Internet Buyer versus Traditional Home Buyer

I am not sure where the term “a man who uses statistics is a liar” comes from, but I think if you read 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 you will start to think maybe these statistics are trying to tell you something.

The Appleton-Young and CAR® (www.car.org) study compare some distinctions between Internet vs. Traditional buyers and the findings are powerful. The report shows undeniable trends and the preferences consumers have for the Internet approach to buying a home. So if you don’t have a web site and/or a blog and you can’t be found by people searching for homes on the Internet, you are completely “missing the boat” in the real estate business.
People Found Their Realtor on the Internet

• 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?);

More People Are Using the Internet

• 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.

They Start With the Internet

• 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;

Importance of Ad Positioning

The Magazine Publishers Association, using data from a Starch Tested Copy report, shows us how much effect position, color, and size really have on response.

The base number is 100. Those positions with higher numbers enjoyed a greater readership. Those with a lower number had less readership. Of course, these are averages. Your product in a specialty magazine will be different. These are only words (and numbers) for thought:

Covers vs. Inside Page
Inside Position	100
Second Cover	118
Third Cover	118
Fourth (Back) Cover	132
Size of Ad
Full Page	100
Half Page	69
Two-Page Spread	128
Color of Ad
Black & White	100
Two-Color	83
Four-Color	141
Size & Color Combined	Full Page	Half Page	Spread
Black & White	100	74	116
Two-Color	90	61	N/A
Four-Color	132	100	171
Left vs. Right Pages	Left Page	Right Page
1 Page-Color	100	101
1 Page-Black & White	100	100
Bleed vs. Non-Bleed Ads	Bleed	Non-Bleed
1 Page-Color	115	100
1 Page-Black & White	111	100
Position in Magazine	Noted	Associated	Read Most
First Third	105	103	93
Middle Third	100	100	100
Last Third	101	104	101

 

Advertising Expenditures As a % Of Sales

I am always trying to find sources of facts that will help me in my marketing.  The following table is compiled by the Retail Council of Canada shows advertising expenditures as a percentage of sales for a number of industries.

It is no surprise that furniture stores lead the way with opticians and jewelry stores right behind then as our newspapers are full of ads from all three sectors.

Auto repair    2.5%
Bakeries    1.6%
Banks    1.3%
Beauty Shops    2.0%
Bicycle Shop    2.0%
Book Stores    1.7%
Camera Stores    3.0%
Computer stores    3.7%
Department Stores    3.0%
Discount Stores    2.7%
Drug stores    1.5%
Florists    1.5%
Food Chain    1.3%
Furniture store    7.1%
Gift store    3.7%
Hardware    2.3%
Jewelery    6.2%
Fashion store    3.1%
Office supplies    1.3%
Opticians    7.0%
Pet stores    3.7%
Shoe store    2.0%
Sporting goods    2.5%
Tire dealers    2.2%
Travel agents    5.0%
Variety stores    2.2%

*Source: Retail Council of Canada

The Five Key Factors in Selling A Home

There are more than 5 key factors that influence the sale of your home and the order is not as important as considering all of them when you are selling and pricing a home.

You have all heard the most important factor in selling a home is location, location, location, but there are four others to consider.

1. Price
2. Home Condition
3. Market Conditions
4. The Realtor

1. LOCATION
The location of a home cannot be changed. The better the location such as a quiet cul-de-sac, backing on to a greenbelt, or a view are more generally considered more desirable. Alternatively, a busy street, nearby power lines, proximity to a commercial or retail business or even too close to a school are often considered less desirable. It is important that you recognize the location and price and market your home accordingly.

2. PRICE

Pricing your home correctly is critical to the sale. The homeowner wants to sell their house for as much money as possible, but if your asking price is too high your house will only help sell other houses in your area. There are at least three negative outcomes you can expect from overpricing a property:

a. The time your home sits on the market will increase, making buyers think you are more likely to accept a lower offer than the home’s fair market value.
b. You will be missing out on buyers who should be looking at your house, but because it is out their price range they will miss it. This often happens when you price outside of a range such as choosing $ 765,000 instead of $ 749,000.
c. You receive low offers or no offers at all. A higher asking price does not always equal a higher sales price.
The more you overprice a property, the more likely you are to eventually sell it at a price lower than it is
worth.

So how should you price a home? Price your house to attract appropriate buyers for your neighborhood and location. The more buyers that come to see your home, the more they will compete for your house, which will drive your sales price up. Competition will result in receiving offers over and above your asking price. Don’t let Realtor buy your listing by agreeing to sell it for more than it’s worth as it will only be a matter of time before they are back suggesting a price reduction.

Database Touches – Reasons to Send an Email or Letter

If you understand the importance of “touches” in your database and the statistics that say you need 7 or 12 or 33 touches every year to be successful, then you are probably wondering how you can possibly find enough things to say to your sphere of influence.

There are three main ways to stay in touch; telephone, letter and email and these suggestions will work with all three in some form or another. Keep in mind you are trying to build trust, credibility and ultimately a relationship with your database to ensure repeat business and referral business.

Using Realtors as an example here are 5 reasons to get in touch with your database. While they do not apply to every business or service I am sure you can develop similar ideas:

1) Home Maintenance
This topic alone can keep you in touch with your database on a monthly basis, but you don’t want to over do it. There are dozens of sources of tips and information on the internet and as long as you give credit to the source and a link it should be okay to glean ideas. Some examples are:

• Return on investment for different renovations
• Monthly garden maintenance checklist
• Send packages of seeds (maybe Forget-Me-Nots)
• Color trends
• Decorating magazines or articles
• New roofing products

2) Home Buying Tips
Everything is always changing so with the help of some of your alliances you should be able to provide information that your database will find interesting:

• Total Cost of Ownership
• Financing – New mortgage products
• Title Insurance
• Home Insurance tips