On Screen – a periodic “launch” of news, commentary, resources, bloggers and other information you can use to get your week started – from Matthew Ferrara & Company.
On Screen: Real Estate Industry news launch for February 9, 2010:
The Wall Street Journal reports that Fannie and Freddie have already consumed more than $111 billion in taxpayer dollars. And they are likely to need more.
A real estate bubble in Canada looks like it’s already inflated and expanding. Some markets are experiencing surges of 20% month-over-month, and it shows no signs of stopping.
NAR Economist Lawrence Yun finally acknowledges that the tax credits are causing housing data to skew wildly every month in the latest release of pending sales figures from the National Association of REALTORS.
On Screen: Expert Advice from Industry Leaders:
Steve Harney reminds REALTORS that the housing “recovery” is shaky in “Built on Jenga Blocks.”
Cisco says there will be more than 5 billion personal devices connected to wireless mobile networks. (Important trend considering under 50% of REALTORS reported using a smartphone last year).
Comscore research shows that more than 178 million US citizens watched more than 33.2 billion videos in December 2009. (Amazing considering so few property listings have videos on them.)
Nielsen research says that use of social networking online soared more than 82% last year over the year before. (Yet less than 35% of REALTORS had a social networking presence in 2009)
On Screen: Smart Ideas to Sell More
Entrepreneurs should beware “vanity metrics” when measuring true performance, says the Harvard Business Review.
In Part 1, we started the countdown towards May 1: The Day After government tax credit subsidies expire for housing purchases. Leading up to that date will be a frenzy of purchases and sales that will make it “look like” the market is bouncing back. But are we kidding ourselves? When the clock strikes twelve, the housing market will fall again – just like it did in December 2009, the month after the tax credits “almost” expired last time. Only this time, it’s going to happen for real – and it will make the 17% December decline look like a blip on the chart of decline. In Part 2, we offer a few suggestions as to how REALTORS can stay in business when the dust settles.
Surprise, surprise: Home sales plummeted in December 2009. Certainly, this isn’t news to the consumer, although housing economists seem to be surprised at how fast and far the month-over-month numbers declined. Now the worry is about a potential second market collapse this year. If the housing market fell nearly 17% the month after the original housing tax credits were supposed to end, what’s going to happen when they really do come to an end? Are REALTORS ready for the Day After?
At the start of 2010, REALTORS need more from their news sources than footsie interviews with government policy makers. In the January edition of REALTOR Magazine, another opportunity to set the record straight and get critical insights for its members about FHA’s role in the marketplace was wasted. Here’s a short list of alternate questions REALTORS need to ask policy officials soon.
If there’s one thing the real estate industry needs to worry about, it’s mis-information. Bogus appraisals, misleading market analyses and self-serving press releases make it nearly impossible for consumers to get accurate data about the market. Even Fannie Mae can’t be trusted to accurately report how many subprime loans it makes. And with regular releases of the misleading Case-Shiller report, is it any wonder buyers and sellers don’t know what to believe? Read more…
According to research by the National Association of REALTORS, buyers habits are changing when it comes to real estate. The report, recently released by NAR, asked more than 100,000 consumers to rank the usefulness of information sources to their efforts to learn more about the marketplace. The good news was that for the first time in years, the real estate agent edged-out the internet for top-spot as “very useful” (81% vs 77%). The bad news is that, by a factor of 4, most buyers think open houses suck.
Hindsight is always 20/20, they say. Unless, of course, you spend most of your time navel gazing. So it’s almost myopic to point out that some ideas’ time has come. And other ideas’ time has passed. On one hand, it’s time for every sale to include in-house ancillary sales. On the other hand, it’s time for NAR to give up the dream of one HAL-like central database. Didn’t they find the bellybutton lint the last time they tried it? Read more…
Download a copy of the latest survey of REALTORS by the Center for REALTOR Technology and you’re certain to be fascinated – startled, perhaps – at what’s happening on the Bat-belts of modern agents trying to make buying and selling homes a twenty-first century experience. While the report is no page-turner – in fact, it looks a bit like it was produced on a Commodore 64 with dot-matrix fonts – a few facts stand out, highlighting just how easy it should be for serious salespeople to scoop up market share in the months to come. And all they really need would be a Blackberry and a thousand bucks.
Bizarre, Cool, Finally and Funny: Observations from the NAR Annual Conference, 2009
Each year, as thousands of REALTORS descend upon some unsuspecting city in American, we bring you observations from the event, complete with raised eyebrows of all kinds. This year’s Annual Convention of the National Association of REALTORS in San Diego is no exception: the 14,000 vendors, agents and industry leaders left us with no lack of bizarre, cool, finally and funny observations to share with you. So, without further ado, here goes.
Bizarre: Why do all of the REALTOR conventions happen in cities with soaring homeless rates? It seems the height of irony that so many “home ownership professionals” gather in San Francisco, San Diego, New Orleans and Washington DC – ostensibly to learn new ways to sell more homes – only to find themselves taking the bus from hotel to convention center because the streets are overcrowded with people – without homes. Now, this isn’t to suggest that real estate conventions should only be held in places with low homeless rates – say, a nice tropical island – but it is to say that maybe the “local tour of luxury homes” and “annual pean to hammer-swinging a few free homes” stands in stark contrast to the reality on the streets. Of course, this contrarian observer thinks he may have an idea why the problem persists: homeless people don’t qualify for the First Time (and now Move Up) Tax Credits. So that’s why there wasn’t one educational session on combatting homelessness – even by the multitude of guests from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD. There were certainly plenty of empty convention classrooms where such discussions might have taken place; perhaps even substituted the time slot with the uber-dull blogging lounge.
