Dilemma, Dilemma. What a hot topic this has become over the last few years as we have seen the marketplace slow. On the one hand agents are afraid that if they tell the public that a home has been reduced, it may indicate their failure of selling the home. The other side is that by advertising the price change, it may spur a newfound interest in the home.

To answer this question we need to first find the purpose of sending out an email or a direct mail piece about a property. Very simply the average consumer believes you are sending out emails and direct mail pieces about their property because it is going to help sell it. Although that may be part of the truth, it is not the sole reason. The math simply does not support it.

The Mayflower Transit Company tells us that every year 14% of the U.S. population moves. Eight out of every one hundred are homeowners. This means that for every 100 postcards you send out, just eight people are in the market for your services. This number is narrowed down even further when you consider that every homeowner has only so much buying power. The number will dwindle even more when factoring in the neighborhood and location. Get the point?

“Your chances of selling one specific home by producing a direct mailing are only slightly better then winning the lottery but it doesn’t make it less important for you to use direct mail regularly,” says David Palmer, broker of a small New York City office.

David brings out a great point about the objective of sending out property postcards. It is less about the property itself and more about showing your sphere of influence and prospective clients your regular real estate activity. Using our newfound knowledge, we now know that property postcards are less about properties and more about the agent.

Still we have to figure out if exploiting the new prices of our listings is a good idea. Will people think you have a habit of lowering your price or worse yet will they believe that you are not capable of selling? Gary Russell, divisional inventory specialist for Wal-Mart says no. “Look outside the Industry. Just because Wal-Mart offers a 30% price break on a product you can get anywhere does not make the product cheaper in quality. The same notion can apply in the housing market.” Very often seller’s motives and timing will change. Consumers understand this.

Dramatic price reductions are a necessary evil in this market and advertising these changes will not be misunderstood by the consumer. After all, with your help, they will better understand the market and its current conditions. Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon