Shout! Don’t Whisper. When we decide to put a home on the market, it is as if we become the CEO of a company whose sole product is this one fantastic property. And, as the guy in charge, it is our responsibility to decide how that single awesome product will be marketed. We have got one shot to get it right. One shot to get the highest price the market can bear for this one single product. Anyone facing a challenge like this would do some research, get advice. As recently as just ten years ago, you might have found a broad consensus among realtors about the best way to get the best price for a house. Back then, Zillow wasn’t even around. Redfin didn’t get funded until 2006, and Trulia was just a twinkle in its founder’s eye. Back then, if a buyer wanted to know what was on the market, he would have to ask a realtor. And if the home of his dreams was not on the market, with eyes wet with hope, he would have to say to his realtor, “Ask around. If a home like that comes on the market, I’ll buy it!” Then, when the realtor found a guy thinking about selling a home like that, he could lean in, and with a confidence in his voice that he knew would bring the sound of angels to this seller, he could whisper, “I’ve got someone who wants to buy your home.” Kismet. Yes, it was a beautiful thing. A buyer, so eager to have found what he was looking for, and a seller knowing he had the buyer who wanted it most (and who would pay as if he did). Alas, times have changed. Now any buyer with a smartphone, tablet, or computer of just about any kind can tell his realtor exactly what homes are on the market. The realtor is less and less a guy who is informing his clients about what’s available. The internet has taken over that role. That’s where the information is and that is where it is going to stay. We will continue to be in the age (until further notice) of free information. Like it or not. And it turns out, in the age of information, that the buyer does not want to pay top dollar. Imagine the shock. The buyer, it turns out, wants a deal. So now, when a buyer leans in to a realtor and says “find me a house,” what he is saying is “find me a deal.” “Find me something I don’t have to compete for.” “Find me a home where the seller is uninformed enough to think this good-old-boy network of ours is still the best way to get him the best price.” What’s a seller to do? Well, it turns out that this story has a happy ending for sellers. Because technology and the internet, in addition to informing buyers all over the world as to which homes were on the market, did the remarkable thing of informing buyers all over the world as to which homes were on the market. Real Estate, the multibillion dollar cottage industry, now gets to take advantage of fortune 500 marketing. The seller of any home right now, as the CEO of his business, selling one wonderful product, can finally use the best driver of profit and price available in any capitalist market; competition. More exposure means more interested buyers, and more interested buyers means higher prices. You can expose your home to the city, the county, the state, and the world market. You can present it to them with industry standard photography and video, so they can view it as they view all the information important to them. You can meet them right where they are. The NAR reports that as of June 2013, 90% of all home buyers will search for homes on the internet, 62% of buyers who use the internet to search for homes will walk through at least one of those homes, and 76% will drive by at least one. These numbers have been steadily increasing for years. That last statistic, the drive-by statistic, should tell you that multiple open houses help sell your home. But that is info for another article. Check out the video at tomkoel/moreopenhouses. Something to keep in mind as we wrap it up: None of this marketing – the photos, the web sites, the video, the market analysis, the open houses – cost you, the CEO, the seller, anything. This is just some of what you are paying your realtor to do. Or, you can pay him for hooking you up with an early buyer, a secret buyer, a buyer who is looking for a deal, without having first exposed your home to the world market. There may be reasons why you need to sell quickly and quietly at what will likely be a price below what you could otherwise get with proper marketing and the sweat equity of your realtor. If that is the case, then the approach changes. BUT If you want to swing for the fences, and see just what the world market will bring, I’m all for that! Please watch the videos. Check out my web site, and business facebook page. Watch some of my property videos. I would love to talk about this process with you and how I can help you get the very best price for your home.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Aug 2013 19:00:18 +0000