Realtor Tool #1: The iPhone

For those who already have one, it’s no surprise that this is at the top of my list.  Visual voicemails alone make this phone worth the investment. With their new video capability, it’s become even more of a must have items for Realtors.  The main ways I use the iPhone:

Directions to listings (I have a terrible sense of direction!)

Keeping track of my messages with visual voicemail

Using the mortgage calculator app (buy the app from the app store) with clients

Taking photos and video of listings while I’m out touring

Realtor Tool #2: The ScanSnap

If you’ve ever dealt with a fussy scanner when you’re trying to send out an urgent offer, you know that a bad scanner can nearly hobble your business.  After dealing with several, including a few HP all-in-ones and one of the original Neat scanners, I can say the ScanSnap is head and shoulders above the rest.  It’s extremely portable (though you need an outlet, it can’t run off USB alone), it’s fast at 10 pages a minute, and even more importantly it’s drop-dead simple and so far mine has worked every time.

Realtor Tool #3: DocuSign Electronic Signatures

While still a very new technology, electronic signatures make a huge difference:

They save a lot of time: I’d say about 20-30 minutes for each offer

They keep the contract legible, unlike faxing which can make it unreadable by the time everybody signs.

It’s easy for buyers to know where they should sign, and they can’t accidentally miss any signatures (unless you forgot to mark them in the first place)

The one big caveat to electronic signatures is that because they are so new, different areas and companies treat them differently, and if you’re the first in your area to start you may spend more time explaining them than you save in the first place!  In San Francisco they are fairly common, but aI’ve previously had a situation where another brokerage would not accept them on the purchase contract. I recommend checking with all parties to a transaction first, before having your clients get started with it.

Realtor Tool #4: MyFax

After comparing plans, I found MyFax to be one of the best priced and most reliable electronic fax services out there.  The $10 a month plan should work for most agents (especially if you are using docusign so you’re faxing even less), it includes 100 sent and 200 received pages per month.

Even when I was working at a larger brokerage that provided a fax number for me, I preferred to have my own for two reasons: first, it gave me more control and I found was actually more reliable than some of the larger “corporate” fax solutions. Second, just as with my cell phone it lets me keep my number no matter which company I’m working for.

Data from NAR 2008 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

As the saying goes, “people don’t care what you know until they know that you care”.

To know the buyer, you must first understand the buyer:

Characteristics of Home Buyers from the 2008 NAR Buyer & Seller Profile:

• 41% of recent home buyers were first time home buyers.
• The typical first-time home buyer was 30 years old, while the typical repeat buyer was 47 years old.
• The 2007 median household income of buyers was $74,900. The median income was $60,600 among first-time buyers and $88,200 among repeat buyers.
• About one-quarter of first-time buyers identified their race or ethnicity as non-white.
• Twenty percent of recent home buyers were single females, and 10 percent were single males.
• For two-thirds of recent home buyers, the primary reason for the recent home purchase was a desire to own a home.

Our age also plays a huge part in our personalities, and our preferred working style. The same holds true with buyers. The largest chunk of buyers, 33%, are between the ages of 25 to 34 years old. The second largest group, at 23%, is buyers between the age of 35 to 44 years old.

Considering the average age of Realtors is over 50, this is an important difference. Younger buyers are far more likely to use technology and social media. They are also accustomed to a more open and casual work style.

The hard part is balancing professionalism with authenticity… a cheap suit and tie makes just about all 20-30 year olds think “saleseman”. At the same time, buyers of all age value competence and professionalism.

Another area to consider is female buyers. Whether you are male or female yourself, this is a market segment you can’t afford to ignore. Consider making a web page devoted to female buyers, to not only provide them information but to show them that you’re committed to serving that area of the market.

When I first started my career, I prided myself on writing dramatic property descriptions so full of hot air they could nearly float.  I thought I was doing my job – and representing the best interests of my seller.  Only after watching countless eyes roll after reading my descriptions of “majestic spaces great for entertaining” while standing in a 12 x 12 foot living room, did I realize I was doing myself and my seller a disservice.

Property descriptions are a critical marketing step required for every listing, but all too often they are written as an afterthought.  A great property description should be informative yet succinct, and it should paint a positive image without being overly “salesey”.  A good property description starts before you’re sitting at your computer entering the listing in the MLS.