Equally bizarre were some of the “new” vendor ideas this year. Certainly, customer appreciation ideas have taken a hit this year, as lower commission margins limit the options for thanking clients. That seems the only possible explanation for the appearance of the kitchen cutlery booth, Nothing says “thanks for your business” quite like a clever cleaver. Good luck trying to get through security with them. And while it seems the “personal massager-shaped” virtual tour camera company didn’t make it this year (see last year’s review), the kalediscope camera lens company took its place. Even Galileo couldn’t have come up with a more unwieldy lens. Straight out of the playbook of the Hubble Space Telescope, this uber-lens of SLR’s could not only take a virtual tour, but could highlight the cracks in the shower tile from forty feet away. No word on whether insurance would cover the chiropractor appointments needed for carrying this beauty. Nor any idea of who still uses an SLR. New Agent Jimmy Olsen will update us in a subsequent report… that is, when he gets back from the $5.25 Starbucks stand in the hallway. Can I get FHA financing with that?
Ultimately, the most bizarre was the Kodak bizaar – which featured a new array of inkjet printers with photo capabilities. The urge to simply turn over the tables overcame me, but with extreme self control I managed to grit-out a few questions – like where was the display of their new Zi8 hi-def flip-camera, considering I had one in my pocket? Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough to capture the blank-stares that answered my question – and told me that somebody hadn’t done their homework about the future of real estate. Alas, we’re in for another year of postcards and pathetic listing sheets.
Still, there were plenty of cool developments this year, and not just in the vendor booths. One of the coolest things I heard was the tremendous audience response to sessions by some of the smart new speakers on the circuit. For those attendees tired of hearing that the “basics were back,” making the 9am Sunday morning effort to see Steve Harney was worth the entire trip. No end of positive comments came of that event, nor from the WCR education sessions at the Westin. It just goes to prove that great education can fill the room – and WCR continues to prove that it can do just that (mercifully without resorting to tedious panels that sucked the life out of most of the NAR general convention sessions all week).
Also in the cool column was the appearance of William Shatner, who generated a line so long that everyone wondered why there wasn’t a transporter handy. The Thespian showed he’s still got what it takes to take the Command Chair of any event, even if he clearly cannot fit in his gold shirt any more. Still, the Gen X meta-icon shamed more than a few reluctant Boomers to visit the Verizon booth and finally get a smartphone.
A few items made it to the super-cool list, like dotLoop, an online forms program that finally does it right. No more “substitute typewriter” approach to filling in forms; these guys actually digitize the data into a database. How refreshing for a vendor to figure out that filling in forms doesn’t involve “scanning” anything – and that signing online should be as easy as buying a book on Amazon. Not to mention that inviting consumers into their transaction was a very Facebook-like experience. Good luck to this company; let’s hope they break the Association-Forms-Committees’ hold on Archaic Transaction Management Policies nationwide.
From cool to finally category came a few small but simple moments that elicited a “it’s about time” from almost everyone. The first one came from the Zillow booth, where their online mortgage tool “finally” made it possible to get quotes from lenders without having to divulge your entire financial, personal and genetic history. What a – um – novel idea. And refreshingly consumer-centric (sorry, agents). Then there was the person who, upon existing my session, turned to me on the escalator and said, “So it would be better if this massive banner ad said ‘It’s about the consumer,’ rather than “It’s all about you, Self-Appointed Superstar!” I smiled, thinking that there may yet be hope for a housing recovery.
In the funny column, we can report that there’s no danger that good taste will come to the industry next year either. The bling-booths were as packed as ever, as hoardes of Shiny-Pinned Hallway Admirals rifled through boxes of shiny and glassy with the usual gusto. Maybe it was because the trade show was shockingly scant in size, or these agents had already achieved every certification available. More likely, it’s just more proof that a simple and well executed business idea works every time. Of all the vendors at the tradeshow, it’s certain that the ones going home with a profit were the jewelers, not the gadgeters.
Just as funny – or at least as much fun – was the lady (who I had seen earlier in a session on explaining the value proposition of a real estate agent to consumers) who asked if our new video learning community, Real Estate Brainchain, was free. Not unexpected, since asking for a discount was a bit of the norm at many booths, even for agents who responded doe-eyed when the vendor asked them if they routinely gave away their listing services. Of course, the joke was on the vendor: of course the agent did. Oh, well.
Ironically funny was the guard at the door to my session who wouldn’t let two of my employees attend the class; only one was allowed to accompany me, even though we had paid for a booth and were offering the class for free. Rules are rules, said the rent-a-doorman, even after several students attempted to come to my rescue. What struck me as funny was the blind dedication to doing “what he was told to do,” rather than think for himself, while guarding the door to my session that focused on creative thinking for solving the problems of the next generation of real estate consumers. I’ll let you guess if the guard was a Gen X’er or not.
