The downtown in the real estate market here in Westchester County has brought some interesting advertising.
The first full page ad that I saw in one of the local newspapers is an ad with pictures of all the agents and the heading that this agency has 41% market share in one particular area. In the past I have done blogs about when you hire an agent you are hiring the agent and not the company and this ad supports this contention. This ad has an asterik with this statement "market share is based on sales of our agents for the year when they were at a different agency". A group of agents left one agency and went to another and so the new agency is taking credit in the ad for the sales these agents made at the previous agency. So, it is the agents and not the agency. Funny to be advertising that.
Another ad is for a home that has been on the market for the past year. It started VERY high and has been reduced. The ad that was placed makes it very clear that there isn't activity and certainly no offers. The pictures in the ad are just awful. The text says basically to ignore the price and if you are interested in negotiating please call. It also says that the price is slightly over $2,000,000 when it is actually listed in the mid $2,000's.
Other ads contain "listed under market". One agent is advertising that he is a marketing gorilla! One agent is adveristing that he eats and sleeps real estate. Do you want to hire a sleep deprived agent! Is that a good marketing tool?
WIth continued softening of the housing market I would guess we will see more of this.
Comments(5)