home anytime in the near future, there are many things you need to think about when choosing an agent – everything from the market research they do in helping determine a fair market price for your property to developing a marketing plan that will drive traffic to your home. One of the key items to consider is online marketing.

How important is strong online marketing? The National Association of REALTORS® reports in 2011, 35% of home buyers took the first step in looking for a properties online. They took this step even before talking with an agent. A full 88% percent of buyers used the internet to search for properties last year. This number dropped a little bit in 2011 from the all-time high of 90% due to an older generation of buyers in the market last year. Overall, the internet and real estate agents have remained the two highest-ranking sources by usefulness reported by buyers last year.
Another shocking figure is that in 2001, only 8% of buyers found the home they ultimately purchased on the internet. Today that number is 40%. That is an amazingly high number.

What does all this mean for you if you are selling your home? As a seller you must work with an agent who understands the vast power of the internet. Everything from professional photography to virtual tours and syndication.

Syndication refers to the placement of your property information on a wide variety of websites where buyers search. This includes not only the websites of the agents and the company the agent is affiliated with, but the MLS which makes the property information available to all agents in that marketplace and beyond, as well as websites such as Yahoo Real Estate, Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist, and dozens upon dozens of other websites buyers use on a regular basis.

Not too long ago one of my clients was doing a lot of research online. I was also sending her listings that I thought would fit her needs. There was a listing that I sent her that had horrible pictures that were distorted and dark. My client told me that based on the pictures she did not want to see that house. I had been through the home myself and knew that pictures did not do the house justice. So, I convinced my client to see for herself that the house really was bright & had good spaces vs. the distorted ones she saw online. She ended up buying that house. I do believe it was still on the market because of the pictures. Which was good for my client, but not good for the sellers. If you have your home on the market. Look at it online and make sure your pictures make your home shine. If not, insist your agent put up new pictures because you can’t afford to have bad pictures online in this market!