In all, I still think the convention was a success. Even though attendance was probably the lowest I’ve seen in two decades, it was refreshing to see sessions fairly full and good questions from the audiences. A few firsts happened as well – such as our full-time broacast of live internet television from the trade show, which more than 200 online viewers watched from more than two dozen states. And the first time I’ve ever seen a brokerage concept booth openly and honestly describe itself as a “basic pyramid scheme” without batting an eye. No need to be tricky these days; just cut to the chase faster then the monogrammed cutlery.
In the end, it was great to see old friends and make new ones. Little Italy offered the best meal in months; and the complimentary bottle of champagne from my WCR friends was greatly appreciated. Having the booth next to Martha Webb and the Certified Home Marketing Specialist was a boon, too, as the popularity of her program drew the crowds that also stopped to see us. And while it was hard to leave the nice weather of southern California, it only took an hour in the airport to know we were doing the right thing. If we think we have it hard in the real estate industry, we should really count our blessings. Even the most skeptical FSBO is a far greater pleasure to talk to than the coutner staff at American Airlines (Miss “I don’t think so!”) or the maddening inability to order three coffees at Starbucks, even after pointing at the pictures of the drinks on the poster at the counter.
Can’t you just wait until the next one?
Each year, as thousands of REALTORS descend upon some unsuspecting city in American, we bring you observations from the event, complete with raised eyebrows of all kinds. This year’s Annual Convention of the National Association of REALTORS in San Diego is no exception: the 14,000 vendors, agents and industry leaders left us with no lack of bizarre, cool, finally and funny observations to share with you. So, without further ado, here goes. Read more…
Launched this weekend at NAR’s Annual Convention in San Diego, Real Estate Brainchain, the new online video learning community from Matthew Ferrara & Company has drawn a lot of attention from REALTORS at the trade show. “Traffic to the booth has been terrific,” says Matthew Ferrara, “and the online traffic has been amazing as well.” Combining their live launch with a social media push, MF&C positioned the launch of Brainchain as a multi-media event. “We wanted the system to have a splash in person, as well as virtually. From what we can tell from both venues, we’re capturing a lot of interest – and early subscribers, as well.”
Real Estate Brainchain combines the power and ease of learning by online video, with a broad array of sales, marketing, technology and management topics from industry experts like Ferrara, Martha Webb, Rich Sands and others, available on demand to meet the learning needs of busy real estate agents. “We already excel at on-site workshops, and delivered more than 4,000 online webinars last year. Now we want to make even more learning available to agents – whether an instructor-led session meets their schedule or not.”
Derek Deveau, who has been leading the Brainchain project, with Laura Fisher, who has been in charge of the technology behind the scenes, both expressed how excited they were with the NAR launch. “The number of people who came over and told us they heard we were doing something new and innovative has been incredible. And almost everyone we talk to says it’s the right product at the right time,” Deveau pointed out.
“Agents have reacted positively to the simplicity of use,” said Fisher. “They love the one-click simplicity of accessing the content, and the system is very easy to search by category, tag or keyword. Learning is literally at their fingertips at any time.”
Rick Calanni, Director of Client Services for Matthew Ferrara & Company, commented on the number of brokers and managers interested in the system. “For any company, making the hundreds of video lessons we have available to their agents has captured their attention. The need for anytime learning on dozens of topics, at such affordable costs, has never been greater,” Calanni said. And brokers and managers who have visited the site quickly saw the value in the specialty content, like office-meeting video sessions, to make their lives easier every week.
Real Estate Brainchain offers unlimited video learning to individual users for only $19.99 a month. Company subscriptions are also available, depending upon users, with unlimited usage by agents, managers and staff. An affiliate model for real estate Associations, trainers and schools also makes it possible for organizations to offer their own version of the system to their members, with no up-front costs and a revenue sharing model. All members have access to forums, social networking, blogging, a resource library, and free attendance in any live webinars offered each week.
November 12 – San Diego, CA – As the National Association of REALTORS Annual Convention opens this week in San Diego, Matthew Ferrara & Company announced the launch of its latest learning service, real estate brainchain (http://www.rebrainchain.com). The new online video learning community features high-quality training lessons for real estate professionals on a broad variety of topics like sales, marketing, technology and management. As easy to use as YouTube, but with real estate specific content, brainchain launches with almost 100 ready-to-learn lessons featuring some of the industry’s top trainers.
“Brainchain changes the paradigm in online learning for REALTORS,” says Matthew Ferrara, CEO of Matthew Ferrara & Company, the parent of brainchain. “In the last two decades, we have repeatedly delivered innovations in real estate training, first by incorporating technology into the classroom, then by creating the industry’s largest delivery system of webinars. We’ll deliver more than 3500 webinars this year alone, but we still don’t think that’s enough availability and affordability for the industry. That’s why we’re introducing real estate brainchain.”
