Fred, great post man!  I understand completely about why not market the heck out of your client's property.  Your quote "In this slower market, the marketing of a property is what sets a good REALTOR apart from an order taker (many of whom I'm sure are contemplating new careers at this point....)." is spot on.  However, I think the trend for featured tours, VT's and the like are going to slowly go to the little guys.  Realtor.com is very pricey for a lot of their extra features like more than one photo, VT's, etc...  Why go with them if you've got the SEO on your website.  You can use the little guys like www.realestateshows.com and other websites (a lot are in Beta right now) to showcase your customer's properties.  Even though Realtor.com is huge, I think you can still reach customer's through other websites, other portals, etc... but I totally agree with your initial argument.  Happy Holidays Fred!  

It's actually really not.  Even if you DON'T subscribe to their enhanced listings (which gives you up to 6 pix and free virtual tours plus a link to your personal website), it only costs $20 to put a Virtual Tour up on a listing... The $20 is what Realtor.com charges (that's what I pass on to my customers... some VT providers may mark it up a bit).  The reality is however, that MOST agent websites (and a whole lot of office websites) don't get much traffic at all.  So only promoting your virtual tour on a nearly dead website isn't really promoting it...  where at least R.com has traffic!  (like it or hate it!) And if you're paying for a tour in the first place, why not place it on a site that GETS traffic for $20?  Just makes no sense to me....

Real Estate is local. In htis market people tend to look on the larger broker sites. Most agents in this market have had little returns with realtor.com so they quite using it. You tend to go with what works and drop what does not work. I use Craigs List, my website, Homes and Land website, Prudential Gardners site, and the other brokers feature all properties. I make sure I get nice photos. I even blog on active rain about the properties. If I think I am missing something I can reverse my field quickly. Eric 

Great article Fred,

I must admit I agree with you.  Given that the vast majority of potential home-buyers are starting their home search online, and also given that Realtor.com is going to be visited by them shortly after they start an online search (due to their SEO and SEM rankings) I find it hard to understand why so many realtors fail to post LOTS of QUALITY PICTURES and/or a 360 virtual tour or a video tour -- AND to spend the extra $20 to have their virtual tour provider give them the "featured listing" w/ the red spinning house.

Because I provide virtual tours to Realtors, I spend a great deal of time talking with people who have or will soon be looking for a new home - and ALL of them KNOW about Realtor.com and they look first for the featured tours.  Another case in point - my brother and his family relocated a few years ago from Dayton OH to Lexington KY and found their future $300,000 home because of its listing on Realtor.com AND the virtual tour that accompanied it.  They sorted first by "featured homes" and it was listed on the first page.

Of course, I've done virtual tours for Realtors who fail to include the link for the virtual tour within the emails they send to people inviting them to an open house for that property.  I've come to the conclusion that (a) Realtors are very busy and sometimes forget these "little things", (b) Realtors are not very tech-savy by and large.

I feel that Eric's community is the exception to the rule.

Cheers,

Jason Bennett - Nashville Virtual Tours & Photography - www.nashvtp.com

Fred, I agree that using Virtual tours on Realtor.com absolutely drives up your listing views and your site traffic.  I track the number of virtual tour clicks on Realtor.com and I am getting more than 50% are actually viewing the virtual tours.  This is a powerful number because this means that in many cases they have selected to "view homes with Featured Tours first".  I may have got some of these views anyway but with over 50% viewing the tour I am convinced many were directed to my listings far before listings which didn't have the tours.  That alone makes uploading the tours to Realtor.com worth it even thought I very much dislike Realtor.com and their business practices.  Sam Miller

I made the leap last year for an Enhanced Package on Realtor.com and haven't looked back.  It's a great selling tool to get listigns.  Their price structural is based on how may listings you had the year before so it can be affordable for new people.

I have toyed with the idea of becoming a "featured agent" on Realtor.com.  Any advice on that?  I used the Enhanced listing feature last year that allowed me to add 6 photos.  It received a lot of traffic but the house still did not sell.  I have 3dVista for 3d tours, will Realtor.com accept a tour created in this program?

