We haven't seen an offer ... should we advertise in California?
We've heard this question many times over the years and our answer is still NO with much more emphasis. We have advertised in the L.A. Times, San Jose Mercury, Portland Oregonian, Sacramento Bee, Seattle Times, etc. over the years with the same results - it is very expensive and yields zero results. It is a natural thought that such advertising would pan out, after all those are large population bases that feed our market.
The question becomes ... would you look in the Record Courier or the Nevada Appeal for a property in Los Angeles? If you are looking to move to Denver wouldn't you get a copy of the newspaper from Denver to check out the market? That is in fact what happens. We have many people planning to move to our area that subscribe to the Record Courier so they can keep their finger on the pulse of our market.
The biggest single reason we now say NO is the biggest change in our industry since the financial calculator ... the Internet. There are so many sites that are consumer friendly ... Our Northern Nevada Website allows consumers to shop the entire northern half of Nevada. Consumers can not only see a list of homes in the neighborhood they want to live in, they can often take a video tour of them room by room by what is called a virtual tour. Interested buyers can also sign up to receive daily email updates of all the listings that interest them by registering for Listings by Email.
Additionally, for insight into the actual daily activity of an area one can usually find several good local blogs that chronicle the local market activity ... try ours Experience Is Priceless!
We recently listed a home and the Seller told us how she just bought a home on the East coast via the Internet. She shopped here in the comfort of her home, found two houses she liked, flew back to look at them, discarded the anticipated first choice as the pictures embellished the property, and bought the second choice. We see that same phenomenon with people coming to our area - they know our product when they call and are just calling with the fine tuning questions or to make an appointment to physically see the property.
Our Advice: If you aren't getting showings ask your agent what can be done differently to achieve a different result. Are the pictures touting your property of good quality, or is the agent's car in the middle of your driveway? Worse yet - is there still snow in the picture? What Internet presence do you have? Are you priced right ... for today's market considering your property's location, features, aesthetics? Is your property staged for sale? Are there weeds around the sign ... is there a sign?! Is the brochure box kept full ... is there a brochure box?! Are you aware of the agent feedback after tours and showings? Are you and your agent discussing that feedback to determine the viability of your position in today's changing market?
Homes are selling every day as a result of planning, focus and work on the part of the agents. Yours will sell that way too - not by advertising over the hill. When it comes to choosing professionals to assist you with your real estate needs... Experience is Priceless! Lisa Wetzel & Jim Valentine, RE/MAX Realty Affiliates, 775-781-3704, carsonvalleyland@hotmil.com or dpwtigers@hotmail.com . Visit our website at www.carsonvalleyland.com
