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Craigslist - Yeah or Nay? What has been your experience?

By
Real Estate Agent with Allen Tate Company

Craigslist yes or noI wanted to see what others there thought of using Craigslist for real estate listings.

In my area on Long Island I have had no luck at all in the times I have tried it in the past. I use html from Postlets or Visual Tour.com. But no response

Yesterday I had some time on my hands so I thought I'd try it again. Nothing to lose - its free!

I thought I would give it a try with these 3 properties differing in type, style, price and neighborhood and see which segment got the best response.

 

5 Bedroom Colonial in Hewlett Harbor

Luxury Condo in Rockville Centre

2 Bedroom co-op in Woodmere, NY

And the verdict is in - equal responses to each of them - ALL SPAM!!!

I think my Craigslist days are over but it left me wondering if Craigslist is perhaps better in some areas of the country than others? Or maybe it is really not great for Real Estate.

What has been your Craigslist experience?

 

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Comments (10)

June Piper-Brandon
Coldwell Banker Realty - Columbia, MD
Creating Generational Wealth Through Homeownership

Donna, I always post my listings on craigslist and also on backpage.com.  It really does increase the number of visits to your website and makes your sellers feel like you are doing something extra.

Jul 22, 2010 03:02 AM
Lori Churchill Cofer
Beasley Realty - Pullman, WA
Realtor - 509-330-0086 - Pullman, WA

Donna,

I hear some folks do have great results.  I had one of my listings get scammed right in the middle of an offer.  It added a lot of undue stress both on me and my sellers.  I decided since then to make it an option to my sellers....they have all decided not to.

I just wrote a post on this a couple of days ago with the remedy one needs to take if that happens.  It is really frustrating.

I don't mean to put you off to it...just let you know my experiences...

Jul 22, 2010 03:04 AM
Jim Palmer
Chipola Realty - Chipley Office (850) 638-2777 - Sunny Hills, FL
Washington County, Florida

I have gotten mainly spam from my use of craigslist and a couple of interested sellers that typically did not want to hear what the actual market was for their property. I do continue to use it on a semi regular basis as I have noticed a huge jump in traffic on my website after posting. Makes for good ammunition when the broker starts considering cutting out the payment to the website when I can point out that I am seeing several hundred visits to my site per month.

Sure is aggravating though to have to weed through all the spam.

Jul 22, 2010 03:06 AM
Donna Galinsky
Allen Tate Company - Cornelius, NC
Make Lake Norman Your Home!

I have to check to see if it does drive traffice to my site - that is a good point. I was looking at it single sided.

Thanks for that reminder!

Jul 22, 2010 03:10 AM
Scott Godzyk
Godzyk Real Estate Services - Manchester, NH
One of the Manchester NH's area Leading Agents

Unfortanately i think there are too many scams that have tainted it.

Jul 22, 2010 03:12 AM
Leslie Ebersole
Swanepoel T3 Group - Saint Charles, IL
I help brokers build businesses they love.

Craigslist drives traffic to the website. It also create google juice for individual listings. It is great for rentals.

Jul 22, 2010 03:17 AM
Don Spera
CR Property Group, LLC - East York, PA
Serving York and Adams County, PA

I have had numerous inquiries through Craig's List and have obtained clients from it.  You will get scammers replying periodically, but you can pick up on them very easily, as their responses are very generic.  It is just like an open house, they may not buy that property you are representing, but you may sell them something else.  Best wishes.

Jul 22, 2010 03:25 AM
Joe Harvey
Lake Worth Real Estate - Lake Worth, FL

Craigslist isnt bad but you get a lot of responses from people who are not serious about buying.

Jul 22, 2010 03:25 AM
Andy Yakubovsky
Signature Premier Properties - Massapequa Park, NY
The Answer To All Of Your Real Estate Needs

All we have had is negative results with the Nigerian scammers getting thousands of dollars from people that can least afford to get scammed. Staying away from Craigslist.

Jul 22, 2010 04:28 AM
Damon Gettier
Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS- Roanoke Va Short Sale Expert - Roanoke, VA
Broker/Owner ABRM, GRI, CDPE

I have picked up buyers from Craigslist but I have not sold a house directly from Craigslist.  Sellers are starting to expect to see their houses on Craigslist though.

Jul 22, 2010 01:36 PM