Will Advertising Your Home in the Newspaper Find a Buyer? Probably Not

Will Advertising Your Home in the Newspaper Find a Buyer? Probably Not.

If you asked me this question 20 years ago I would have said, Yes, definitely!  Even 12 or so years ago, my answer would still have been YES.

But now?  My answer is NO.  Most likely not.

Where will your FOR SALE home most likely be found these days?  THE INTERNET.

The National Association of Realtors 2011 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers reports that nearly 9 out of 10 home buyers use the Internet for their home search.  For 35% of home buyers, their VERY FIRST STEP is to look online.  (NOTE: The second most used resource was a real estate agent.  This is a really good indicator that the real estate agent you choose should be FINDABLE on the internet.)

A staggering 97% of buyers ranked the internet at least "somewhat useful."  

To quote the report: 

"Where buyers found the home they purchased has changed drastically since 2001.  in 2001, 8 percent of buyers found their home on the internet; today 40 percent of buyers find the home they ultimately purchased on the internet. The internet has edged out all other sources in the process...Sources such as yard signs, word of mouth, home builders and print newspaper advertisements have all declined"

Print newspapers all across the country have gone out of business due to lack of circulation.  Print circulation of newspapers nationwide is down by two-thirds since 2007.  

Let me say it another way:  two-thirds LESS people read a print newspaper than did 5 years ago.

(I don't think it is a far stretch to say that the majority of the remaining one-third who still read a print newspaper are not in the market to purchase real estate.  I admit I am basing this on unscientific data...it's my own observation of the proliferation of print newspapers in my Grandmother's nursing home...)

What I am trying to say is that times have changed in marketing real estate.  Print ads in newspapers are old news.  Your property needs to be advertised where it will be found by the majority of buyers.  The agent you choose to list your property should be showing you a marketing plan that emphasizes how visible your property will be on the internet...where current statistics show it has the best chance to be seen by buyers.  

And isn't that what you want?  To get your Maine HOME FOR SALE in front of LOTS of buyers?

So I have to ask: if there are two-thirds less people reading print newspapers and 9 out of 10 buyers use the Internet for their home search, why insist that your property be advertised in a local newspaper?