Step #1: Research.

Bring a camera with you on your listing presentation, and with the sellers permission try to catalog as many specifics as possible, including appliance brands, flooring, countertops, and any and all special features.  If you’re unsure, ask your client what brand of carpet or flooring it is, along with window coverings, etc.  If they are a ho-hum brand, then you likely won’t be mentioning them again.  If they are a premium brand, however, this is solid gold for your property description.

Also ask about any favorite restaurants or shops or activities the owners like to do in the area.  This can come in handy later – it will help you to paint a description of the lifestyle people are buying along with the home.

Step #2: Write the long version.

The MLS may limit the amount of text you can write, but everyone else (single property websites, Trulia, Zillow, etc) lets you write an unlimited property description.  It’s often easier to write the long version first, then pare it down to fit into your MLS length requirements.  That way, you’re basically editing your writing down to your best points, instead of trying to add unnecessary fluff to make it longer later.

Describing Things:

When you’re describing things such as appliances, flooring, etc. mention the brand specifically if it is a higher end brand.  If anything has been replaced in the past few years, or is in excellent condition, mention that also.

Describing Spaces:

If any rooms truly are above average in size, be sure to mention this.  If the floorplan has a good flow, describe the spaces in the order a potential visitor would encounter them.  Walk them through each room, and mention one or two key features of each.

Describing the Area and Extras

If the location’s great, don’t just write “great location!”, tell people why it’s great.  Mention specific shops and restaurants, and 2-3 sentences on the background of the area.  While not property specific, it never hurts to mention things such as notable neighborhood eateries, etc as many buyers are still unaware. You may want to also consider creating a real estate floorplan to go along with your description.

Step #: Edit!

This should go without saying, but proofread and edit your description.  The nice thing about writing the long version first is that you’re forced to edit your description so it will fit in your MLS. After editing, have a co-worker, spouse, or friend take a quick read through.  Sometimes we get too close to our own writing, and forget obvious things (like our contact info!).  This step will save you a lot of time, because once you’ve spend hundreds of dollars printing statements and hours entering it into half a dozen online marketing sites, it’ll bee too late.

Sellers: 3 Major Themes:

• 1. When it comes to home marketing methods, the “basics” are being turned upside down. What are the “new basics”?
• 2. What sellers want most: the four “biggies” you have to focus on.
• 3. 33% of sellers contacted more than one agent. How can you beat the increasing competition?

Home Marketing Methods: The New Basics

Image Source: My Single Property Websites Data Source: 2008 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

As recently as a couple of years ago, if you were a new agent and asked your broker about home selling basics, aside from the obvious MLS entry they might have suggested:

• Put a sign in the yard
• Put an ad in the paper
• Mail out some postcards or flyers
• If it’s a higher end listing, put an ad in the local glossy RE magazine

Now look at the chart above. Amazingly, newspaper ads and RE magazines don’t even make the top three anymore. Instead, the number one method for marketing a home is the internet, more popular than even our tried and true friend, the yard sign. Rounding out the top three is open houses.

The biggest reason for this is straightforward: the internet is becoming a larger and larger part of every facet of our lives, and real estate is no exception. Another more subtle reason, and perhaps why the internet is now even more popular than yard signs, is the continuing shift to city and condo living. I’ve tried, and can tell you that yard signs don’t stick in a concrete sidewalk . Add to this the huge costs of print and magazine advertising, plus a slow market, and the reason for the trend towards online and lower cost marketing is clear.

Ok, so we know the internet is #1, but the word “internet” is a bit broad, to say the least. Specifically, what are the new basics in an online world?

The New Basics:

• Minimum 10, Preferably 20+ high quality photos
• Detailed, proofread marketing copy for MLS Posting
• Syndication to the biggies: Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, Google Base
• Posting to Craigslist, twice a week
• Single property site and/or virtual tour
• Custom/ unique domain for property site, prominently displayed on sign rider
• Email/ Twitter/ Facebook/ to your network

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the new basics is the cost: doing everything mentioned above usually costs less than just three weeks of newspaper ads. Even better, they let you leverage your time by creating the content (photos and description) once and leveraging it multiple times.

