Property ManagementOn the Fence About the Web?
News travels fast. Right now, there is a rumor circulating that less than 95% of REALTORS® make no money with their Web sites. This is in spite of the fact that 18% of buyers used the Internet in their search for a home in 1997. Many estimate that figure to as much as double in 1998.
It is also said that 80% of all real estate transactions are done by 20% of the REALTORS®. Is this yet another figure that can not be substantiated by any real authority? If that figure is to be believed, then most REALTORS® ought to quit their jobs and leave the business to the 20% who know how to sell homes. If you were to proceed with that logic, maybe Web sites are just like REALTORS® - only 5% of REALTORS® ought to bother with them, right?
Wrong! What those rumors really prove is that some REALTORS® are better at the business than others, and some Web sites are more productive than others. The question is - why? What makes one real estate website bookmarked by customers and not others? Why do some REALTORS® swear by their Web contacts while others never get viewed?
Web sites are valid business tools that are simply put to better use by some REALTORS® than others. To some they are a vital communication tool, to others a "support" tool. For some, the Web is the only way they do business.
So why is the jury still out with REALTORS®? Many don"t understand that the Web, like any form of media, must be cultivated as a daily habit. Others feel that being on their broker"s Web site is all they need to do to get exposure. By being passive, they don"t get results, and then...well, rumors begin.
David Neinberg, one of the principals of 4 Guys Web Design Group, believes that depending on the broker"s site is a mistake and is one of the reasons why many REALTORS® are turned off to the Web.
"Few are well done," says Neinberg. "Brokers see the Web as a place to put their brochures. What they need is a broad range of information, with local area information being the most important. They should also include their listings. Many only include their agents or listings. An agent will be just part of a bad marketing strategy with no hope of standing out in this kind of environment."
Canadian REALTOR®, Carolyne Lederer, principal of Carolyne Realty, Brampton, was corresponding with a fellow REALTOR® who could not decide whether or not to acquire a web site. "The thought crossed my mind that there are probably others thinking about this, as well," said Lederer.
Lederer replied to her colleague - "My opinion, for what it"s worth, about the web site business is that it is one more "support" apparatus - just like a different type of (giant) business card, or brochure."
"It is important to be "different". We each need a way to cause people to remember us. The web offers us an opportunity to show our own creative side," says Lederer, who has coordinated the colors and graphics of her web site to match those of her business cards. "The Web is the way of the future, whether we like it or not has no bearing on the matter. One more sign on the lawn, as a result, is the end product."
Nora Lane, a Dallas REALTOR®, is a strong Web believer. She has embraced the Internet for over four years and was the first agent to sign up with REALTY CONNECTION, a Dallas-based company which creates Web pages for clients under participating agent"s Web sites. The Web sites are used for communication and to display listings which can be viewed by the client on their private page - homes that specifically meet the client"s criteria. The client has their own URL that they can visit for updates from their REALTOR®. Lane aggressively markets her Web site as a resource for customers, and her web site figures prominently in all her advertising.
"The Web makes everything so much more efficient that I can"t dream of going back to doing business the way we did before," says Lane.
Instead of wondering whether to get in the Web game or not, REALTORS® would be better served to ask themselves just how much time and effort they are willing to put in to make a Web site work. He suggests providing information that buyers are looking for- homes, community information and leave your ego at home. Hook the "Netsurfer with something they have to email you for like a relocation packet. Put e-mail links on every page so they can write you on impulse. Go easy on the glitzy graphics and keep up links to other sites so they aren"t broken.
Above all, don"t go cheap where your site looks just like everyone else"s cut-rate site.
In newspaper advertising, you want the reader to look for your ads. With a Web site, you want the reader to need your information.
A web site will certainly be more work on the front end, but the rewards could be great. According to Time magazine, current Web projections are that 30 percent of an estimated 33 million mortgages worldwide will originate on the Web. If borrowers are going to the Web for loans, where do you think buyers are going to go for homes? See you on the Web!