What a great Post!! I have a Featured listing on Realtor.com and I have had more business from it because I am one of the only agents in my area that have put visual tours on my listing. I get more listings sold that way. You can also mark the host an open house and have the added little sign in the box with the spinning red house and in the comment part for the open house, put.... Our homes are always open call me today and Ill show it to you! I do this for all of my listings. It works out great!

Hi Fred - Great subject! I just learned the same thing this week, that even without an Enhanced Package one can still post Virtual Tours to Realtor.com for just $20 per listing. I have just sent in the paperwork for this today on my listings.

Fred, Realtor.com definetly generates leads, without a question.  I notice that they are not so high in the search engines anymore.  Maybe with so much name recognition they don't need to be.

I have the enhanced listing package from Realtor.com but do not see anywhere how I can add a Virtual Tour to it?  Anyone happen to know?

It generally needs to be uploaded by your Virtual Tour provider.  Most providers are a part of the PicturePath™ program that Realtor.com offers, and they should upload it for you.    

Virtual tours can only be added to Realtor.com by actual tour providers who are part of the PicturePath Network. There are hundreds of them, however, most provide dismal quality and similar service.

hey fred...

 Just got back from the RE/MAX convention and heard from the former head of REALTOR.COM about what you are discussing here....  REALTOR.COM is the most widely viewed RE website soooooo let me ask you this: if you are on a marketing proposal with a seller (PLZ do NOT ever use the word listing presentation!!!!! if you want to know why shoot me an email: edleeremax@hotmail.com) do you think your seller wants you to follow up your stat- 80% ppl use the internet during their home search w/  OOH by the way REALTOR.COM is the most widely viewed website (i have to double check but they have like 80% viewage nationally) and would you like your home to be featured on that website, MR SELLER??? 

OOH by the way want to know which RE company has the most amount of hits/unique visitors???  HMMMMMM  if you ever compete with us on a listing presentation, GOOD LUCK!!!!!    MR. SELLER not only will i feature your home on realtor.com but i will feature your home on the number one most viewed RE company website: RE/MAX.COM!!!!!   IF you're not a RE/MAX associate look at the numbers and where do you want to be?????

eddie lee (NYC- queens- for referral Rships plz email me edleeremax@hotmail.com)

Realtor.com recently announced that Picture Path linking fees would be eliminated for those realtors who have purchased their Showcase Listing Enhancement package. This will take effect Mar 14, 2006. All realtors not using Showcase Listing Enhancement will continue to pay a per tour linking fee of $19.95. The upload process has stayed the same. Once the tour is sent through it will either say it is Showcase or Not Showcase.

If you have any questions about what a Showcase Listing Enhancement is please see the link below:

http://resource.realtor.com/Agent/listing/Showcase.aspx

You can go to Realtor.com and type in the MLS number to check whether or not a listing is Showcase. If it is it will say Showcase around the listing.

A registered Virtual Tour Provider must upload the tour The directory can be found at http://resource.realtor.com/agent/ShowCasePlus/FindTourProviders.aspx. 

Hope this helps!

Jason Bennett - Nashville Virtual Tours & Photography - http://www.nashvtp.com/

Huh?  That was last year!  There are no fees to upload Virtual Tours if you have the Enhanced Package.  If you don't, you can still upload a tour for $19.95, but that does NOT include additonal photos or a link to your website.

I am not as pleased with Realtor.com as some of you seem to be. I will not be continuing my subscription next year. I have had problems with them taking to long to scrape information of our MLS and then taking up to 2 weeks to post.

