A Bold New Decade In Real Estate

A Bold New Decade In Real Estate

The New Year started off with 869 homes listed for sale in the towns in this Lakes Region of NH Real Estate Market Report. That's a big drop from the 1044 homes on the market as of December 1, 2009 and slightly lower than the 900 homes on the market January 1, 2009. There always seems to be a lot of homes that expire on December 31 of each year. Unfortunately, they slowly work their way back onto the market. The average asking price for homes in the area has actually gone up from $527,122 last January 1 to $613,371 on this New Year's Day. The increase in the average asking price is most likely a result of more high priced homes on the market rather than any surge in asking prices although there are still many, many overpriced homes especially on the upper end of the market. The 869 homes currently on the market represent about a 14.5 month's worth of inventory.

As we enter a new decade, it is clear that the real estate marketing world will undergo some dramatic changes. What can we look forward to? Obviously, the computer and the internet have completely revolutionized the way people buy homes, and for that matter, everything else. Having a buyer walk into your office looking for help in finding a home is generally viewed as cause for great celebration by the agency's managing broker. It just doesn't happen much anymore. Today's elusive buyers do their shopping on the internet. Once they have zeroed in on what they like and have compiled a list of homes that they would like to see they might give an agent a call or more likely send an email. But this is nothing new, as this has been the standard operating procedure for a while now.

What is new is the huge role that technology will play in marketing homes and how it will evolve in order to reach and connect with technology savvy buyers. No longer will it effective to market a property by using the old MLS system and feeds to agency websites offering 6-12 fuzzy photographs and even fuzzier property descriptions. Sellers deserve and will expect a much broader and more professional marketing campaign to reach out to potential buyers. One big evolution in marketing is the use of social networking sites like Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter to reach and interact with potential buyers and sellers. The use of video and podcasts promoting properties on websites, blogs, and sites like You Tube will be much more prevalent. People are visual. Information about real estate (beyond the routine and often mundane property data found on the MLS listing sheet) will be found on real estate blogs. Buyers want information and they want it now, no matter where they are.

Today's smart phones are more like mini-computers than phones and like every other electronic device they will only improve and become more powerful. Not only can you surf the web and email from your smart phone, now you can see all the current real estate listings on it. You can see all the homes in any given area, get property information, and see photos along with a Google Map of where you and the houses are located (to get the application on your phone just Text: RRG To:87778). This application is perfect for anybody just driving around looking for homes! There is no doubt in my mind that real estate applications will soon be available on in-car GPS devices like Garmin and Tom-Tom.

The use of virtual tours comes as standard equipment in just about every agency's marketing program, but did you know that "virtual home staging" is a reality right now. Everyone knows that empty homes are a little more difficult to sell just because they are...well, they are empty and many people just can't envision where the sofa and TV go. Beautiful virtual furniture can be placed in empty rooms to create that appealing lived-in look at a fraction of the cost. I can't wait for the virtual home make over program that can show buyers what can be done with that fixer-upper that needs the wall paper taken down and a wall removed. How far into the future will it be before we see true 3-D virtual home tours? Perhaps not far...

But through all this technological advancement, the real estate business will always remain a true "people business". It will be the brokers and agents that will institute and utilize these advancements to better serve the buying and selling public. And despite the evasive nature or the desire on the part of many buyers to remain virtually invisible to the last possible moment, ultimately it will come down to agent relationships, personal interaction, and good old fashion negotiations to make a deal happen!