Andrea Steele Atlanta, GA Realtor

I have been noticing that a lot of agents use remarks such as Motivated Seller and Reduced Price. Personally I think that everyone selling their home is probably motivated or it wouldn't be on the market. Secondly, I almost feel like putting these phrases are a disservice to your client. I think this makes it look like the seller is so motivated that they will accept a low ball offer.

I also feel that putting the phrase "Reduced Price" makes people think, gosh there must be something wrong with that home or why hasn't that home sold or that home must have been on the market a long time.

An agent can see if a price has been reduced already. And honestly do you think it makes you sell the home any faster by putting these phrases on listings? I mean a person buys a home because they fall in love with the home and it fits their needs. Unless a home attracts them in the first place, I don't believe "Motivated Seller" or "Reduced Price" will make them buy.

Does anyone else think this way or is it just me? And please tell me if you have a different opinion or see things differently.

There is a new website out called Alexa (www.alexa.com). When you get on the site you are able to compare websites to see how many hits per month and see their rankings. I think this is a great tool to see what sites to market yourself as well as homes you have listed. This would be a good way to present your company website in listing presentations if your company gets more hits rather than a company that competes with yours.

So before you spend tons of money on blogs, websites, etc. make sure you check the activity rate of the site. You wouldn't want to join a site with not so many hits. I wrote a blog earlier in the week as well about how printing marketing is becoming more and more obsolete. Try typing in your hometown newspaper against Realtor.com and see what comes up. The statistics are very interesting. I hope you enjoy the site!

Our company has just provided all agents in the company an option to join Realtor.com Showcase. Did you know that 84% of people searching for a home go to Realtor.com first? Basically ads in papers, magazines etc. are becoming more and more obsolete. People searching for homes are going to the internet first and usually end up contacting an agent off of the internet.

Did you know that putting all 25 pictures, virtual tour, and a video puts your listing before all the other listings with fewer pictures, no tour, or video? I think it is great to make a video of the subdivision or complex or even what is surrounding the area. This means that when someone searches in the area of your listing that if you include as much information as possible that your listing will pop up first. This is great information to provide to sellers. This means that if you do have a listing to represent the buyer and to get their home sold, we need to publicize the home as much as possible.

I wonder how many agents actually use Realtor.com and how many actually realize that Real Estate is taking a new route through technology. Using technology to market yourself and to provide optimal service for your clients should be a must in your business.