What sellers want most: the four “biggies” you have to focus on.

Image Source: My Single Property Websites Data Source: 2008 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

The pie chart above shows what sellers most want from real estate agents. There are four nearly perfectly equal “biggies” that were picked by over 80% of sellers, with everything else picked first by less than 20% of sellers. The four things sellers wanted most:

Notice that these four things are nearly perfectly equal, at 20% each except for pricing help at 21%. That means if you want to give 80% of your sellers the #1 thing they desire from a real estate agent, you need to hit all four of these nails on the head.

First two are up to you.I can’t help you much with the first two: pricing a home competitively is up to you and your local experience and research, and selling the home within a specific timeframe is based in large part on your pricing and the expectations you’ve set up with your seller.

With the second two, however, there are several concrete steps you can take to show your seller you take their needs seriously. Sellers may forgive you if you fail to sell their home in a timely manner due to market conditions or a deal falling through. But they definitely won’t forgive you if they don’t feel you’re doing the work and taking all the steps to find them a buyer and help them market their home.

Give them tangible evidence of your hard work.

The good news is that it’s easier than ever to provide your seller with tangible evidence of your hard work. The beauty of the internet is that you can track everything in real time, from number of times your listing pops up in a search to number of times people clicked on it. One of the best ways to present this to your client is in an email report, with links to all sites where the listing is displayed and with attached reports. Many sites such as Trulia will even create a free listing report for you automatically.

If your listing isn’t selling, you can make sure your sellers understand it’s because of the market by showing them how many times it’s appeared in search results. Low numbers mean there simply aren’t many buyers in that price segment of the market. In addition, many MLS’s provide data about agent and public views; don’t forget to cut and paste that into your email report.

33% of sellers contacted more than one agent. How can you beat the competition?

1 out of 3 sellers are also calling your competition. How do you beat them? When it comes to listing presentations (and most things in life, for that matter), remember this: you only get what you give. GIVE your sellers a detailed marketing plan that you’ve customized to their home. GIVE your sellers pre-prepared single property websites or virtual tours, even if you only have placeholder pictures. GIVE your sellers a detailed and well written marketing description of the property. By showing them their home already displayed online with great marketing copy, you’ll go from one of several competitors to the default option.

Most people don’t actually want to go through the hassle of interviewing several agents. When you work like you’ve already won the listing and give them something tangible to look at, they may not even bother interviewing anyone else. In the long run, it’s actually less work to fully prepare and win one listing than it is to half prepare for several and lose them all.

The problem is that most agents spend all their time generating great content and focusing on attracting visitors, without thinking about how to convert those visitors into actual leads.

The secret is to make it easy and natural for your visitors to contact you:

Tip #1: Put a contact form at the bottom of every page on your site.

Type “WordPress contact form” into Google, and the first result is a simple plugin for your WordPress blog.

Make one simple contact form, and then you can start making more custom versions for different pages. On your “selling” page, for example, put a form where sellers can request a seller’s guide and enter basic property info in exchange for an estimate of their home’s value. See an example of forms on every page on these single property websites.

Without a form, visitors aren’t going to take the initiative to send you a detailed email requesting a price estimate… it’s just not going to happen.

Tip #2: Include a call to action at the end of every post.

A call to action means telling your visitors exactly what to do next.  The more specific and personal, the better. For example, “you should follow me on twitter” has been proven to be dramatically better than “follow me on twitter”.  It’s hard to believe, but we all have a natural tendency to simply go with the flow and do what we’re told.

This doesn’t mean be pushy or overly sales-y, it just means make it easy for a busy, tired visitor to cruise through your site and go on to the next step — in this case, the next step is filling out a simple form for more information.

After that, the next step is up to you!

Photo Credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oskay

The real estate absorption rate is easy to calculate: just divide the total number of active listings by the total number of sales in the past month.  Ex 300 listings / 50 sales = 6 months of inventory. This is one of the quickest and most useful stats out there.  For even more mileage, do the real estate absorption rate for your city and also for your specific niche areas.