My last listing sold before it even got posted to Realtor.com

That's right Todd,

their service is not that great, and all the happy talk seems to come from virtual tour PROVIDERS

Eye  opening post...I was considering signing up with Realtor.com as a showcase agent but this is giving me something more to think about...it may be best to just pay the $20 for the VT

Misty,

It may depend on your competition.  I just did a quick search in my city and in the price range I have homes listed.  Only 7% of the homes are 'showcase' homes.  I've had quite a bit of success with clients contacting me through finding me on Realtor.com so I'm sticking with it.  The first two years for me were pretty cheap about $300.00.  This year I expect it to go up due to the number of listings I've had in the last 12 months.  But I've had lots of success with people contacting me there and from them coming to open houses that I post there.  

good luck in your decision 

    I recently left Standard Pacific Homes, after 7 years in new home sales to pursue my dream of my own photography business. Now instead on selling the homes I am helping others with my marketing and photography skills. I am not an ordinary photographer in that I am creating HD Panoramic Tours and HD Stills. This interactive HD Panoramic Tour has full screen capability, with floor plans, maps and voice over/music. I custom design the viewing window with company’s colors and logo. You can view both exterior and interior tours on my website.

Upgrade your Image!

I am researching realtor.com as far as having my personal website with them..there seems to be many realtors that are not happy with them..and then of course some that are...Any more thoughts?

I don't know anything about personal websites with realtor.com... but I just met with a new client yesterday who claims she gets 2-3 leads PER DAY directly from Realtor.com and her enhanced listings.

So for people like Fred Daring who think it's only tour providers that tout realtor.com, he is incorrect.

And as far as tour providers being the only ones touting realtor.com - As I tour provider, I don't make a dime from Realtor.com, nor do I care if you advertise on there or not.  There is absolutely nothing in it for ANY tour provider.

However, as someone who has done real estate web design and internet marketing for realtors for about a decade, I would say that you are missing the boat if you dismiss realtor.com as many have.

Realtor.com IS the #1 website for real estate in the country.  It IS the first place that many people go.  They do charge for enhanced listings, but overall the price PER LISTING is really not outrageous - most realtors spend far more on a stupid newspaper ad that does absolutely nothing in today's market.

Granted, some markets may not be as effective, but overall, I think you do a disservice to your sellers but shorting them that exposure.  And what do they think of YOUR marketing efforts when they see all their competition on Realtor.com with 25 photos, expanded descriptions, links to websites, video tours, virtual tours.... and their pathetic listing has ONE lousy photo and a 3 line description???

I met with a broker just yesterday.  A seller hired me to do a video tour of their property and I asked the broker if they had enhanced listings.  They said "yes, but we don't really use them.  We only enhance them when the seller requests it." I was dumbfounded at that answer.  I looked up this 'enhanced' property on Realtor.com and they didn't even have ONE photo.  And there was the standard 3 line description.  NOTHING ELSE.  

I personally would never do business with an agent with an attitude like that.  And they are PAYING for this service, but not using it?  Sorry, but that's just a head scratcher for me.  It's that type of behavior that gives realtors a bad name, I think.  I bit my tongue, but I so wanted to say something.... 

But I did make the seller (who paid for the tour) understand exactly what his realtor, who stands to make a huge commission on this $1+ property is NOT DOING to market his property. He was mortified.  If I was him, I would have fired her on the spot.  There's just no excuse for stupidity like that, I'm afraid.

I stopped using realtor.com's featured home ads due to all their mistakes and excuses.

I was a huge user of Realtor.com years ago. 
I still have big bucks into their site, however, I poll my clients.  It is not what is bringing me my business any more. Times have changed.  We are looking into a flip camera, shooting the videos ourselves, better yet, going to the local high school and having a tech student help us!  Give a little back to the community!

Mr. Fred Light-RIGHT ON!  (Yes I am a VT provider)

I have clients who choose not to post their tours on Realtor.com, but tell me how they have placed ads in newspapers in far off cities!  Are you kidding me?  I mean, todays newspaper is tomorrows birdcage liner!  What are you thinking?  I understand if agents don't want to spend the extra $$ to get all of the frills of being a Showcase Realtor on Realtor.com, but to not spend $20 to have the tour posted, and then turn around and spend $100's on newspaper ads is just a joke. 

Whoever said that VT providers have nothing to gain by having their clients post tours to Realtor.com is dead-on.  The only thing I am EVER trying to do, is make my clients look as good as possible.  Many times, I meet the homeowners without their agents and I am always talking my clients up.  Ex. "Congratulations on having so-in-so as your Realtor, they are really working hard to make sure your home gets the kind of exposure it deserves."  I tell them all about the tour and it's cool functions and all of the websites it will be visible on. 

