Online Marketing Internet Buyer vs. Traditional Home Buyer

"If you are one of those many agents or brokers who don't really believe that the Internet is "the way" in real estate today, perhaps the following data compiled and presented by Leslie Appleton-Young, Chief Economist and Vice President of the California Association of Realtors® (CAR®) in her analysis of the Real Estate Market in California for 2006 will get your attention.
If you believe that the Internet is the single most important factor in your future success, here's your continuing proof that you are correct. Ms. Appleton-Young and CAR® have compiled data of such import and enlightenment that I felt some of it should be shared with you. Pages 62 - 82 of the study compare some distinctions between Internet vs. Traditional buyers and the findings are powerful. These charts show the undeniable trends and the clear preferences consumers have for the Internet approach to buying a home: since the year 2000, virtually every preference that used to favor the traditional approach has been turned upside down and the Internet approach is now overwhelmingly favored. This report is unequivocal evidence that if you are not on the Internet bandwagon and if you can't be found by people searching for homes on the Internet, you are completely "missing the boat" in the real estate business.
Here are just a few of the report's findings:
• 92% of Internet buyers found their agent on a web site; 63% found them through an Internet search engine; 0% of Internet buyers found their agent through brochures, flyers, yard signs or mailers to their home (does this tell you to spend more on Internet marketing and less on print?);
• In 2000, 28% of people said that they used the Internet as an important part of their home-buying and selection process. In 2006, 70% said they did;
• 86% of home buyers started using the Internet as part of their process BEFORE they started looking for a specific home;the other 14% did after they started looking, but BEFORE they contacted a real estate agent; that means that 100% of buyers surveyed started looking at homes first, agents second. When you combine that finding with the already existing one that fully 81% of Internet buyers stay with the first real estate agent they choose to contact, you can see a powerful case for being able to have consumers find you, first;
• Internet buyers spent an average of 4.8 weeks doing research before contacting an agent; traditional buyers only 1.7 weeks. That means an Internet buyer is better prepared and twice+ as less likely to waste your time;
• Internet buyers bought a home on average after spending 2.2 weeks looking for a home with an agent; traditional buyers spent an average of 7.1 weeks; How high would your productivity be if you could spend 2/3 of the time you now spend previewing with clients and could dedicate it to selling and marketing, instead?
• Internet buyers previewed an average of 6.7 homes with their agent (they had already eliminated ones they did not wish to see), traditional buyers previewed 15.4 homes; an average of just under nine fewer wasted showings per customer;
• Only 3% of all Internet connections available at the primary computer used for the home-buying process were dial-up: Internet home buyers and searchers are not sticking with dial-up, just as they are not sticking with traditional methods;
• The approximate distance between previous residence and new residence for traditional buyers was 25 miles; for Internet buyers, it was 242 miles (you can sell anywhere compared to traditional ways);
• Number of agents an internet buyer interviewed, on the median: 1; Traditional buyers? 3. (Why would you want fewer auditions and more certain retentions?)
• 69% of Internet buyers said response time was extremely important.83% of those buyers chose email as their favored communication method with their agent. 0% chose "in person." (The Internet is the new "office visit.")
• Internet buyers were more satisfied with their agents: 4.3 to 3.3 for traditional buyers, on a scale of 5 where 5 is "surpassed expectations."
• 35% of traditional agents listed "faster response time from my agent" as the one thing they would change, if they could, about their experience; Internet buyers? 0%!
• Internet buyers were far more satisfied in every important researched category of satisfaction than traditional buyers were; when asked the number one reason for satisfaction with their agent, 91% of Internet buyers said that satisfaction was because their agent "was always quick to respond." Traditional buyers? Their number one reason was "worked hard on my behalf", chosen by 62% of them, leading us to conclude that traditional buyers did not find their agents "quick to respond."
And, ladies and gentlemen (a little drum roll, here, please), 97% of Internet buyers said they would use the same agent again. Traditional buyers? 50%. (Twice as likely to be satisfied and twice as likely to give a referral, wouldn't you think?)
I'm not an economist, (I don't even play one on TV), but it seems to me that these data show clearly that:
1. Agents who sell via the Internet do not get as bogged down in unproductive chauffeuring to preview homes as traditional agents do;
2. Agents who utilize online marketing and have Internet buyers are more liked, more highly regarded, more likely to have a repeat sale with the client,
3. Agents selling to Internet buyers are likely to work only 2.2 weeks with a buyer before selling a property (vs. 7.1 weeks traditionally);
