by: Dale Ryan Serbousek
A quick glance through the Sunday real estate ads reveals that most homes are sold the old fashioned way. By print ads and word of mouth. Truth be told, placing your home in the Sunday paper does little more than quench the ego of the agent listing your home. Demand more!
Traditional real estate marketing reaches about 70% of the people who want to buy your home. The other 30% are buyers who are out-of-area. They are the buyers who surf the web, looking for a home in the town their employer just relocated them to. They are the buyers who are looking for a retirement home, or a second home near their kids. If you are not placing your home in front of these buyers, you could be chopping thousands of dollars off the selling price of your home.
Lets look at eBay for an example. Most sellers tell you the key to getting the highest dollars amount for an item is to have as many potential buyers looking at the item. The final selling price is directly prortional to the number of people watching the auction. The same holds true for selling your house.
In closing, ask your real estate agent how they plan to advertise your home on the internet. Do not let them get away with placing your home in the Sunday paper, and calling it a day. Sure, your home will sell. It may even sell fast in some markets; however, the only successful real estate transaction is the one where you get the most money when selling your home. Now go get'em.