The new platform uses the latest video innovations to change how real estate professionals use the internet to grow their business. While many real estate agents have been using the web to learn for quite some time, “we’re focused on the educational paradigm,” says Derek Deveau, Director of Development for brainchain. “Many agents have attended live webinars online for years; the challenges we’re solving there are to make the content available all the time, and to make them far more exciting than just slide shows and computerized voices. By using a state of the art video studio, we can record and broadcast live, with a higher learning impact. People learn quickly and easily using television today. We’re doing the same thing on the web.” Likewise, Deveau adds, we’re eliminating the scheduling hassles that keep some agents from attending the classes they need at the times they need them.
Brainchain is much more than just online videos, says Ferrara. “As a professional education company, we don’t just create content. We study how people learn and what helps them retain that learning. In most cases, that involves two factors: Learning in discrete amounts of time, and learning when it’s important to solve a problem. With brainchain, most of our lessons are under 10 minutes, so you can pay attention, focus, absorb, and then go apply the learning right away in your business. And since it’s on-demand, our members will watch the lessons they want, when they want it, which creates the motivation to concentrate and acquire the skills. In two decades of training experience, we have seen that students learn more when it’s in small bites and on topics they are really interested in.” Brainchain also adds social networking elements to its platform, creating a true video learning community.
Laura Fisher, Director of Site Development says that brainchain is designed to get members teaching and talking to each other. “The site’s full of extra features. There’s a forum where members can discuss hot topics and share ideas with each other. The Think Tank provides access to the trainers who are in the videos, so students can contact them and ask questions. And every member can blog about how they are using their new skills and knowledge to advance their careers. By combining social network features with high-quality video learning, we’re really creating a skill-development environment that has something for everyone, and lots of new content every day.”
The real estate brainchain platform will launch at NAR with almost 100 learning lessons ranging from “how-to” lessons on technology, social networking and office productivity, to real estate sales lessons on prospecting, farming, staging, pricing, marketing and management. “Brainchain links together great minds, like Martha Webb, Matthew Ferrara, Rich Sands and others. Each has dozens of lessons that can be watched and combined to create new ways of thinking – new “brain chains” – for real estate agents of the future,” Deveau adds. “It’s going to make an amazing amount of knowledge available to the greatest number of people in a format that’s both easy and fun for anyone to use.”
Live from NAR Starts Friday – with Matthew FerraraThose who do not learn the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them. So said someone we’ve all long forgotten, but I’m sure you can Google it. But rather than worry about who said it, shouldn’t we be worrying about whether we’ve heeded the advice? As 20,000 REALTORS make the annual migration to the National Association of REALTORS Convention, maybe we can know what to expect by looking back at what happened last time.
Real estate is essentially a research industry: trouble is, most agents and brokers think the most important research is about houses, prices, square footage and such. Considering the data that sits in most MLS systems – unverified and incomplete – you’d think they would know better by now. In fact, the best research for any sales industry isn’t the commodity data but the customer specs and competition capabilities. Knowing everything there is to know about the consumer – and the competitors who are trying to beat you to their door – is far more fascinating. And given the state of the housing industry, also more revealing.
Ten Questions with Real Estate Expert Matthew Ferrara
By Dianna Kawell
Reposted with permission from WCR’s site.Real estate is becoming an increasingly technology-driven industry. Every day, a typical REALTOR® depends heavily on her laptop, GPS and digital camera to get the job done. For what was long believed to be a face-to-face business, 88 percent of REALTORS® now report using e-mail as the preferred method of communicating with their clients.However, REALTOR® Web sites may be the one neglected piece of the technology puzzle. Perhaps, it is because agents see little tangible results from their personal Web sites. In the latest Member Profile from the National Association of REALTORS®, members reported on average just four inquiries generated by their Web sites over 12 months—accounting for just 3 percent of their overall business for that year.In the past year, with members reporting a 14-percent drop in gross income from real estate, these already neglected Web sites have seemingly moved completely to the back burner. NAR is reporting a 20-percent drop in the dollar investment that REALTORS® are making in their Web sites from 2007 to 2008, with the number of REALTORS® who invested zero dollars in their Web sites increasing from 18 to 22 percent over the same period.According to real estate educator and columnist Matthew Ferrara, this negligence of REALTOR® Web sites may not be a bad thing. We sat down with Matthew to get the scoop on what marketing features are essential to maximize a REALTOR®’s Web presence in a challenging economic climate.eConnect: NAR is reporting a direct correlation between what a REALTOR® spends on her Web site and the amount of business generated from it. According to NAR, those real estate professionals who spent $1,000 to maintain their Web sites received an average of 14 inquiries from their site in 2008 (16 in 2007). Among those REALTORS® who invested less than $100 annually on site maintenance, 70 percent reported receiving five or less inquiries from their Web site. Does this indicate that REALTORS® should be investing more in their Web sites and perhaps turning to Web professionals more often for site updates and enhancements?Matthew: Actually, I think the REALTORS® have been smart about understanding that this is not a good avenue for their marketing online. With a million REALTORS® out there, they can’t out-compete realtor.com and their own brokers. Web sites are a hugely misunderstood application of technology. The REALTORS® have figured it out really well. To start with, the average REALTOR® is making $42,000 a year. They don’t have a lot