It is abundantly clear that short sales and home foreclosures will continue to have a major effect on the real estate industry through 2012. However, do all homeowners facing foreclosure really need to undertake a short sale to avert foreclosure? Not according many successful real estate professionals.
One of the greatest challenges you may face as an agent or broker is educating your clients and customers . If short sales are a significant portion of your business, offering resources that help to educate homeowners is an excellent way to bolster your reputation in the area.
If are not familian with it, take a look at the Fannie Mae KnowYourOptions website. There you’ll find an excellent interactive video that helps homeowners understand their various situations, and learn more about options for heading off foreclosure. Here is Fannie Mae’s description of:
Explore WaysHome™, an interactive video simulation to help you learn about the options to avoid foreclosure.
You’ll play the part of a homeowner—in real-life, everyday situations—who is struggling to make their payments and avoid foreclosure. Make decisions about what you should do, and experience the positive outcomes or negative consequences of the choices you make. Helpful tips and advice are also included along the way.
Why not provide a link to this interactive video on your website or blog? It would be an excellent tool to help in educating your clients and customers about the short sale and foreclosure process.
Read more at: KnowYourOptions.com
Posted in Clients and Customers by .
Nov 11
22
The Impact of Real Estate Appraisals
When it comes to closing a deal, the impact of real estate appraisals, particularly in the current housing market, cannot be overstated. The results of an appraisal can quickly make or break a deal.
Las Vegas’ KLAS-TV 8 News NOW website has posted an interesting piece by reporter Calvert Collins on the tug of war between lenders’ and consumers’ interests when a real estate appraisal is needed.
Appraisers are supposed to be objective with no ties to the buyer or the lender when it comes to placing a value on a home. However, in some cases, their bias has thrown off deals.
Now, new laws are trying to keep them in check. In the meantime, a new type of independent appraisal company is benefiting big banks.
The good news — a lot of the appraisers who were in the banks’ back pocket are gone, according to a long-time appraiser. The bad news — big banks have gotten creative establishing companies of inexperienced, speedy appraisers who don’t always evaluate houses accurately.
Legally, appraisers cannot be handpicked by banks. In fact, the Home Valuation Code of Conduct and Dodd-Frank Act created a firewall between appraiser and loan officers so there’s no bias. But bank subsidiaries have created appraisal management companies so they can take a cut of the appraisal fee.
Lenders are required to use appraisal management companies for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD loans, but not all loans. Appraisers, on the other hand, don’t have to work with AMC’s if they don’t want to.
You can always challenge an appraisal. You can look up the appraiser’s experience level or any prior sanctions. The appraisal business used to be booming with hundreds of people applying each year to be interns which is the first step in becoming an appraiser. This year, there were four applications.
The complete story detailing the impact of real estate appraisals on the housing market, along with the accompanying video, is available here.
Posted in The Housing Market by .
Every real estate agent wants to stand out from the crowd – to be the “go to” gal or guy when it comes to real estate matters in their community. So the question is, how can YOU become the local real estate expert in your community?
There is no one thing that will make you stand out from the rest of the “herd”. It is the right combination of many factors that does the trick. Recently, Ricardo Bueno, writing for DiverseSolutions.com, outlined five factors that play important roles in establishing your expertise. The following excerpts from Mr. Bueno’s article might just whet your appetite for the rest of his tips:
1. Unique Design
Good design used to make you stand out on the web. Now it’s the price of entry.
The thing you need to think about is that there are thousands of not millions of sites for every search term. Think about it… What’s going to make someone stop on your website…
2. Lead Generation Tool
Consumers are coming to your website for one of four reasons:
- Search for homes.
- Find out how the market is doing.
- Find out what they’re home is worth.
- Learn more about the local communities.
Are you giving them an easy way to search…
3. ConsistencyEver come across an awesome looking website only to find that they’re content hasn’t been updated in about 6-7 months?
What do you do next? You leave, right? After all, how reliable can the information be?
4. Be Helpful
I’m engaging in what is going to be the single, biggest, (often scariest) transaction of my life. Help me learn about the buying/selling process. How does it work? How can you help me feel at ease?
Your website, above all else, needs to be helpful…
5. Engage
If I want to contact you over something, how easy is it to get a hold of you? Can I find your contact information easily?
