Are Real Estate Websites Worth It?

Imagine this scenario:

You are a real estate agent in Winter Garden, Florida, and after a busy weekend filled with open houses, you are taking the day off. You have promised your family for weeks that you’d take them to “The Most Magical Place On Earth”—the Magic Kingdom.

You disable notifications on your phone to not be bothered, and you close all of your social media apps. This day is sacred, and you want nothing more than to enjoy it with the people you love and who make you smile.

Fifteen hours of Space Mountain, funnel cakes, parades, and Mickey’s Nighttime Spectacular—it’s time to head home. One of your daughters is fast asleep in her stroller, and the other is dozing off in your arms. What a day full of memories!

Your wife gives you a goodnight kiss, and you slowly make your way up to your office. You haven’t been online all day, and you want to make sure you didn’t miss anything important.

A small sense of guilt starts to take over your body because you realize how many hours of work you put in that day: zero.

As much fun as you had, the idea of spending $800 while making nothing is starting to take its toll on you. You knew what you signed up for when you became an agent, but some days like this—you know—are challenging.

After a few minutes of sifting through your inbox, a subject line gets your attention. It says Madison Avenue Client Inquiry, and your heart races.

You quickly open the email and read the following:

. . .

Hi Antonio,

My name is Cassidy Moore, and my husband and I live in Chicago. We are moving to the Orlando area because of his job, and we are looking to buy a single-family home.

We have been on the hunt for a real estate agent for a few weeks and came across your Instagram account this morning while looking through Disney hashtags. Can you tell we’re excited to be moving to the area?

Anyway, we liked your family’s photo in front of Cinderella Castle (so cute!) and saw several beautiful homes throughout your stream. From there, we clicked the link in your profile and ended up on your website.

It didn’t take long for us to realize you are exactly the type of agent we want to work with as we search for a new home. We enjoyed reading the story on your about page and read through all of your neighborhood guides. Everything was so helpful and something we haven’t seen before.

Anyway, I know you have had a long day, but we’d love to connect with you. We will be in town next weekend and hope you have some time to show us some properties. At your convenience, please call me at 1-847-555-2727.

We look forward to hearing from you!
—Cassidy

The Million Dollar Question

There is an emerging trend these days when it comes to real estate. Agents, more than ever, are looking to get online and build a digital presence. However, a question looms large—and it’s a million-dollar one:

Are real estate websites worth it?

You bet they are. A website might easily be the most powerful tool an agent can have for building (and growing) their business. Contrary to popular belief, they are easy to set up and manage.

While there are several, here are three competitive advantages that a real estate agent will have with a personal website:

• Showcase your personal brand and style.
• Make it easy to do business with you.
• Differentiate from those who don’t have one.

In the case with Antonio, you can see all three of these factors at play. Cassidy and her husband hired him to be their agent and validated each of those advantages, respectively, with the following from her email:

• It didn’t take long for us to realize you are exactly the type of agent we want to work with as we search for a new home.
• At your convenience, please give me a call.
• That was so helpful and something we haven’t seen before.

A World of Opportunity

While our story with Antonio and Cassidy is make-believe, every day, in every state, in every neighborhood, similar situations like this occur.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, nearly 6 million homes were purchased or built last year. An estimated 2 million real estate agents have an active license, and more than 100,000 real estate brokerage firms are operating in the United States.

There is no shortage of activity within the real estate industry. Even during the pandemic, big cities are seeing a rise in listings as people are making their way to the suburbs—and there are no signs it’s slowing down.

Buyers are looking to move quickly, and sellers want their house listed right away. Both are hungry to find the perfect real estate agent to get the job donen and you need to stand out.

So back to the million-dollar question: Are real estate websites worth it?

I’m guessing Antonio thinks so.

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