Andrea Geller

For many weeks now, the showings on homes have increased. The potential buyers coming through listings seem to be highly qualified both financially as well as in their commitment to buying a home. Sellers have made their adjustments to the market and buyers are taking notice. As a real estate practitioner, the art of the deal keeps evolving but I am busy working with clients in the buying and selling of homes. There is no longer anytime to sit back and have the discussion what happened to the market because I am busy working. Contracts are being negotiated. This is my market indicator.

As someone who relies on the RSS feeds for news as I am running around throughout the day coming to my blackberry via Google Reader or Twitter, I see some positive market indicators and them some negative. When I sit down at the end of the day and read the postings all the way through, I see much of the negative is old news, reports that are coming out with first quarter data. In this dynamic environment, 60-120 days ago is not a measure of what is happening now. We can use some of that information as guidelines for our offers but that was then and this is now.

Are you pulling a dinosaur behind you while trying to sell your home?

Is your real estate agent evolving or are they a dinosaur? And you know what happened to the dinosaurs...

• The bulk of their explanation of their marketing of your home is connected to the MLS and print ads.
• The rest of their presentation talks about Realtor.com, their company's web site and bundle the rest under "all the others." They think they can get away with simply stating it will be "on the internet".
• When you are not getting offers or activity they talk about canceling the MLS listing and how it will "refresh" the listing when in the realty is it no longer fools the agent or the consumer. It just irritates both of us.

The tools of marketing of a property have changed over the years as the consumers (potential buyers) have. Many of the listing agents say they have embraced the methods but how could they when they clearly don't understand exactly how information is reaching the buyers?

Marketing Techniques Constantly Change

It's constantly educating one's self by attending seminars, webinars, and Internet searches. Where I get my best stuff from is the shared information amongst my piers. Although the major brands all have unique but extensive interactive marketing programs that distinguish one broker from another, the true optimization of a listing is done by the agent who knows how to use what the brand offers and then take control of their own listings.

The discussion a listing agent should have at a presentation should include keywords like syndication, SEO, and social networking. Tomorrow this list will likely change. Interactive marketing is a fluid medium. Every day I find new tools or improvements to services I am currently utilizing. This affords me the ability to enhance the marketing I am offering my clients on an ongoing basis. How we service our listings can no longer be services limited to a presentation updated by the brokerage periodically. The ability to grow with the dynamics of the medium differentiates one agent from another.

When agents say they did not get a listing or lost a listing because of marketing, it's almost always because they think by being in the MLS or fed to their company's website they have done their job in marketing a listing. This is the agent that is still talking about Sunday's ad in the newspaper (is there still such a thing?) and does not know how to overcome talking about advertising that is obsolete.

Where are the consumers going? How to you get the information to find them? What websites are relevant in the home search in your marketplace? That is a discussion for the next post.

Posted May 1st on the Chicago77, Chicago's Real Estate Blog

Aligning myself with continued success:

HOT PROPERTY® is a innovation in the real estate industry led by Chaz Walters. The HOT PROPERTY® brand has been marketed since the 1990s. It stands for success, action and willingness to go the extra mile for in servicing clients. This unique boutique residential real estate concept is a step ahead of the industry providing marketing from cutting edge interactive exposure to targeted print opportunities.

Hot Property® fosters a people driven philosophy and facilitates a culture of working closely with clients to buy and sell real estate and surpass client's expectations.

To continuing bring my clients the best in the sales and marketing of their homes, I am pleased to be continuing this ongoing relationship with Chaz Walters and HOT PROPERTY®

Sudler Sotheby's International Realty will be hosting over 150 openhouses throughout Chicago this Sunday, March 8th.

To find the ones you would like to visit, click here.

Now is the time to buy!

Recently, people who owned multiple properties were only able to obtain financing on 4 indivudual properties at a time based on current underwriting guidelines.

Fannie Mae is now looking at changing those guidelines to accomodate individuals that own o refinance 5 to 10 properties.

Qualifications are based on certain eligibility and underwriting requirements.

(Information provided by Frank Sommese of American Bank and Trust. Contact information:312-388-2176)