If I look at the comment streams on your website, will I find that you’re responding to people who leave a comment? If not, what does that say…
Take a critical look at your own website. How well does it meet the needs of home buyers and sellers in your community? Does it help you to become the local real estate expert?
Click here to read the original article by Mr. Bueno.
Posted in Agent Promotion Marketing Online by .
In a depressed housing market that favors buyers rather than sellers, Realtors are moving to new real estate marketing strategies for making their sellers’ homes shine when compared to other homes for sale. No longer can agents simply post a few photos on the internet, hold an open house on Saturdays and Sundays and expect buyers to magically appear.
Writing in the Newark Star-Ledger, made available online on NJ.com, Sarah Portlock recounts real estate agent Sharon Steele’s efforts to improve her bottom line through increasingly comprehensive marketing strategies.
“You can’t just market a property anymore,” said Steele, who works for Coldwell Banker. “You really have to market the lifestyle and the town and the vibrancy, and why this town is more special than another town.”
Now, agents must hire professional photographers and publish as many pictures of the house as possible, create virtual tours of the property, and, in some cases, create a separate website for the house itself. Realtors use search-engine optimization techniques to boost their ranking in Google searches. Sales managers at apartment buildings set up Facebook pages to offer information about the building, its current tenants and the surrounding neighborhood. And QR codes — those matrix barcodes read with a smartphone that link to a website with more information — are popping up on property flyers and emails throughout the state.
The new marketing tactics are geared to attract and entice buyers on the internet, where 88 percent of prospective home buyers shop for their next home and generally start their search process before contacting a real estate agent, according to the National Associations of Realtors’ 2011 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report.
The article, which can be read in full by clicking this link, goes on to describe new real estate marketing strategies and techniques such as using video presentations and establishing single-property websites. Check it out – it’s a very interesting article.
Posted in Agent Promotion Marketing Online by .
In real estate marketing, education is a critical factor. With all of the changes taking place in the real estate industry, if you don’t keep up to date you’ll be left behind.
One topic that has risen to the top of the list during these harsh economic times is the “short sale”.
The Harris Real Estate University is currently offering free training where you can learn everything that will be happening with short sales in 2012. On the Harris Real Estate University blog, Tim Harris writes:
According to nearly every real estate industry leader, if you are not doing short sales you need to get out of the business. (That may not be an exact quote but, you get the idea.)
As we have been advocating for years…short sales are now the solution to this never ending housing crisis….
Now, finally……the massive positive changes short sales we have been advocating are going to happen…….YES, you read that correctly….FINALLY, the big banks have listened and are enacting huge changes to the sale process process.
Do you want more proof that short sales are gold in this market?
Every industry expert expects…nearly 50% of ALL sales in the entire U.S. this year to be…..SHORT SALES (and REOs)…..You simply must be doing short sales if you you expect to stay in real estate.
And, I am here to tell you that…when you do it right…short sales are one of the best ways to make money NOW.
This is a great opportunity to improve your real estate marketing education for free. Click this link to read the full article describing the Harris Real Estate University’s free short sale training.
Posted in Continuing Education by .
Will traditional real estate business cards be joining the dodo and dinosaurs on the extinction list? Probably not this year – but more and more alternatives have been making an appearance.
Mikey Burton, a designer from the UK, has come up with a creative way to pass along your business information whether or not you have a card on you. His idea, the self-inking key ring stamp, was recently highlighted on the AG Beat website.
The challenge was to “put a new spin on the convention of the business card,” and he came up with a self-inking stamp that can go on a key ring in an effort to never miss a connection again. While some are choosing technology over printed business cards, this is a clever way to stamp a coaster, someone’s hand (love this idea!), or a blank card kept in your pocket or any number of items and not only is it novel, we like the idea of the presentation of surprising someone with your set of keys and stamping out a card on site.
Burton points out that business cards traditionally are filled with extraneous info but in modern times, a URL is often all that is needed. “The “classic” real estate business card is often a ritual simply to impress the reciever. The idea with my new card is that it does away with the usual pretentiousness. With this stamp, you are able to print your condensed snippet of info onto any substrate—a beer mat, someone else’s business card, a napkin, or even someone’s hand. After all, people are more likely to lose a business card in a drunken stupor, but less likely to lose their hand.”
If you would like to read the full article you can do so by clicking here.