4. Agents committed to online marketing may be able to expand their market area to an average 242 mile radius of their location and remain effective due to online communication; people find you on the Internet, call you or email you, and use you to help them find a home in an area they may not know.
5. The money you may spend on brochures, ads, newspaper ads, and the like should be reconsidered and placed into Internet Marketing.
So, unless you are in a state of denial about the Internet's importance to real estate transactions, you need to do several things in your planning for this year, at minimum, if you want to be on the right side of these statistics.
1. You need to take most of the money you are spending on newspaper ads, brochures, glossy marketing pieces, etc., and invest it in your Online Marketing. Chances are good that you cannot possibly wisely spend all those dollars online; consider those savings as your bonus this year. It will be tough not seeing your comforting listings in the paper, but think of all the money you'll be saving! (And as more fuel for that fire, consider this: Ms. Appleton-Young's data also show that over 70% of people 65 and older read a daily newspaper, but only 35% of 24 year olds do. PRINT IS DEAD TO THIS GENERATION OF HOMEBUYERS!)
2. You need your own website showing your properties and you. You can get a very good one free. What are you waiting for?
3. Just having a website or a page on your franchise site won't cut it; you must be able to be found by people searching for homes in your considerably larger e-neighborhood. The Internet is a really big place and chances are that you and your site may be lost in its hugeness.
4. You must be permanently committed to "Thinking Internet." I have heard many agents say "I don't get that involved with Online Marketing; I've been successful the traditional way for 15 years." I offer those of you saying that now two things: my sincere congratulations on your past success and my sincere empathy for the frustration you will suffer as the curve gets further out in front of you. The report told us that in 2006, 63% of Internet buyers (who comprise 70-85% of all buyers today) find their agent on the Internet. We believe that within the next two years, this number will approach 90%. While this CAR® study does not report on every State in the Union, it does report on what is happening in America's biggest and most influential real estate market. No matter where you are, these data and trends are coming at you. You must get on board or you will be literally run over and left behind. Internet selling is the way, and within our lifetimes, the statistics will continue to favor online marketing of real estate in even greater proportions.
We at Blackwater and our affiliated companies, Compass Internet Systems and Web Reporter Tool, talk to agents from Martha's Vineyard to Hawaii, Maine to Florida, Texas to Canada and everywhere in between on a daily basis. That will never make us as well-informed as Ms. Appleton-Young, but I believe it gives us a good perspective on trends in this area, and here's what we think: all over the country, agents and brokers are showing interest in, adopting, and pouring their time, effort and money into online marketing on a scale that was unimagined only two years ago. That makes us certain that every professional real estate sales person who wants to stay in this business must adapt to Darwin's Law on its most brutal terms: Adapt, or die. In listing and selling terms, that means that you must make the effort to make the Internet make money for you, for soon, that is where it all will be made. Go to a search engine, enter your city, state and the words "Real Estate" or "Homes for Sale" or any other combination that describes what you do. Then hit "Search." Are you one of the ten people listed on the page? Based on the statistics you just read, if you are not that means there is a certainty that the searcher will not buy a home from you, but from one of the people on that list of ten; after all: "92% found their agent on the Internet; 63% of them used a search engine." 63% of 92% of all Internet buyers means that there's a 57% chance you are out of luck.
After years of evolution in the way we do things, the pace of that evolution is increasing. This is the time to get with the wave, this is not the time to miss it. As Eugene L. Meyer, former Washington Post writer and editor recently stated in an online article: "Search Engine Placement is Mission Critical (for Real Estate)." I'd put it another way: "Internet Marketing is the future of real estate sales." It's up to you: Stay where you're comfortable with Traditional buyers, or move the cheese and learn how to get more Internet buyers. In the long run, there will be fewer and fewer traditional buyers for you to pursue, but more and more Internet buyers. It seems plain where you need to be going!
Thanks to Leslie Appleton-Young, Chief Economist and Vice President of the California Association of Realtors® (lesliea@car.org) for producing this information and being so cooperative in permitting its publication, and thanks also to Andy Alexander of Shorewood Realtors in El Segundo, CA for bringing this study to my attention (www.andy-alexander.com). It was the excitement in Andy's virtual epiphany that got me onto this report; because - as he put it: "I just realized I must do better in my Online Marketing because that's where all the buyers are."
Andy, I couldn't have put it better, myself."
Reference:
Online Marketing Internet Buyer vs. Traditional Home Buyer Study: The Real Estate World is Changing even Faster than You Think!
Broker Agent News The Best of 2007
by Michael E. Parker
Remember for you Internet needs you can contact us at: www.virtualfloridarealtours.com
or by phone at 305 331 8960

