MARKETING YOUR HOME
How do I reach the right potential buyers?
Today, people are moving farther and more frequently than they used to; it's not unusual for upwardly mobile executives to relocate across the country more than once in a year. The result is that the pool of potential buyers for your house is much larger and spreads far wider than ever before, and the competition to reach them is fierce.
These developments make it more important than ever to choose the real estate company with the most sophisticated and savvy marketing techniques. Companies with much-visited Web sites, extensive available listings, web tools designed to help consumers buy and sell, and prominent, effective advertising and marketing materials are essential for identifying the right buyers and convincing them that yours is the house for them. The yard sign is just the beginning, but with a knowledgeable sales professional, your selling process can promptly reach a happy ending. Learn more about the ERA Commitment to Cutting-Edge Technology.
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SHOWING TIP
Remove any attached decorative items -- e.g., chandeliers, stained glass, etc. -- that you don't intend to sell with the house.
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What's an MLS and why do I need one?
A Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, is another resource to help ensure you reach a large number of prospective buyers and dramatically increase the exposure of a property.
Quite simply, it's a system under which participating brokers agree to share commission on the sale of houses listed by any one of them. So, for example, if you list your house with one broker and another broker actually sells it, they share the commission. The advantage to you is clear; more people have an interest in selling your house.
Over the years, the MLS concept has grown from a strictly local sales tool into a powerful national marketing system. That's due largely to ERA Real Estate, whose pioneering use of the fax machine, back in 1971, led to the development of the nation's first interstate shared listing system.
How important is advertising?
Advertising remains an important component in the marketing process. Today, however, this means much more that an ad placed in the local newspaper. Today's real estate brokers have the knowledge and resources to market your home through an array of proven modern methods, including TV, magazines, radio, the Internet and direct mail in addition to traditional print advertising. They are trained to determine where the pool of buyers for your particular property might most likely be found and from that, can best determine the type of advertising that is best for your property
