Changing World of Real Estate

Real estate is an always evolving world whether one is discussing the cyclical nature of the real estate market, wondering how the changes in the stock market will influence real estate, to trying to understand why in a buyer’s market sellers become stickier and why buyers become more wary or play the waiting game trying to guess when the market will hit the low before purchasing. Regardless of the reasons why, there is no getting around it though; real estate is indeed in a flux and we as agents must change too!

I strongly believe that in today’s market there are certain things that a listing agent and a buyer’s agent can do to increase their effectiveness and help their clients. (I’m focusing on only a few things below but will expand on this in future blogs.) Listing agents, for example, can do so much more for their clients than just put a property in a multiple listing service (MLS) whether it is one or more that they belong to. With that said, the information they put in should include as many photos that the MLS will allow or at the very least 16 photos or more if the number is unlimited. Optimally, the photos will be taken with a good wide angle (one that does not distort)—many digital cameras today can be purchased with a wide angle lens as standard. Before I purchased my new camera, I used a magnetic lens that provided a wide angle. It worked great for non-flash images, but provided a shadow that was difficult to edit out in Photoshop.

In today’s market an agent should be doing all they can do to get a property marketed, and print advertising is no longer the place to do that. With about 80% of people searching for properties online, our “marketing” focus as agents should be to get as much an online presence as we can for our clients. At minimum, a website that features your listings, a virtual and/or video tour, and a method of distributing those tours to other areas on the web such as YouTube, Trulia, Zillow, Blinkx, Google, Craig’s List, and others. Truly, the best print advertising I’ve seen that works is the use of quality flyers in flyer boxes at the property (in a weatherproof box; so, I’ve found out the hard way—I have some on order right now!).

When working with buyers, knowing the community and areas you sell property is essential. There appears to be more and more agents representing clients outside of their normal area of business. If you are a buyer, please use a local agent in the market you are considering buying a home. If you’d like to show your real estate agent how much you value them and at the same time benefit from a local agent that knows the area and its particular quarks, ask your agent to refer you to another agent in an area that is outside your agent’s market territory. You’ll both benefit that way!

It takes a dedicated individual to work in real estate in these changing times. According to the National Association of REALTORS, we are seeing a stabilization of the housing market; we are definitely seeing a pickup in activity in our area. I’m grateful to be able to help those who are ready to sell or looking to buy. I’ve made the best of friends from those I’ve been blessed to assist with their real estate transactions.