I was speaking with a REALTOR® friend the other day and she mentioned that the average DOM had risen substantially in her county-- as it has in most counties. With fewer buyers out there ready and able to transact and with sellers not yet reacting quickly enough to the new pricing realities of a "buyer's market" homes are languishing. 
Properties that would have attracted multiple offers at or above listing price within a week only 18 months ago are now, slowly and quietly, starting to show off those "Price Reduced" sign riders. These usually signal the end of the frenzy and the return of Sunday afternoons watching rushing on the football field instead of making rushes to the Open Houses. I know what a buyer's market means to her, but I wondered what it might mean to me.
Last year I spoke with many of you at trade shows and during brokerage meetings and what I heard over and over again was that it didn't always pay to spend good marketing dollars on "better quality" printed materials-- because houses were being snapped up faster than would warrant the cost of the design and production. But successful REALTORS® were still doing the traditional 'blocking and tackling' marketing efforts that had made them successful-- postcards to the farm, flyers for listings, and business cards-- LOTS of business cards. But the average REALTOR® wasn't digging deep into pocket to spend on marketing materials-- if they could save money by printing smaller quantities, producing lesser quality, or doing nothing at all and still "sell" a home-- why shouldn't they?
There was a good reason why they shouldn't have saved those pennies-- and that reason rests with today's soft market! The successful REALTORS® understood that spending on quality materials, even when business was easy to get, promoted their 'personal brand' and would make them better able to withstand the inevitable downturns that always come. Less successful or less marketing-oriented agents saved a few dollars by NOT spending on marketing materials when business was flush-- and many of them are living to regret it now that deals are harder to come by.
So with that in mind, what materials are more likely to become viable again now that inventories are increasing, the average days on market is lengthening, and REALTORS® are having to think more about how to "position" a home for sale during a longer listing period than was the case only a year or so ago?
- Are you more inclined to invest in materials than before?
- Which marketing materials make sense today that might not have before?
- How has your marketing strategy changed given a longer 'days on market' cycle?
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