of money to spend on Web sites.However, we still see them spending a lot on postcards and print, which we know have virtually no return. REALTORS® have figured out that most Web leads are coming from their broker’s Web presence. Those who are building their own Web sites are those who are making more than the national average.The second thing that REALTORS® have learned is that the vast majority of the listings are not coming from the Web. They are coming from referrals and repeat business, and agents can take advantage of free social networking tools to reach those clients.There is no correlation with using Web sites and making a lot of business. You only need e-mail and a social networking page and your affiliate memberships like WCR to maintain referral business. For example, you could go to a FSBO Web site and search your town, and send an e-mail to those people and get better results than by creating your own Web site and waiting for people to find you among tens of thousands of real estate search results on Google.eConnect: According to NAR research, REALTORS® are primarily using their personal Web sites for contact information, some educational materials for buyers and sellers and to showcase their own listings. About 90 percent include their own listings on their site. Only about 55 percent use virtual tours. Only 7 percent of REALTORS® have a regular blog. Is there more that REALTORS® should be doing to keep their Web sites up to date and relevant in their markets?Matthew: Here’s the thing. When I look at NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, virtual tours are the third most important thing that the clients want to see, after more listing photos and better listing descriptions. Agents say, “Virtual tours are slow and don’t look good.” I say, “When you’re buying the house, then you get to decide.” Always listen to your customers.Agents are putting all this community information on their sites. School reports and community info were low in what consumers want to see, according to NAR’s research. The buyers already know the schools and community and maps. Government sites, nobody needs that. The consumer wants to see as many photos as you can get on there. That’s very important.eConnect: As far as virtual tours, some of the products out there seem relatively inexpensive. Should REALTORS® be including virtual tours with all their listings?Matthew: Virtual tours are dirt cheap. But it is free to just use your smart phone for video for the listings. Some of these listing Web sites require you to use a special product for virtual tours, but most now will take a simple link. So you could record a video and post it to youtube.com, which will take a whole range of different formats.As far as virtual tour products, I prefer the ones that allow you to add narration or sound. Otherwise, you’re hoping that people can look at your silent movie and hope they just get it. Just have another person hold the camera, and say “Hi, I’m Sally REALTOR®, and this is this, and that is that.”eConnect: Would agents benefit from training in video production and photo editing software?Matthew: I definitely think that video and digital photography are important skills. Martha Webb’s Certified Home Marketing Specialist course teaches some basics. Definitely, quality use of video and photos is a new emerging standard in real estate. Bad photos can scare people away. Don’t bother to enter a listing until you have the photos because people will just disregard it. Lighting, staging, scripting—these are all important things to plan out.One common mistake I see is that REALTORS® try to take photos that suck everything in. And sometimes you have to say, this is what is awesome about this living area and focus in on the fireplace or something. You have to have an eye for it and know what to pick, and that is a skill.eConnect: What about the low number of REALTORS® (only 7 percent) who are regularly blogging. Is that another free tool that more agents should be utilizing?Matthew: Not necessarily. That number may be in line with what is realistic. Most REALTORS® are hard working people, but they are not writers. The vast majority are not clever writers or in a position to write well. You can go to “REALTOR® Marketing” on Facebook, where NAR posts articles that are professionally written. You can easily share these without bothering with mail merges, newsletter mailing lists and so on. Just press the “Share” button in Facebook. It’s easy and free.Or go on LinkedIn to the area where people are posting questions and construct an intelligent and thoughtful 10-sentence answer to someone’s question. One in 10 REALTORS® would be able to write a blog. Nine out of 10 should just republish what’s already out there. Spread the word, just don’t write the word. Concentrate on quality distribution of information.eConnect: NAR’s Member Profile research indicates that REALTORS® on average spent about $240 last year on maintaining their Web sites (a 20-percent drop from 2007). What do you think is a reasonable amount for an agent to spend annually on site maintenance?Matthew: if you’re really doing a Web site, you should be spending a lot more than that. If they are doing a Web site, I say $1,500 or more when you factor in pay per click and other advertising. And what about the time that you or your assistant are investing in all the updates? You have to factor in all that work. Can someone be successful with Internet marketing by spending just $200? Certainly. It doesn’t cost anything to participate in the Q&A on LinkedIn and social networking.eConnect: Six in 10 REALTORS® reported having a Web site (90 percent report that their firm has a company Web site). Is there a need, in your opinion, for all REALTORS® to have their own Web site, if their firm has a company site?Matthew: Having a Web site is meaningless. For most agents, having a quality page on REALTOR.com or their franchise site is more useful. The best way to reach the people is through these free social networking pages, blogs and e-mail. If I type in my own name on Google, my LinkedIn profile and blog, which are both free, are in the top search results.Most agents have figured out, if their firm has a marketing budget bigger than their marketing budget, the agent has wisely said, “I’ll just let my broker send me the leads.” After all, any fee from the broker is still lower than SEO, pay per click and all of that. An agent can send an e-newsletter or use Facebook. All that is proactive stuff. And having a Web site is reactive. NAR’s research illustrates that agents who are spending $1,000 or more on their Web sites are only getting 10 percent of their business from that.eConnect: Do you know of some top-notch REALTOR® Web sites that really accomplish all the areas that REALTORS® need to in order to optimize their Web presence?Matthew: As far as