Recently, I was talking with a friend from New York about why real estate prices are falling nationwide. The conversation turned to a discussion about why some cities felt the pain more so than others.

He advanced the theory that it was all due to sub-prime mortgages - the higher the percentage of all mortgages in a given metro area, the higher the foreclosure/short sale rate and the greater the price decline.

I agreed that this factor impacts the number of properties entering the market, but the price is also largely impacted by the number of buyers. And buyer confidence, I think, can be well measured by the unemployment rate.

After I hung up, I thought more about it and did a bit of internet sleuthing the results of which are below. Which of these factors do you think is more important?

As more listings are input into the MLSs, the question remains - who will buy them?

The NAR predicts that this season's first-time buyers will comprise the largest share of total home buyers. According to the same study released in August 2008,

41% of all homes sold last season were bought by first-time buyers.

Furthermore, the average first-time buyer was 30 years old – 12 months younger than the first time buyers in 2007. In leiu of the recent dramatic downturn in the financial markets, this trend is sure to continue growing.  These younger buyers have less invested in the market (through 401ks, etc.) and therefore rely less on their investments for income.  They've remained relatively immune to the financial crisis and view the drop in housing prices as an opportunity to buy. In contrast, older buyers whose net assets have taken a significant hit in the past few months, are more skittish.

With this new younger market's buying power and importance increasing, how do you ensure that these buyers learn about your listings?

When asked where they first learned about the home purchased, 34% of all buyers from July 07 – June 08 said a real estate agent; 32% the Internet; 15% from yard signs; 7% from a friend, neighbor or relative; 7% from home builders; 3% a print or newspaper ad; 2% directly from the seller; and 1% a home book or magazine. 84% of all homebuyers begin their search online - but that already impressive percentage is even higher with first-time buyers.

Since the objective of listing marketing (MLS posting, newspaper advertisements, etc.) is always to get potential buyers to see the property in person, your marketing budget should reflect that reality. You should spend more money on exposing your listings to other brokers and advertising online and less on print ads in newspapers and magazines.

The best way to quantify the usefulness of any internet presentation is it’s “stickiness” – how long a visitor is likely to interact with it. This requires that the presentation not only contain relevant content, but be engaging enough to keep the visitor's attention. A typical online visitor spends 45 seconds to a minute looking at a traditional virtual tour, 2-3 minutes with an interactive floorplan and 4-5 minutes looking at a Picture Plan.

A Picture Plan includes a floorplan integrated with an unlimited number of professional photographs, a drag-and-drop furniture planner AND a neighborhood amenity map with real world reviews. You can check out a sample Picture Plan here:

www.vis-home.com/demo1

With tools like a 3-Click Craigslist e-Flyer (http://chicago.craigslist.org/search/rea?query=interactive+floorplan&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max&bedrooms=) and statistical analysis tools, Picture Plans are an incredible value at under $100 for an average condominium - you can learn more at chicagopictureplans.com.

What have you found to be the profile of the new buyer?

We are very excited to announce the SellTheDamnListing.com $85 sale of our interactive Picture Plans: www.vis-home.com/demo1

Each Picture Plan includes an unlimited number of photographs, a drag-and-drop furniture planner and our new neighborhood amenity map - for only $85. Go to ChicagoPicturePlans.com or call 877.847.8077 to learn the details of this offer.

* An Unlimited number of Professional Photographs - giving you complete control over what your buyers see

* A Drag-and-Drop Furniture Planner - convinces your buyers online that their furniture fits your listing

* 3-Click Craigslist Posting Procedure - posts a professional eflyer promoting you and your listings for free!

* A Neighborhood Amenity Map to help your buyers envision their lives at your listing's neighborhood.

* Customized Description for every photo - drawing buyers attention to room details they would have missed otherwise

* A 3-D rendering of your Picture Plan - which traditionally would cost hundreds of dollars

Get complete information and claim your disount now by visiting ChicagoPicturePlans.com or calling 877.847.8077 now.

Hello all!

I apologize for not posting regularly the past month.  I was on vacation seeing this great nation of ours and unable to post.

Port Aransas, Texas, Washington D.C., Traverse City, MI. whew!  It’s good to be back!

Now, let’s get right into it

According to the NAR (National Association of Realtors), in 1995, 41% of buyers relied on open houses to sell their home. In 2000, that number dropped to 28%. As the market began to heat up in 2003, the number began rising.  In 2005, the last year the NAR made this information available, that number was 51%.

In 2005, 51% of sellers were using open houses, even though they found its effectiveness questionable.
     45% of seller felt open houses “somewhat useful”, while 12% didn’t consider them useful at all.

With this modern reality in mind, you should first consider putting your listing on MLS or realtor.com with some informative and flattering photos or a virtual tour (i.e, PicturePlans).  This marketing effort should be in coordination with an email campaign targeted to other agents. 

Online marketing has changed the game.  Play it right.

So then, why should you hold an open house?

Benefits:
-Meet prospective clients
-Get feedback on the home
-Use the Open House as a part of a comprehensive marketing campaign
-Demonstrate to the seller what a great job you’re doing


More importantly, unless you properly prepare, coordinate and execute the open house, all efforts are for naught.

I will be posting a series of posts detailing the steps and reasons on how to prepare, coordinate and execute the most effective open house.

Do you guys still hold open houses? What kind of success have you had?

-E. Kim

Take A Picture. It'll Last Longer.

    I don’t need to convince you that Internet marketing is a key component to getting potential buyers to your listing.  You’re reading this post on a social networking site specifically geared towards Realtors looking to gain more exposure online!

So, it won’t surprise you to hear: studies prove consumers are more likely to request a showing if they’ve already seen photos of that property.  And, as previously mentioned, with 80% of all potential buyers beginning their search online, Internet marketing is par for the course now- if you want to be successful.

A photo of your listing helps people visualize their life in that house and form a positive impression of it before they see it.

    I can’t stress this enough- the need and proven benefit of posting additional photos and Internet presentations to the MLS, Realtor.com and your company’s website is paramount. I recently unearthed this Realty Times article that illustrates this point in better detail: http://realtytimes.com/rtapages/20050217_marketing.htm

    Now that every Tom, Dick and Harry is using Internet marketing and virtual tours laden with pictures, how do you stand above the crowd? 

    The average virtual tour visit lasts 30-45 seconds (especially if it's a long video tour or a dizzying 360-degree video). This doesn’t afford your listing enough time to convince a viewer to become a potential buyer.  

    To make a bigger emotional and aesthetic impact- and ensure that viewers spend more time on your listing- consider PicturePlans. 

Viewers spent an average of 2-3 minutes considering and interacting with a property featured with a PicturePlan.

    And now, an exciting new development in prolonging view time has recently been introduced by PicturePlans.  A new furniture planner feature, which encourages viewers to spend more time considering your property while actively engaging with the floorplan and envisioning their life in a new home. Now, with the additional 3-D/furniture planning feature, depending on if the viewer opens the new feature,

the average visit lasts 4-10 minutes.

How do you like the new feature?  Are there any tactics you’ve used in your virtual tours or Internet marketing to prolong the time viewers spent considering your property?  How successful have they been?

-E. Kim

Mktg. Dir., vis-home.com