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Expired = Lack of Online Marketing?

By TheMillsTeam YourSebringRealtors

Real Estate Agent with Advantage Realty #1

March 13, 2011 05:39 AM

Many sellers feel that their agent didn't do enough online marketing and this is why their listing did not sell.

Marketing a property online is not the only way to find a qualified buyer but it is by far the most popular and most effictive. Fact: over 85% of buyers start their search for a new home online and naturally, this is where you want your property advertised - where buyers are looking for it. While online marketing is a great way to advertise, it takes more than posting your listing on various websites. We post a maximum amount of photos, video tours and detailed descriptions. We monitor web traffic, page hits and web inquiries, so we know when and how to adjust strategies. We will subsequently discuss our findings with the seller as well.

Establish how and where your property is being advertised
When you first meet with your agent, ask if and where the property is being advertised online, ask for links and websites. Keep in mind that some MLS systems automatically feed new listing data to various websites and it might take more than 48 hours for your property to be online. Your agent might post your listing to additional websites or blogs as well.

Establish how often you will be updated
Let your agent know how often you expect to be updated and how. Maybe you prefer weekly emails with a summary of all online inquiries, page hits and sign calls that came in during the week. Maybe you'd rather get a phone call every other week instead.

As Realtors® we are independent contractors and we all have different approaches and offer differnet services. Some agents produce most of their sales with online efforts while others might not do anything online but are equally successful. When you first meet your agent, ask about these things. If online marketing is important to you, work with an agent that offers the services you are looking for.

This article was first published at www.heartlandflorida.info

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Tamara Schuster

Naperville Glen Ellyn Lisle Plainfield Wheaton Illinois - Naperville, IL

Realtor Broker - Naperville

Yes these are good points and important to point out. Internet exposure is key.

Mar 13, 2011 02:43 PM

Roy Paeth

Barrett Financial Group - Murfreesboro, TN

Just a regular guy helping real people!

Andrea one great point you make is the fact it can take 48 hours for their property to show up on some sites. I help the agents I work with setup individual property sites for each of their listings and add Google Analytics to each page so that we can see where the traffic is coming from.

Mar 13, 2011 03:10 PM

Vickie McCartney

Maverick Realty - Owensboro, KY

Broker, Real Estate Agent Owensboro KY

Hi Andrea~ I have seen many properties with tremendous online marketing that don't sell because they were overpriced!

Mar 13, 2011 03:55 PM

Ruthmarie Hicks

Keller Williams NY Realty - 120 Bloomingdale Road #101, White Plains NY 10605 - White Plains, NY

Hi Andrea - On line marketing has to be effective. Anyone can slap up postlets - but you need photos, photos, PHOTOS! The higher the quality the better. Presentation and proper pricing are KEY!

Mar 13, 2011 05:15 PM

Sarasota & Manatee Counties FL

SaraMana Properties - QuickFreeMLS.com - Bradenton, FL

QuickFreeMLS.com - Listings In Paradise

Good points! I still think it's mostly a price issue in 99% of expireds!

Mar 13, 2011 05:59 PM

Melody Russell

eXp Realty of California Inc. - Scotts Valley, CA

Expertise in maximizing the value of your home!

Expired = wrong price. You can online market an overpriced listing on a million sites and it will not sell.

Mar 13, 2011 07:09 PM

Robert Schmalz

West Los Angeles Real Estate Group - Santa Monica, CA

Cal. Lic Broker

Melody you are 100% correct. I do not agree that a lack of online marketing causes expired listings of course it doesn't help and we need to market on line to be on top of the game. I specialize in expired listings , along with distressed properties. I feel that an expired listing shows the lack an agent had in guiding his client correctly. Now whether it was control of a client and the client told the agent what to do, pricing , marketing etc or the agent didn't do his homework correctly with his CMA, doesn't really matter. It comes down that the home wasn't priced right ,staged correctly and marketed to the right clientele. One or all three take your pick.

Mar 13, 2011 07:28 PM

Jim McCormack

Nashville Short Sale Specialist - Jim McCormack - Edge Advantage Realty, LLC - 615-796-6898 - Murfreesboro, TN

Nashville Short Sale REALTOR - Stop Foreclosure

While advertising has some impact, I have seen the following reasons as the primary reasons a given home does not sell:

Price.
Location.
Condition/Features.
Access.