Key ring stamps are apparently available through the Cranky Pressman. You may also want to check with your favorite print shop or other supplier of rubber stamps.
Posted in Agent Promotion by .
According to a recent National Association of Realtors report, 89% of buyers now check the internet when looking for a home. And buyers who search online rate real estate photographs as the most important factor, according to the New York Times. The importance of quality photos for marketing real estate cannot be overstated.
A recent article on the ZingDing blog provides a few tips for improving your property photos:
Because property photos are such critical real estate marketing tools – appearing not only on listings but on eFlyers, eCards and printed materials – it’s important to get them right. Unfortunately, many real estate agents are left to their own devices when it comes to shooting property photos, and it often shows. In order to ensure you have the best possible real estate marketing tools to work with, here are some tips for taking quality property photos:
Go professional. When choosing whether to snap photos yourself or pay a photographer’s fee, keep in mind that you get what you pay for – and buyers can tell. As the New York Times states, if your photos appear “shoddy and unprofessional,” it reflects poorly upon you.
Create virtual tours. Virtual home tours have proven to be highly effective real estate marketing tools for the web. Homebuyers love being able to get a feel for the interior of a home without having to set up an appointment, and realtors appreciate the ability to display the home’s key selling points. Virtual tours can be as simple as a photo slideshow or as elaborate as a 360-degree panoramic view.
Use natural light. Natural lighting tends to flatter a home. A common mistake make realtors make is shooting photos at night or in the rain, which tends to make a house seem dreary.
Keep it real.Avoid photographic tricks such as making a room appear significantly larger than it is. Misleading photos will only turn buyers off when they show up at the house and realize it isn’t what they expected.
So, the next time you prepare to take photos of one of your listings, take a few minutes to think about the best way to ensure that you end up with high quality images. Remember the importance of quality photos for marketing real estate.
Check out the original article on ZingDing here.
Posted in Listings by .
What types of real estate marketing activities do most successful agents use? How do you measure up to the top producers? How about the “average” agent?
ActiveRain, a very popular real estate networking site has released the results of their survey of 1,758 real estate pros to discover the factors that separates top producers from struggling agents. Here are a few of the many interesting tidbits from their survey:
Demographics:
- Rich real estate agents tend to be MEN (58% male). Poor real estate agents tended to be WOMEN (60% female). 47% of the survey was male.
- Rich real estate agents have 11-20 years of real estate experience. Poor real estate agents had 4-5 five years of experience. The average was 6-10 years of experience.
- The average age of the respondent was 51-60 years old. S/he is a college grad with moderate technology experience. Age did not matter between rich and poor real estate agents.
What Seems to Matter:
- Rich Real Estate Agents invest 6x more in technology
- Rich Real Estate Agents BROADCAST via social media
- Rich Real Estate Agents spend 10x more on marketing
What Doesn’t Seem to Matter (either it doesn’t matter or everyone is using it poorly):
- Real Estate Listing Web Sites – (Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com all enjoy 60%+ penetration)
- Direct Mail
Broadcast Social Media Marketing:
Rich real estate agents are aggressive in using BROADCAST forms of social media to attract clients. What is broadcast social media? Any form of social media which allows a real estate agent or real estate professional to communicate in a broadcast format which is open on the Internet (unlike FaceBook which is only visible to your friends.)
Marketing, Marketing, Marketing
The rich real estate agent spends 10 times more on marketing and advertising for their business. That may be the most shocking number of all. The rich real estate agent spends $5,000-$10,000 per year on marketing, while the poor real estate agent spends only $500-$1,000 per year. Again, a rich real estate agent is spending more in 2 weeks than some poor real estate agents spend on marketing ALL YEAR!
Other things which are hard to explain:
- We are 16 years into the Internet Revolution and three years into the Do Not Call Registry, YET more real estate agents knock on doors and cold call than advertise on the Internet.
- Realtor.com is the official site of the National Association Realtors (NAR) and has been around for 15 years (or so), but is falling behind Trulia in real estate agent usage, and only slightly ahead of Zillow, both of which have existed for 5-6 years now.
- Direct mail is the most popular form of real estate advertising. The US Government and Postal Workers Union thank you.
- Only 15-16% of real estate agents use an assistant to help with marketing. How valuable is your time? If you use this as a metric, most real estate professionals don’t think their time is that valuable .
