Myths - The Earth is Flat and Newspapers Sell Houses

It is amazing how masses of people can believe something that is absolutely untrue. The greatest example of this is that at one time the vast majority of people believed the world to be flat. Today, we want to debunk another commonly held belief – that newspapers sell houses. Somehow this notion gained believability even though the facts consistently prove it to not be true.

When you are selling your house, you should know what methods perspective purchasers use to find the home of their dreams. That would enable you to develop the best marketing strategy to attract a buyer.

Google recently teamed with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on a new report, The Digital House Hunt: Consumer and Market Trends in Real Estate. Let’s look at the actual search habits of today’s buyers revealed by the report:

• 90% of buyers now begin their search for a home online
• Real estate related searches on Google.com have grown 253% over the past 4 years

Of the 90% who use the internet, they gain information from these sources (with percentages):

• The internet – 100%
• A real estate agent – 89%  
• A yard sign – 53
• An open house – 46% 
• Print newspaper – 28%

If you want to develop a great marketing strategy giving your house maximum exposure, forget newspapers. Less than 30% of buyers will ever see your home. Instead, look toward the internet and a real estate agent.

Where on the internet should you advertise your home? The buyer is attracted to the type of sites that have the greatest number of listings. These sites are normally generated by the real estate industry. You should make sure your home is on as many of these sites as possible. That will give you the best chance of attracting your buyer.

Bottom Line

Print media never was a great way to market a house for sale and its effectiveness is diminishing each year. Meet with a local real estate professional and put together an internet marketing strategy worthy of your home.

The Stephens & Stephens Input

Most of the buyers we work with are signed up on multiple real estate related websites that allow them to search for homes. The internet is definitely the #1 way that buyers search for homes. For our seller, we know which sites drive the most traffic. We strive to gain full exposure on these sites; this means we add multiple photos, virtual showings, expanded story-like text to detail your home, and much more. There are thousands of homes on the internet and we strive to make our listings stand out.

If you’re a buyer looking for a home and want to be signed up to receive free listings every day that meet your criteria, give us a call or send us an email. It’s important to receive the new listings as they hit the market so you can be one of the first to know about them. The market is hot right now and if you don’t make an offer early then you may never get the chance to.

If you’re a seller and looking for maximum marketing exposure, give us a call or send us an email! We strive to make our listings stand out against the competition. If you’re already listed, be sure that your home appears with multiple photos (and good ones at that). Some agents don’t take the time to take good photos or film virtual tours/showings, which really tell the story of your home to a buyer. There will definitely be missed opportunities if you're not on the right internet sites or are lacking good marketing details (photos/virtual showings/good text, etc).

Happy Internet Searching!

Article Above Courtesy of KCM Blog - Steve Harney
(With the exception of "The Stephens & Stephens Input")