Happy Holidays

In this holidays I want to share with you this excellent paper from Brian Tracey, enjoy
Four Essentials for Happiness
Broker Agent News E-Letter - Updated for December 22, 2007
by Brian Tracy
You may have a thousand different goals over the course of your lifetime, but they all will fall into one of four basic categories. Everything you do is an attempt to enhance the quality of your life in one or more of these areas.
The Key to Happiness
The first category is your desire for happy relationships. You want to love and be loved by others. You want to have a happy, harmonious home life. You want to get along well with the people around you and you want to earn the respect of the people you respect. Your involvement in social and community affairs results from your desire to have happy interactions with others and to make a contribution to the society you live in.
Enjoy Your Work
The second category is your desire for interesting and challenging work. You want to make a good living, of course, but more than that, you want to really enjoy your occupation or profession. The very best times of your life are when you are completely absorbed in your work.
Become Financially Independent
The third category is your desire for financial independence. You want to be free from worries about money. You want to have enough money in the bank so you can make decisions without counting your pennies. You want to achieve a certain financial state so you can retire in comfort and never have to be concerned about whether or not you have enough money to support your lifestyle. Financial independence frees you from poverty and a need to depend upon others for your livelihood. If you save and invest regularly throughout your working life, you will eventually reach the point where you will never have to work again.
Enjoy Excellent Health
The fourth and final category is your desire for good health, to be free of pain and illness and to have a continuous flow of energy and feelings of well-being. In fact, your health is so central to your life that you take it for granted until something happens to disrupt it.
Peace of Mind is the Key
Peace of mind is essential for every one of these. The greater your peace of mind, the more relaxed and positive you are, the less stress you suffer, the better is your overall health. The more peace of mind you have, the better are your relationships, the more optimistic, friendly and confident you are with everyone in your life. When you feel good about yourself on the inside, you do your work better and take more pride in it. You are a better boss and coworker. And the greater your overall peace of mind, the more likely you are to earn a good living, save regularly for the future and ultimately achieve financial independence.
Control Your Attention
Life is very much a study of attention. Whatever you dwell upon and think about grows and expands in your life. The more you pay attention to your relationships, the quality and quantity of your work, your finances and your health, the better they will become and the happier you will be.
Action Exercises
Here are three things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action. First, take time on a regular basis to think about what would make you really happy in each of the four areas. Second, set specific, measurable goals for improvement in your relationships, your health, your work and your finances and write them down. Third, resolve to do something every day to increase the quality of some area of your life—and then keep your resolution.
Remember for you Internet needs you can contact us at: www.virtualfloridarealtours.com
or by phone at 305 331 8960

Virtual tours importance

NBC’s Today Show quickly caught thousands of viewers’ attention Friday morning when they promised to let them in on facts that real estate agents haven’t told them. I abruptly stopped what I was working on and tuned in myself. They promised to give tips to homeowners for selling their houses.

With the power of the internet and the cutting edge technology that our virtual tours and 2D and 3D floor plans have to offer, I just knew that the virtual tour field as a whole would have to be discussed. I was right - we were the second mentioned!

They introduced an expert from a data collection agency whose information was produced using actual facts, rather than the just opinions. Facts are facts…and after compiling research here is what we can learn:

Don’t overprice the house, you don’t want to have to reduce it later. By reducing the price, you are giving buyers the leverage to bargain price with you, resulting in back and forth offers and usually resulting in a lower price than you were anticipating.

Be Web Savvy! 72% of people are finding their homes online. Use photographs and virtual home tours to grab online viewers’ attention. Look at the price range filters and always go under the threshold of the higher bracket. That way, when viewers put in their search parameters, the listing won’t be left out over a dollar.

Most of us have overheard agents discussing when the best day to list a home is. Many feel in the commercial market, it is on a Monday, for the residential market, it is on a Thursday. In all actuality, the facts are reporting that the best day to debut all property is on a Friday. 7-8% more people look on Fridays than any other day!

List on Craigslist.org. Many agents don’t take the time to list on Craigslist, when 7-12% of people are looking on Craigslist.org rather that the brokerage sites. This is a large percentage of people who use Craigslist daily, as if they were reading the local newspaper. For commercial agents, Craigslist.org is critical. Many people look all over the country for investment properties or businesses. The internet allows them the flexibility to see properties nationwide.

The last fact that the press was eager to share with homeowners is that they need to search for foreclosures in their area. If there is a foreclosure nearby, then they should wait to list.
Remember for you Internet needs you can contact us at: www.virtualfloridarealtours.com
or by phone at 305 331 8960