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Smart Agents Use Technology and Internet to Extend Reach, Stay in Touch - 2007-06-02 |
Real estate professionals are facing a tough road in the year ahead.
Many agents are still geared up for the full throttle market they experienced over the last half decade, but find they no longer have the demand or the volume they once did.
And to make matters worse, literally thousands of new agents are crowding a field of seasoned veterans who are all in search of today's elusive quarry: the serious buyer.
The fact is that any agent who has been licensed and active for less than seven years has never seen a "normal" Atlanta real estate market. By normal, I mean one that responds to the traditional ups and downs of the seasons we so gratefully experience. Instead, recent year sales volumes have led some agents to believe that a slowdown could never happen, at least not here.
They were wrong.
Today we find our residential real estate market good, but not great. It is overpopulated with sellers who hope to get record prices in minimal marketing periods, and buyers who have been trained by experience to wait until they get the house they want at the price they seek.
One of the ways that smart agents are surviving is through the use of technology. It helps them extend their reach, stay in touch, and allows them to generally use their time more efficiently. That's what technology is best at.
Here are some of the tech tools and internet sites that agents are using today to reach more potential customers and get more done in less time:
MARKETING SITES: According to research from the National Association of Realtors, as many as 4 out of 5 home shoppers begin their research on the internet, long before they even think of talking to any agent. Thus a presence on the world wide web for listings is critically important.
Sites such as ajchomefinder.com, realtor.com and craigslist.com are viewed by literally millions of pairs of eyes daily. In fact, craigslist is now the seventh most visited site worldwide, if you can believe the statistics.
High tech web listings like ajcclassifieds.com have completely replaced the old multiple listing books, which were already out of date by the time they were published twice each month. As a humorous reminder of how things have changed, the listing books always were printed with a warning on the cover that the listing information contained therein was "confidential."
UNIQUE DOMAIN WEB SITES: Agents are now using private domains to set up an individual web site for each property they list. This can be done on a house-by-house basis for maximum impact for each property, such as the agent did with 51delmar.com.
This site was created by a service at agencylogic.com for about fifty dollars per property, or you can create your own simple site using a service like domains.yahoo.com or godaddy.com. These and other hosts allow you to select your own domain name, like 135peachtree.com, for less than two bucks for the first year, pointing all visitors to another site you have posted with photos and information.
PHOTO WEB SITES: While there are many photo management sites, my favorite is picasa.com, which not only allows me to view and manage my digital photos for free, but then allows me to select the best pics I have taken and export them to a free photo web album for the world to see. The application to real estate is obvious.
If a prospective buyer from Chicago thinks he might want to learn more about my house, I want to let him see as much of the property as I possibly can. The more information I provide, the more the buyer likes it. Setting up a photo web page at picasa is remarkably easy, and effectively delivers a visual tour of the property.
SHOWING RESPONSE SITES: such as HomeFeedBack.com get the seller involved in the selling process by having him input information about every showing of the home by a selling agent. The website then automatically emails the showing agent requesting feedback about the condition of the property as well as the appropriateness of the asking price.
So if a house has a pet odor in the carpet and is priced well above current market conditions (a typical stance of listings in Atlanta), the website provides that direct information to a seller. The result is a seller more in touch with price and condition reality. And a listing agent who isn't the messenger of bad news.
Getting feedback from showing agents isn't a new idea, but using the internet for scheduling and follow-up is, and agents tell me they get a much better response from agents when a request arrives promptly in their email (maybe 60%) than they do from a phone call requesting a call back (around 15%). And the seller is more likely to pay attention because he is involved in the process.
NEXT WEEK: More websites and tech tips being used by great agents today.
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Upcoming Events
BUYING FORECLOSURES IN GEORGIA
NEW for 2008: Bank-Owned Home Bonanza
This seminar has been updated and revised for 2008 to reflect the dramatic changes in the Georgia foreclosure marketplace. We are literally facing a flood of foreclosure properties, and there is profit to be made in each and every one of these homes.
Whether you want to build a portfolio of homes for your retirement or you simply want to find a better home for yourself and your family, this program is for YOU.
LAST CHANCE THIS MONTH!!
• Saturday, Oct. 11th, 2:00 P.M. until 5:00 P.M. - Renaissance Waverly Hotel in the Cobb Galleria
This COMPLETELY NEW SEMINAR examines the roots of today's foreclosure meltdown and explains how you can take advantage of this opportunity in your spare time.
Advance Tickets: $69; bring a friend for an additional $30.
Couples share materials.
Detailed information available under the “Seminars” button
This course approved for 3 hours of Continuing Education credit by the Georgia Real Estate Commission.
The Real Estate Investor's Institute will be held at Emory University on
November 22, 23 & 24, 2008. Make plans to attend.
Detailed information is
available under "Seminars."
This course is approved by the Georgia Real Estate Commission for 12
hours of Continuing Education Credit. Agents must bring license number.
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