Sunday, December 31, 2006
by Nancy Lohman, ReMax Preferred Associates
Happy New Year! The market seems to be changing already and this is normally the slowest time of the year for selling houses. I am optimistic about future home sales.
The process of selling homes in general has changed drastically and the average home owner has no clue.
1. Presently. 77% of buyers search for homes on the internet. That is a really large number. They search on ReMax.com, Realtor.com, Yahoo, and Google. If they are working with a Realtor, which most are, then their Realtor sends them an Automatic Email Search. This report sends them listings as soon as they come on the market. The buyer is able to look at many photos online and preview Virtual Tours. The buyers may preview 50-100 homes online before calling their Realtor. At that point they may drive by 20 of their favorites, then they may actually call their Realtor and say "these are the top 10 we would like to see".
In the Past. The real estate agent would pick 8-10 homes in a particular area and put the client in their car and pick one out. In the past your would pick an agent by how many clients they knew, how many advertisements you saw in the local newspaper,
2. If you are planning to sell your home you may now get a glimpse of what this changing market is like. Your agent that you choose needs to be tech savey.
A. Your agent needs to have a very interactive website. This website needs to be accessable from Google, Yahoo, Realtor.com, ReMax.com, etc.
B. Your agent must be able to market your home with Virtual Tours, additional photos etc. so that when people are surfing the internet Your Home Stands Out First. This agent needs make your home stand out whether it is $40,000 or $500,000
C.Your agent needs a team of people working for you. There is know way one agent can do everything.
D. Your agent needs to have a listings, and a funnel system to attract buyers.
Good luck in the coming year of 2007! It is an exciting time in the real estate industry.
Nancy Lohman 419-360-4735 Listing Agent & Team Leader
Bob Lohman 419-360-4437 Buyers Agent
Brett Lohman 419-708-6612 Buyers Agent
Kimberly Petricca Client Care Coordinator
Re/Max Preferred Associates