Not every rich agent is going to follow the exact same road map. I’m sure everyone knows a real estate agent out there with no website who rarely uses email that would land in the ‘rich agent’ category. Of course these types are becoming more and more rare as the years go by and consumer behavior changes.
We hope that you ask yourself “What kind of things will I be investing in for 2012?” and will those investments pay off like they have for the rich real estate agent.
For much more comprehensive information we suggest that you check out the complete survey report on the Active Rain website. It’s loaded with fascinating information.
Posted in Agent Promotion General Marketing Online by .
Gwen Banta’s column on AGBeat always produces a few chuckles. So, taking a break from serious topics, here are a few golden nuggets from Gwen’s collection of bloopers, typos, and other unintentional humor in real estate marketing found in MLS listings from around the country.
Fall is here, and as the leaves take on brilliant color, so does the MLS. Check out this week’s rash of bloopers, friends. Most of these remarks tell us more about the agent than the property. Thanks to Greg Cooper of Indianapolis, Jane Peters of Los Angeles, Margaret Goss of Winnetka, IL and Patty Da Silvaof Davie, Florida for their great contributions. Nincompoops are nationwide!
Is This Your Bio?
“Ass is” (As ass does?)
“Beautiful arched widows” (Wow – that’s gotta hurt…)
“No bank owe” (Uh, bank owe bigtime to U.S. taxpayers, pal.)
“Agetn Remarsk” (That’s hard to say with martini onions stuck up your nose, isn’t it?)
“Evacuated – EZ show” (Proudly listed by FEMA Realty and Salvage, Inc.)
The Shat Heard ‘Round the World
“Shat-off has been installed” (Another career down the crapper.)
“Must hold until Tuesday” (Try releasing your shat-off valve…)
“Set amongst lovely pines and okra” (Can I get a side of grits with that?)
“Newly bloated” (So are my ankles, but I’m not advertising it, Fat Fran!)
“New Korean on counters” (Empty Jack Daniels on floor..)
Editorialize or Memorialize
“…Get a home lone” (Get a Funk and Wagnalls.)
“Hug trees in back” (After you, Birkenstock Betty.)
“House has fukny paint scheme” (Agent has fukny career prospects.)
“Include cops when submitting” (Sorry, bubba – I only submit to George Clooney.)
And The Dubious Distinction Award Goes To:
“Previous owner died in accidental fire. Lower level may have hazardous air quality.” ( Ya think???)
We hope you managed to get a few chuckles out of Gwen’s article. To see this complete article and more of Gwen’s humorous articles featuring unintentional humor in real estate marketing, click this link to her columns.
Posted in Weird and Wacky by .
Nov 11
14
Real Estate Marketing Using Facebook
Have you tried real estate marketing using Facebook?
It’s no secret that the majority of real estate agents in the United States are doing at least some real estate marketing using Facebook. But are they using Facebook effectively? Do their marketing efforts help or hinder their chances of closing a deal?
Earlier today, on Mashable.com, Leyl Master Black posted an article titled “5 Best Practices for Real Estate Pros on Facebook”. She writes:
In addition to offering cost-effective methods of promoting properties, Facebook also offers a range of new opportunities to grow and cultivate a robust community of prospective buyers and sellers.
According to recent research by Postling, nearly 80% of real estate agents are using Facebook to market their practice and properties.
“Social media has definitely become the wave of the future for real estate advertising,” says Melissa Savenko, a RE/MAX Commonwealth realtor in Richmond, VA’s affluent Fan District. “I use Facebook to promote my listings, to market open houses and to notify other agents and the public about price drops and additional incentives. In this economy, I think many agents have embraced the social media world to promote their brand and their listings because it is free, easy and efficient.”
Ms. Black then provides her 5 best practices:
1. Use Facebook To Connect with Potential Clients
2. Maintain a Consistent Flow of Communication
3. Integrate Facebook Into Your Existing Marketing
4. Consider Using Facebook Ads
5. Create and Maintain a Professional Image
Once you realize that everyone on Facebook is a potential client, it’s easy to see how real estate marketing using Facebook can be quite lucrative.
For additional details on these 5 practices please check out the original article on Mashable.com by clicking this link.
Posted in Agent Promotion Marketing on Facebook Marketing Online by .