For Sellers

The Increasing Importance of Marketing Your Home Online

In today’s technology driven world, more and more buyers are turning to the internet to look for a home. In a 2006 survey, the National Association of Realtors found that over 75% of buyers start their search online. With so many homes on the market today, it is now essential that these buyers see your home first.

And in the real estate market’s current state, it’s now more important than ever to have a solid internet marketing plan as part of your overall marketing plan. With so many homes for sale, buyers simply don’t have the time to see the hundreds of homes on the market.

What are some ways a technology savvy real estate agent can use to help market your home?

1. Preparing the Home to be Showcased
Even though this isn’t high-tech, preparing your home for showings and pictures is essential for producing showings and eventually offers for your home. In today’s market, buyers are pickier than ever and expecting homes in the like-new condition. If you look at the closed sales, the ones that sell are the ones that are turn-key or in move-in condition. So before you even take a picture, talk with your agent about cleaning, painting, and staging your home to sell.

Below is an example of two very similar homes unstaged (home 1, top left), staged (home 1, top right), staged with a good photograph (home 2, bottom).

2. Photographs, Descriptions, and Virtual Tours
After your home is properly staged or prepared for showing, photographs should be taken, either by a professional photographer or by a realtor with a good, panoramic camera. A panoramic camera will be able to showcase entire rooms and will make the house bigger. So many times, there are beautiful homes on the market with poor photos. And no matter how spectacular your home is, if you have poor quality pictures or a lackluster description, a buyer might eliminate your home without ever stepping onto your property. Also work with your agent to describe the features you love about your house into a description that makes your home stand out. Lastly, virtual tours may also be a good option for showcasing your home but in some instances not having a virtual tour encourages buyers to visit the property instead of just see the virtual tour.

Below is an example of the staircases of the same two homes as above. Left is home 1 and right is home 2.

Below is a picture of the dining room of the two houses. Home 1′s dining room is actually staged better and looks better in real life.

3. Maximizing Exposure for your Home
Now that your home is featured in its absolute best light, it’s essential to get as many people to see it as possible. A technology savvy real estate agent should have a standard way of distributing information about your property online. First, I allow my listings to be sent through the MLS to hundreds of websites, including Coldwell Banker’s, Century 21′s, and Re/Max’s websites. My goal is to showcase my seller’s property to everyone I can, even to agents from other companies because they might just have a buyer for my client’s home. Second, I also have a constantly growing number of sites I submit to, in addition to those above, all to put your property in front of as many buyers as possible.

Although the tools above will help you gain more exposure for your home, internet marketing is not a comprehensive solution but should be used as a part of an overall marketing plan that includes traditional marketing ideas as well. Open houses, broker caravans, signs, and the real estate brokerage network are still vital to selling a home for the most money in this market.

Low-Cost Ways to Save Money and Go Green

With energy prices on the rise and global resources diminishing, more and more people are making efforts to conserve energy, water, and other resources. While some of the ways you can conserve can be expensive, below are some great, low cost ways to reduce your consumption.

1. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs – $3.50/bulb
Compared to traditional incandescent light bulbs, compact fluorescent light bulbs use 75% less energy, produce 75% less heat, and can last 10 times longer. According to Energy Star, if each household replaced just 1 light bulb in their home, we could save enough energy to power 3 million homes for a year, save more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

2. Use Water-Saving Faucets, Showerheads, and Toilets – Free to $350+
Water-saving faucets, showerheads, and toilets can all help conserve water usage. Many cities now require faucets, toilets, and showerheads to conform to their water usage standards, with some even offer low cost solutions for homeowners. A water-efficient toilet can save between 8,000 to 18,000 gallons of water per year. And a water-saving showerhead alone can save up to 3,000 gallons of water, eliminate 1,000 lbs. in carbon dioxide emissions, and reduce your water bill by $50 per person per year.

3. Install a Water Heater Blanket, Lower the Water Temperature – $20
Traditional water heaters keep a large amount of water inside at a certain temperature, usually 140 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to reduce the amount of work required to keep hot water in the system, you can reduce the standard temperature to 130 degrees and install a water heater blanket. A water heater blanket wraps around the water heater to reduce heat loss by 25-40%. Be sure to keep important information regarding maintaining the water heater visible when you install one of these.

4. Change Your Air Filter – $10/filter
Dust and dirt that clog air filters can reduce their effectiveness and make your heating and cooling system work harder. A system with a clogged filter consumes more energy and has a shorter lifespan. Recommendations of how often to change your filter range from one month to three months depending on how often you use your air conditioning and heating system and how fast dust accumulates on the filter.

5. Programmable Thermostat – $40
Heating and cooling can be as much as half of your energy bills. A programmable thermostat that has multiple time settings can help you reduce your bills by turning off your heater or air conditioner while you’re at work and can reduce their usage during sleeping hours. This feature alone will help you reduce your heating and cooling bills by $150 a year.

6. Weather Stripping and Caulking Around Windows and Doors – $20-$50
Some older windows and doors don’t have proper weather stripping and some estimate that this can account for 46 percent of annual heat loss. Applying weather stripping and caulking around windows and doors can serve as a cost-effective way to keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

While these methods can help you conserve energy at your current home, you may want to put green features into considering when searching for your next home. If you need help locating an already green San Gabriel Valley home, you can always email me or visit my website.

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