2. The Basics.

Try writing a quick post with the following:

• # of sales
• Average sale price
• Average price per square foot
• Optional: break down by 1/2/3 bedrooms

3.  Inventory Gauge

This is the only subjective report, but at the same time it’s a great chance to add some visual flair to your blog.  First, you’ll need three images to represent low, average, and high inventory.  I used an engine-type gauge, but you could also use some fun local imagery, such as a surf report image for a beach town, or a wine glass with different amounts of wine in it for napa valley, etc.

Basically, Crazyegg will show you everywhere your users are clicking on a heatmap of your site.  The more clicks, the “hotter” (more brightly colored) that part gets, so you can easily figure out where your users are clicking.

I tried this service out on one of my sites, and was amazed by how simple setup was, and how quickly you can start to learn things about your visitors.  You just copy two lines of code, paste it onto the page you want to track, and you’re done. Within a few hours, you’ll be able to see exactly where users are clicking on your site.

While tools like Google Analytics will tell you what pages users are going to, it’s not that useful with telling you what buttons/ links they are clicking to get there. (Google does offer a website overlay, but I’ve found it pretty unreliable in the past).  If you have a big call to action like most real estate websites, you can easily see if users are actually clicking it or not.

The other great thing about Crazyegg is that you’ll see where visitors are clicking, even if it’s not a link. Everyone clicking on that great clipart you have of a for sale sign/ housekey/ family in front of a yard? Then go ahead and link that picture to something!

The basic plan starts at $9 a month, and lets you track up to 10,000 visitors. Check them out at www.crazyegg.com

The best part? You’re instantly texted their contact info, so you can follow up and answer their questions while they’re still in front of the property. More than one agent I’ve spoken with has said this is the most useful service they have in their technology arsenal.

My brother and I are natural tinkerers, so we’ve spent the past several months researching the concept to see if we could build a better mousetrap. Our goal was to make a drop dead simple, easy to use, inexpensive service for busy agents, and today we think we’ve achieved that with our newest product:  AGENT TEXT. In less than 5 minutes, you can stop printing flyers and have a fully functioning text marketing service to present to sellers at listing presentations and to generate more buyer prospects from your listings. Pricing is simple, both the code and sign rider are reusable for unlimited listings, and shipping is included:

• 1 Reusable code: $8/ month, $20 1 sign rider
• 3 Reusable codes: $24/ month, $40 for 3 sign riders
• 5 Reusable codes: $35/ month, $50 for 5 sign riders

To learn more go to our site at www.AgentText.com

In the interests of full disclosure, this is a project both my brother and I are working on.  We think we offer the best combination of simplicity and low cost, but even if you don’t choose our project, I still strongly recommend you consider the switch from flyers to text messaging.  There are many other great companies out there offering a similar service, and you’ll immediately start saving money on the cost of printing flyers, not to mention the time you save refilling flyer boxes.  Add in the fact that it makes a great marketing tool in listing presentations, plus the potential for buyer leads, and it’s not hard to see how such a product could help your business. For more info, go towww.AgentText.com.

Kelly points out:

“According to NAR’s Home Buyer and Seller Survey, the median age for REALTORS® is 54, while the median age for first-time home buyers is 30.  The median age for a repeat buyer was only 47.”

When it comes to real estate technology, the age of a real estate agent can certainly be an advantage or a disadvantage.  If you’re 30 and working with a 30 year old first time buyer, it’s probably going to be a lot more intuitive and natural connecting with them via facebook, text messaging, etc.  If you’re substantially younger you may be a bit too cutting edge and overwhelm your client, or if you’re older, you may be using clunky/ cheesy systems that don’t appeal.

That said, there’s absolutely no reason why any agent of any age should let their age be a hindrance to success.  If you’re younger, you may need to focus on education and building experience by assisting other agents, etc.  If you’re older, you may need to specifically set aside time to get familiar with the latest technology.

We all know the importance of building rapport with potential clients.  As technology becomes an ever larger and more important part of all of our lives, it will become more important than ever to be at the same “technology age” as your clients, regardless of your actual age.

Try it out: Full Disclosure: Online Real Estate Disclosures

Buyers and other agents need to register before viewing, which keeps you in control and lets you track who’s viewed what (coming soon). Anyway, I’d love to hear your feedback, as I’ll be adding new features depending on what’s requested. The goal is to make it the most simple and useful online real estate disclosure option out there.