It ticks me off when a homeowner asks, "Will it be on Realtor.com?" and I can't say yes.  What I want to say is "No, your agent thinks that they can market your home better on their personal website."  Instead, I bite my tongue and say, "You should ask him/her about that."

When it comes to the customer service side of Realtor.com, I have had limited exposure.  There have been a few times that I have contacted them on behalf of a client who wants their main photo updated.  I email them with the property information and attach the new photo and have always gotten results within 24-48 hours. 

I read an article the other day that said that every day on Realtor.com over 100,000 people choose the option to view listing with featured tours.  If I can find the article again, I will come back and insert a link to it.  Imagine that with one click your listings could be completely knocked out of the running.  Not having that happen is worth $20 if you ask me. 

We all know that most Realtor's are Realtor's because it takes no education to become one. The vast majority of Realtors can barely use a computer and spend more time showing homes than they do selling. I have heard from more than 1 Realtor say that they don't use Virtual or Video Tours because they want the buyer to pick up the phone so they can get them in their "professional salesman's grasp".

Home Sellers want the Best Listing Possible, and Home buyers more often than not exclude listings that do not have Virtual or Video Tours.  So why are Realtor's shying away from the Best Internet Listing Tool Available? I think I know why.

For so many years, their were more buyers than sellers. With the opposite being true today! They think if they wait long enough. They will get back to that point.

Fact is, the day's of easy credit are over forever. Our Economy is in shambles because banks allowed unqualified buyers into the Market. Does anyone with any intelligence think Bank's will make this DEVESTATING mistake again! With that said, most Realtor's would say "yes".

We, as Virtual and Video Tour Providers must just hang in and wait for the old school Realtor's to continue to fail and falter and For video to continue it's dominant lure of Internet users, It is just a matter of time before Video will be the Norm and a necessary part of all internet sites.

Brandon,

Your post is, unfortunately, right on. Although I disagree on the education portion of your post. Realtors do require a certification, which means they've been educated in their field and must keep up CE credits to hang on to their license.

Regarding Virtual Tours. I am the President of a full service Virtual Tour provider and have the hardest time communicating with Real Estate agents in any market. When times for agents are good, they don't need VT's because properties don't stay on the market. When times for agents are rougher, like now, agents don't need VT's because they can't afford them. It's in many cases a no win situation. Despite the overwhelming amount of statistical data you can place in front of them that proves VT's benefit both buyer and seller they are unwilling to accept it as fact. The good news is that the MLS was first fought by agents tooth and nail, no one wanted any part of it in it's inception. The same is true for the VT industry. We are truly still in an infancy stage as VT providers, but times will begin to change in the very near future. Due to rising fuel costs, time constraints and various other reasons, agents will see VT's as a necessity rather than a gimmick. Agents will be forced to become more computer savvy and analyze what forms of advertising media's are no longer cost effective, such as newspaper ads.

I can only reason that RE agents today see VT companies as just another person trying to pry their hard earned money away from them. They get bombarded from all angles by people just like us trying to sell them something, so I understand them being cautious. When they realize that we are truly here to make their lives easier and increase their bottom lines....well, then we will become their new best friend.

Alan:

I totally understand what you're saying - when times were good realtors could sell a house as long as they were able to fog up a mirror - no marketing necessary.  Now, they need all the help they can get, but they don't have the money to spend.

However....

I've found that I am busier than ever.  Even this summer, which typically slows down, has been crazy busy.  I get new customers almost daily.  But most importantly, I have a core group of realtors are doing more and more tours on properties.

What I believe is that 10% of the realtors do 90% of the business.  Good market or bad.

I've long given up on the 90%.  I don't even bother - it's a complete waste of time. You can knock your ahead against a brick wall all you want - all you do is bleed!

I spend my efforts with the 10% who understand how to properly market real estate and how to properly run a business.  They get it.  Totally. And they're successful. The rest?  I'm assuming many will be back working at the mall......

I don't have to sell myself or my services to that 10% - they totally get it, as do the new people who call me.

You just need to find that 10%!