In the Bellingham geographic area there are hundreds of real estate agents and tens of real estate firms scrambling for attention and business.  As a result, it is frequently very difficult for a prospective seller or buyer to make an informed decision as to whom to rely on for real estate services.  Over the past few years there has been a dramatic shift in marketing strategies and technology, which is critical to understand and utilize.

   The largest change has been the advent of the Internet!  In the past 10 years there has been a significant increase in computer ownership and reliance on the Internet to search on-line for an unbelievable amount of information, products, and services.  This is especially true in the real estate industry!  In 1997, for instance, only 2% of homebuyers found the home that they purchased on line.  In 2007 that percentage in Washington State has jumped to 37%.  Meanwhile, 50% of the homes that were purchased 10 years ago were introduced to the buyer by their real estate agent.  Today, only 30% of the homes, which are subsequently purchased, are introduced to the buyer by their agent.  Yard signs and Open Houses still generate 12% of the homebuyers.  The other statistic I would share with you is the fact that print newspaper ads and home book or magazines only accounts for 4% of the buyers today, compared to 11% in 1997.  Bottom line:  Internet marketing is the key to real estate sales and is likely to be even more important in future years.

   Just a few years ago real estate agents were provided a printed book from the Multiple Listing Service with the inventory of properties for sale.  Today all the active listings are accessible by agents on the Internet.  In addition, most real estate offices are able to provide consumer access to all the MLS listings via the firm's web page, which is automatically linked to the MLS inventory.

   In addition to the real estate inventory access via agent websites, the MLS has a public site for consumer access.  On a national scale, the Association of Realtors has got a huge site called Realtor.com, with over 3 million properties on it for sale.  Amazingly, only a small percentage of local agents pay to have properties exposed on this site.  Another Internet site, Craigslist.com, has a housing section, but again few local agents are posting their inventory to this site.

   Search engines are widely used these days to assist buyers and sellers hunt for homes, do market research, look at property values, etc.  Google, Yahoo, Lycos, AOL and other search engines provide easy access and comprehensive data-just a click away. 

   So-how important is it to hire a real estate agent?  In Washington State 88% of the homes are sold using an agent and 9% are sold by owner. Buyers prefer to use the services of an agent to assist in the home finding and buying process.  Sellers may initially try to sell their own home, but are virtually invisible to the buying public, especially buyers who reside some distance away.  There are getting to be a number of For Sale By Owner websites, but with home buyers who are most comfortable using the services of an agent, (88%), these types of websites have extremely low probability of leading to a sale.  The other problem with a number of these sites is the fact that many of them require logging in, which results in the internet site capturing the buyer's email address, name, phone number and home preferences.  The result is often the sale of this data, as a "lead" to real estate firms that agree to pay a referral fee for these leads.

   Today there are getting to be a number of real estate firms that are "discount brokers."  The fees for these services can range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.  Unless the property is listed in the MLS, the exposure will be minimal-even if the real estate broker actively markets the property in the local newspaper and home magazines (remember that only 4% of home buyers spot their home from print media advertising).  Also, if the home is not listed in the MLS, the only one showing the property for sale is the listing office.  You can imagine the marketing success of a firm with a handful of agents vs. all the agents affiliated with the MLS!

   In order to have a home listed in the MLS, a seller will need to pay a reasonable fee to the   "buyer's agent."  Paying a buyer's agent the typical fee of 2.5% to 3.0% doesn't preclude the listing agent being paid a reduced fee.  This, in fact, is the operational model chosen by my firm, but is not generously offered by most listing agents.  In my experience, many of the ‘full service/full fee' real estate firms don't or can't reduce the listing agent portion of the commission.  Why?  1.  More money is better than less.  2.  Why work harder (having to do more transactions) to make the same money?  3.  Property sellers like to see their home in the newspaper and magazines (and many still expect it-in spite of a 4% success rate)! 4.  By being visible in the print media AND having the seller pay for the exposure (by charging the seller a large listing agent fee) it is possible that other potential sellers will be impressed enough to list their home with the firm.  In essence, the listing agent is getting marketing exposure paid in full by the Seller.  Are we ready for a conclusion?

   Both buyers and sellers are relying more and more on the Internet today.  Most of the buyers and sellers continue to rely on a real estate agent to market real estate for sale and to purchase real estate (88%).  It doesn't make sense to pay a huge listing agent fee if it is spent on print media advertising (success of only 4%).  It is possible to pay a ‘discount broker' a reduced fee and get a great marketing program-especially if the broker is active in the MLS AND internet savvy!  As times change we all need to keep up with the technology and new marketing strategies that come into play.  In tough economic times, this is even more crucial.

   To conclude, I'd like to encourage you to take a look at my firm.  Please take a look at our website: www.letussaveumoney.com.  Believe me when I say, you don't have to pay a huge real estate fee to sell a home AND get outstanding service.