In the end, however, everything goes back to price. Any home will sell at the right price. Other than that, about the only issue I have seen is non-responsive llisting agents who don't answer questions, return phone calls, etc., or who blow off offers because of big egos.

Mar 13, 2011 07:28 PM

Janet McCarthy

San Diego Homes Guide - San Diego, CA

Broker Associate

Marketing is a tough cookie to crack and online marketing is even harder. although they may blame the shortage of online marketing if they weren't having showings then it was probably the price.

Mar 13, 2011 09:53 PM

Gita Bantwal

RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA

REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

The reason most homes do not sell is because of the price.

Mar 13, 2011 11:04 PM

TheMillsTeam YourSebringRealtors

Advantage Realty #1 - Sebring, FL

863-212-5441

Wow, I didn't think this would result in so many comments, maybe because "that agent didn't do any online marketing" is something we heard from too many expired sellers. I believe that if we set up sellers to completely understand what it is we are doing. If they are being told what we're gonna do and are fine with it and then receive links etc. that show we did exactly what we said we would do, then they cannot point the finger and say "it didn't sell because that agent didn't put it online". The next step for them is to look at pricing because we explained in the beginning that the best marketing will not result in an offer if the price is not within the market.

Marketing is our thing to get right, while price depends often on the sellers. So if we get the marketing right and it still doesn't sell, it's time for the seller to re-consider pricing.

Mar 14, 2011 01:17 AM

TheMillsTeam YourSebringRealtors

Advantage Realty #1 - Sebring, FL

863-212-5441

I would like to add that I absolutely agree that most homes do not sell because they are overpriced. My point is that if we give sellers reason to say "it wasn't marketed online" then they will point that marketing finger at us and they will tell everyone they know why their home didn't sell...in their opinion. I've never come across an expired listing where the seller said "It didn't sell because it was overpriced. That agent refused to lower the price!"

Mar 14, 2011 01:25 AM

Chris Mayr

D3 Interactive Marketing - Orlando, FL

Maybe you were overexposed? That pink shag carpeting showing up on every web site in America could be deterring people to buy.

In this market, you just have to show that you put out the effort. You unfortunately can't guarantee results.

Mar 14, 2011 02:28 AM

Ira Bodenstein

PNC Mortgage - Montclair, NJ

NMLS#: 445143

Like any kind of advertising, will the property still be there when the potential buy inquires about it? You still need a personal touch and feel to sell a house.

Mar 14, 2011 04:00 AM

Mark Quaintance

Windermere Real Estate - Utah - Draper, UT

Great advise, I give my sellers a checklist so they can check on the marketing that I have done for them.

Mar 14, 2011 05:09 AM

Bill Burchard

3B Realty: 951-347-3818, CA - Murrieta, CA

Broker, Realtor, Representing Buyers and Sellers

Good morning, Andrea. Excellent tips for home sellers, understanding how an Agent will market their property. It’s so important that an Agent be Internet savvy!

Mar 14, 2011 05:52 AM

Ken Spencer

Buckeye, AZ

for Verrado, Buckeye, Sundance

Great points. Internet marketing has become more than the latest sensation, it's really the most effective way to capture buyers and future clients. Pricing, of course, is key as all of us know.

Mar 14, 2011 07:12 AM

Barb Van Stensel

Chicago, IL

Pricing correctly is the winner in most expireds. I am taking a listing this week where it was the price and the seller had no issues with the new "in the market price" but the photos were nasty. That kind of kills a listing too. Congrats on the feature and love all the comments.

Mar 14, 2011 08:19 AM

Lydia Lucas

Prudential CT Realty - Milford, CT

So true! The majority of people start their search online nowadays, so we need to take advantage of that :)

Mar 14, 2011 02:50 PM

Michael Dagner

Brokers Guild Classic - Denver, CO

Your Denver Homes Realty Expert

Hi Andrea,

While having top online exposure is critically important, there's no substitute for price positioning the property. That alone will generate sellers far more exposure than most online methods, any day of the week. Congrats on the feature!

Mar 14, 2011 04:29 PM