agent Web sites go, Kevin Tomlinson is doing great with his site. The listings include maps, floorplans, a lot of nice photos and video. If you look at the bottom of the page, he has a lot of keywords that will drive his search engine optimization. Also, at the bottom you see he has a marketing firm doing the site for him. And you know it’s not for only $200 a year!On the homepage, he has his blog, links to Facebook and Twitter and awesome-looking photos. There’s a nice, up-to-date photo of him right up front, so it’s personable. Yes, he has an e-newsletter and YouTube channel. The good thing about this site is that it touches all personality types, whether you are a map person, search person, quick search person, someone who just wants to browse photos and so on.eConnect: It seems many REALTOR® sites have out-of-date information or old trends, like the lengthy intro animations with the “skip intro” link. Yet, REALTORS® do not seem to want to invest in regular updates to their sites’ look and feel. Are you saying that, for agents who don’t have time to update their sites, no Web site is better than an out-of-date site?Matthew: That’s right. If you don’t have time to keep an up-to-date Web site, then for any free listings you may have on WCR.org and other sites, just use a link to your Facebook page instead of a Web site. That’s what a REALTOR® can easily update on a regular basis. They are not going to maintain their own Web pages. But Facebook is easy to update, and I would tell most agents to link to that. Of course if you are a broker, you need a Web site. That is critical for your company. But even then, a Web site is for your current clients and should be geared to them.eConnect: According to NAR’s research, only 35 percent of REALTORS® are using social networking sites for business. The numbers are highest among the younger agents. Seventy-one percent of agents under 30 are using social networking compared to 32 percent of agents 50 to 59 years old. What advice would you give to the more seasoned REALTORS® about joining social networks?Matthew: It’s important to keep in mind that, although the more seasoned REALTORS® were not into social networking with the early adopters, these Baby Boomers are now the fastest growing demographic embracing the social networking sites. It’s okay if you weren’t on there early, but most REALTORS® need to get on there now. That doesn’t mean that they have to use every site out there. Just start with one or two social networking sites.I’ve had agents tell me, “my clients have invited me to join them on Facebook. I don’t know if I should do that.” If your customers are inviting you to join Facebook, then definitely do it. Always listen to the customer.Dianna Kawell is editor of Women’s Council’s eConnect e-newsletter. She specializes in Web content development for associations and small businesses.
Real estate is becoming an increasingly technology-driven industry. Every day, a typical REALTOR® depends heavily on her laptop, GPS and digital camera to get the job done. For what was long believed to be a face-to-face business, 88 percent of REALTORS® now report using e-mail as the preferred method of communicating with their clients.
However, REALTOR® Web sites may be the one neglected piece of the technology puzzle. Perhaps, it is because agents see little tangible results from their personal Web sites. In the latest Member Profile from the National Association of REALTORS®, members reported on average just four inquiries generated by their Web sites over 12 months—accounting for just 3 percent of their overall business for that year.
In the past year, with members reporting a 14-percent drop in gross income from real estate, these already neglected Web sites have seemingly moved completely to the back burner. NAR is reporting a 20-percent drop in the dollar investment that REALTORS® are making in their Web sites from 2007 to 2008, with the number of REALTORS® who invested zero dollars in their Web sites increasing from 18 to 22 percent over the same period.
According to real estate educator and columnist Matthew Ferrara, this negligence of REALTOR® Web sites may not be a bad thing. We sat down with Matthew to get the scoop on what marketing features are essential to maximize a REALTOR®’s Web presence in a challenging economic climate.
eConnect: NAR is reporting a direct correlation between what a REALTOR® spends on her Web site and the amount of business generated from it. According to NAR, those real estate professionals who spent $1,000 to maintain their Web sites received an average of 14 inquiries from their site in 2008 (16 in 2007). Among those REALTORS® who invested less than $100 annually on site maintenance, 70 percent reported receiving five or less inquiries from their Web site. Does this indicate that REALTORS® should be investing more in their Web sites and perhaps turning to Web professionals more often for site updates and enhancements?
Matthew: Actually, I think the REALTORS® have been smart about understanding that this is not a good avenue for their marketing online. With a million REALTORS® out there, they can’t out-compete realtor.com and their own brokers. Web sites are a hugely misunderstood application of technology. The REALTORS® have figured it out really well. To start with, the average REALTOR® is making $42,000 a year. They don’t have a lot of money to spend on Web sites.
However, we still see them spending a lot on postcards and print, which we know have virtually no return. REALTORS® have figured out that most Web leads are coming from their broker’s Web presence. Those who are building their own Web sites are those who are making more than the national average.
The second thing that REALTORS® have learned is that the vast majority of the listings are not coming from the Web. They are coming from referrals and repeat business, and agents can take advantage of free social networking tools to reach those clients.
There is no correlation with using Web sites and making a lot of business. You only need e-mail and a social networking page and your affiliate memberships like WCR to maintain referral business. For example, you could go to a FSBO Web site and search your town, and send an e-mail to those people and get better results than by creating your own Web site and waiting for people to find you among tens of thousands of real estate search results on Google.
eConnect: According to NAR research, REALTORS® are primarily using their personal Web sites for contact information, some educational materials for buyers and sellers and to showcase their own listings. About 90 percent include their own listings on their site. Only about 55 percent use virtual tours. Only 7 percent of REALTORS® have a regular blog. Is there more that REALTORS® should be doing to keep their Web sites up to date and relevant in their markets?
