I think it is needed.  I am trying to swing my advertising to the higher end and I think you are dealing with a different type of a client.  You must break through where they circulate...what attracts the higher end market, using advertising with the ideas of what they need to be out doing... golfing...sailing...driving sports cars...luxury homes, all fall in line.

Angelica, I've been considering advertising in a western luxury magazine called "Salt Lake Magazine."  It's a bi-monthly and definitely caters to a high end demographic.  One of the challenges is the cost is fairly prohibitive for what it is, and for how many luxury homes actually sell.  It's less than 1% of the market.  Would it be profitable?  Certainly.  How long would I have to advertise and drain my account before it paid off?  Who knows.  That's my hurdle, and I suspect it is not as big an issue in Philly.

Thanks Tony!  Curious as to what one considers prohibitive, we still run into that here in Philly.  if it's anything like Philly Magazine it's obscene.  As a practice, do you ever ask the sellers to contribute to the marketing costs of the property?  I see it sometimes here and in New England where we also publish, just wondering if it is more prevalant in different areas of the country.

Luxury is a very different arena of which there are often too many assumptions rather than "being in the know" like you said.  After reviewing your list of distribution locations (and knowing the Philly and South Jersey areas), you are definitely in the right spots.  You also have the right idea of allowing the combination of both print and online advertising.  Successful Realtors and Brokers know it is about a balance between the two mediums and measuring the effectiveness of each.

In regards to the website (which I love the design), I would suggest 2 things:

1.  Add a link for contacting the Agent when viewing a listing (i.e. "Click Here to Contact Mary Realtor").

2.  Enlarge the window with the pictures in the listing.  I have a 19" monitor and had a bit of a tough time seeing them.  Or at least the ability to view the photos in a separate window that would be larger.  Luxury customers are very much about their time and quick to make decisions, so you do not want to miss the opportunity for your advertisers to attract the customer to want to see more.

BW,

Thank you so much for your comments, you are right on with the changes to the website, we have had to roll it out in phases as budgets allow.  Email change is taking place as we speak, and larger photos on the way!