FACT:
Nearly 90% + of buyers begin their search on the internet. That's a pretty large majority!
Yet, most MLS systems have a maximum number of photos they allow. The size of the photos are not much bigger than a large postage stamp in many cases. And to make matters worse, their systems compress all of the life and color out of those photos when they put them on their system.
If that wasn't bad enough, they limit the number of characters in the description, which forces Realtors to get "creative" with their abbreviations and punctuation. In most cases, those abbreviations are made up on the fly, giving 'regular people' absolutely no hope of understanding exactly what the heck they are talking about!
So, lets see... almost all buyers start looking on the web, yet what they see are a limited number of muddy, sometimes unidentifiable photos with descriptions that sound like they're written in another language.
Boy, I can't think of a bettter system than that!
"Curb Appeal" of yesterday is "Web Appeal" today
Your web presentation means everything. Buyers are eliminating properties solely based on what they see on their computers. It doesn't matter if you think it's right, wrong or unfair - it IS what buyers are doing.
With a record number of properties on the market, and broadband connections and computers in every home why wouldn't you do that? You can see photos of the exterior... then step right inside and look around and see the house! Why wouldn't you make your decision based on what you see?
Yet, the MLS seems to be stuck in the days of the old MLS books - offering poor quality and tiny photos and a brief description of the property. Of course, back then you HAD to call a Realtor in order to have any clue as to what was on the market, right?
Well, those days are long gone. At least Realtor.com has it together when it comes to presentations. You can put up to 25 LARGE photographs, plus a video or virtual tour on your listing. But not with most MLS IDX systems!
How to offer on the MLS what buyers want, even though you can't.
Even though your MLS may be living in the stone age, there is a way around this: A virtual tour.
Of course, most Realtors use this virtual tour to link to a zooming slideshow of the bad photos that the buyer just looked at on the MLS!!!!!
Exactly what is the point here? You're offering NO additional information to the buyer, and I hardly think buyers are fooled into thinking that those photos are any different or better because now there's zooming and music! You're just offering the same information in a slightly new package.
Done properly, with the click of the virtual tour link, you can present your buyer with a full screen presentation of large, beautiful, clear photos! You can show a walk through video tour of the home. ALL AVAILABLE ON YOUR LOCAL MLS.
This is an example of what can be shown to buyers directly from your local MLS
If you have a lot to say, a way around the short character limitation of the MLS descriptions is using a narrated video tour! You can give complete descriptions, and perhaps interesting tidbits, the history of the home, local amenities and more.
This is also an example of what can be shown directly from the local MLS with narration
Just because your local MLS is still living in the stone ages, if they offer a virtual tour link,
you have the opportunity to provide a killer presentation
that will entice that buyer put YOUR listing on their short list to visit in person!
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Our MLS is in the dark ages for sure! Which is why we blog our listings, Videos and VT's without limitations. Of course most agents don't care and don't really get it.