Matthew: Here’s the thing. When I look at NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, virtual tours are the third most important thing that the clients want to see, after more listing photos and better listing descriptions. Agents say, “Virtual tours are slow and don’t look good.” I say, “When you’re buying the house, then you get to decide.” Always listen to your customers.
Agents are putting all this community information on their sites. School reports and community info were low in what consumers want to see, according to NAR’s research. The buyers already know the schools and community and maps. Government sites, nobody needs that. The consumer wants to see as many photos as you can get on there. That’s very important.
eConnect: As far as virtual tours, some of the products out there seem relatively inexpensive. Should REALTORS® be including virtual tours with all their listings?
Matthew: Virtual tours are dirt cheap. But it is free to just use your smart phone for video for the listings. Some of these listing Web sites require you to use a special product for virtual tours, but most now will take a simple link. So you could record a video and post it to youtube.com, which will take a whole range of different formats.
As far as virtual tour products, I prefer the ones that allow you to add narration or sound. Otherwise, you’re hoping that people can look at your silent movie and hope they just get it. Just have another person hold the camera, and say “Hi, I’m Sally REALTOR®, and this is this, and that is that.”
eConnect: Would agents benefit from training in video production and photo editing software?
Matthew: I definitely think that video and digital photography are important skills. Martha Webb’s Certified Home Marketing Specialist course teaches some basics. Definitely, quality use of video and photos is a new emerging standard in real estate. Bad photos can scare people away. Don’t bother to enter a listing until you have the photos because people will just disregard it. Lighting, staging, scripting—these are all important things to plan out.
One common mistake I see is that REALTORS® try to take photos that suck everything in. And sometimes you have to say, this is what is awesome about this living area and focus in on the fireplace or something. You have to have an eye for it and know what to pick, and that is a skill.
eConnect: What about the low number of REALTORS® (only 7 percent) who are regularly blogging. Is that another free tool that more agents should be utilizing?
Matthew: Not necessarily. That number may be in line with what is realistic. Most REALTORS® are hard working people, but they are not writers. The vast majority are not clever writers or in a position to write well. You can go to “REALTOR® Marketing” on Facebook, where NAR posts articles that are professionally written. You can easily share these without bothering with mail merges, newsletter mailing lists and so on. Just press the “Share” button in Facebook. It’s easy and free.
Or go on LinkedIn to the area where people are posting questions and construct an intelligent and thoughtful 10-sentence answer to someone’s question. One in 10 REALTORS® would be able to write a blog. Nine out of 10 should just republish what’s already out there. Spread the word, just don’t write the word. Concentrate on quality distribution of information.
eConnect: NAR’s Member Profile research indicates that REALTORS® on average spent about $240 last year on maintaining their Web sites (a 20-percent drop from 2007). What do you think is a reasonable amount for an agent to spend annually on site maintenance?
Matthew: if you’re really doing a Web site, you should be spending a lot more than that. If they are doing a Web site, I say $1,500 or more when you factor in pay per click and other advertising. And what about the time that you or your assistant are investing in all the updates? You have to factor in all that work. Can someone be successful with Internet marketing by spending just $200? Certainly. It doesn’t cost anything to participate in the Q&A on LinkedIn and social networking.
eConnect: Six in 10 REALTORS® reported having a Web site (90 percent report that their firm has a company Web site). Is there a need, in your opinion, for all REALTORS® to have their own Web site, if their firm has a company site?
Matthew: Having a Web site is meaningless. For most agents, having a quality page on REALTOR.com or their franchise site is more useful. The best way to reach the people is through these free social networking pages, blogs and e-mail. If I type in my own name on Google, my LinkedIn profile and blog, which are both free, are in the top search results.
Most agents have figured out, if their firm has a marketing budget bigger than their marketing budget, the agent has wisely said, “I’ll just let my broker send me the leads.” After all, any fee from the broker is still lower than SEO, pay per click and all of that. An agent can send an e-newsletter or use Facebook. All that is proactive stuff. And having a Web site is reactive. NAR’s research illustrates that agents who are spending $1,000 or more on their Web sites are only getting 10 percent of their business from that.
eConnect: Do you know of some top-notch REALTOR® Web sites that really accomplish all the areas that REALTORS® need to in order to optimize their Web presence?
Matthew: As far as agent Web sites go, Kevin Tomlinson is doing great with his site. The listings include maps, floorplans, a lot of nice photos and video. If you look at the bottom of the page, he has a lot of keywords that will drive his search engine optimization. Also, at the bottom you see he has a marketing firm doing the site for him. And you know it’s not for only $200 a year!
On the homepage, he has his blog, links to Facebook and Twitter and awesome-looking photos. There’s a nice, up-to-date photo of him right up front, so it’s personable. Yes, he has an e-newsletter and YouTube channel. The good thing about this site is that it touches all personality types, whether you are a map person, search person, quick search person, someone who just wants to browse photos and so on.
eConnect: It seems many REALTOR® sites have out-of-date information or old trends, like the lengthy intro animations with the “skip intro” link. Yet, REALTORS® do not seem to want to invest in regular updates to their sites’ look and feel. Are you saying that, for agents who don’t have time to update their sites, no Web site is better than an out-of-date site?
Matthew: That’s right. If you don’t have time to keep an up-to-date Web site, then for any free listings you may have on WCR.org and other sites, just use a link to your Facebook page instead of a Web site. That’s what a REALTOR® can easily update on a regular basis. They are not going to maintain their own Web pages. But Facebook is easy to update, and I would tell most agents to link to that. Of course if you are a broker, you need a Web site. That is critical for your company. But even then, a Web site is for your current clients and should be geared to them.
eConnect: According to NAR’s research, only 35 percent of REALTORS® are using social networking sites for business. The numbers are highest among the younger agents. Seventy-one percent of agents under 30 are using social networking compared to 32 percent of agents 50 to 59 years old. What advice would you give to the more seasoned REALTORS® about joining social networks?
Matthew: It’s important to keep in mind that, although the more seasoned REALTORS® were not into social networking with the early adopters, these Baby Boomers are now the fastest growing demographic embracing the social networking sites. It’s okay if you weren’t on there early, but most REALTORS® need to get on there now. That doesn’t mean that they have to use every site out there. Just start with one or two social networking sites.
I’ve had agents tell me, “my clients have invited me to join them on Facebook. I don’t know if I should do that.” If your customers are inviting you to join Facebook, then definitely do it. Always listen to the customer.
Dianna Kawell is editor of Women’s Council’s eConnect e-newsletter. She specializes in Web content development for associations and small businesses.
Ten Questions with Real Estate Expert Matthew Ferrara
Real estate is becoming an increasingly technology-driven industry. Every day, a typical REALTOR® depends heavily on her laptop, GPS and digital camera to get the job done. For what was long believed to be a face-to-face business, 88 percent of REALTORS® now report using e-mail as the preferred method of communicating with their clients.
However, REALTOR® Web sites may be the one neglected piece of the technology puzzle. Read more…
In one of the cruel ironies of the housing market today, the total number of units sold this year isn’t that far from historically normal volume. According to the National Association of REALTORS, the seasonally adjusted annual rate for sales in May is around 4.77 million – generally trending the pre-bubble long-term volume for a typical year. Some segments continue to decline – such as housing starts – but it makes sense to stop adding more units to the million-plus excess inventory units available already. Clearing the excess inventory remains an important goal for the market. Only when supply and demand level off will prices stabilize. Yet real estate companies find themselves doing the same (or more) work for less results. Even selling historically normal units prevent a revenue decline; and nobody’s picking up “extra” units these days. With median home prices down 30% to around $173,000, volume strategies alone cannot sustain most brokerages. Thankfully, the consumer has provided real estate professionals with a ready-made solution. It’s up to brokers and agents to start selling it. Just like they used to.
On Screen – a periodic “launch” of news, commentary, resources, bloggers and other information you can use to get your week started – from Matthew Ferrara & Company.
In Part 1, we started the countdown towards May 1: The Day After government tax credit subsidies expire for housing purchases. Leading up to that date will be a frenzy of purchases and sales that will make it “look like” the market is bouncing back. But are we kidding ourselves? When the clock strikes twelve, the housing market will fall again – just like it did in December 2009, the month after the tax credits “almost” expired last time. Only this time, it’s going to happen for real – and it will make the 17% December decline look like a blip on the chart of decline. In Part 2, we offer a few suggestions as to how REALTORS can stay in business when the dust settles.
Surprise, surprise: Home sales plummeted in December 2009. Certainly, this isn’t news to the consumer, although housing economists seem to be surprised at how fast and far the month-over-month numbers declined. Now the worry is about a potential second market collapse this year. If the housing market fell nearly 17% the month after the original housing tax credits were supposed to end, what’s going to happen when they really do come to an end? Are REALTORS ready for the Day After?
Each year, as thousands of REALTORS descend upon some unsuspecting city in American, we bring you observations from the event, complete with raised eyebrows of all kinds. This year’s Annual Convention of the National Association of REALTORS in San Diego is no exception: the 14,000 vendors, agents and industry leaders left us with no lack of bizarre, cool, finally and funny observations to share with you. So, without further ado, here goes. Read more…
Ten Questions with Real Estate Expert Matthew Ferrara
In one of the cruel ironies of the housing market today, the total number of units sold this year isn’t that far from historically normal volume. According to the National Association of REALTORS, the seasonally adjusted annual rate for sales in May is around 4.77 million – generally trending the pre-bubble long-term volume for a typical year. Some segments continue to decline – such as housing starts – but it makes sense to stop adding more units to the million-plus excess inventory units available already. Clearing the excess inventory remains an important goal for the market. Only when supply and demand level off will prices stabilize. Yet real estate companies find themselves doing the same (or more) work for less results. Even selling historically normal units prevent a revenue decline; and nobody’s picking up “extra” units these days. With median home prices down 30% to around $173,000, volume strategies alone cannot sustain most brokerages. Thankfully, the consumer has provided real estate professionals with a ready-made solution. It’s up to brokers and agents to start selling it. Just like they used to.
