When considering selling your home, a big question is how do I get the most value out money spent on advertising? This is something that must be done whether a home is sold privately or through a real estate company. There are many options – the internet, magazine, local or regional newspapers, not to mention the new addition on social media. Over the years print media has been the dominant option with potential buyers choosing to read the Property Press at a rate much higher than any other media, (source Massey University Jan 09. Whilst it is interesting to observe surveys, there’s nothing like being out at the coal face doing the open homes to discover where the buyers are really looking.
My observations would reflect a definite increase in online enquiry. This observation has also been reflected in a blog this week by realestate.co.nz who of course are promoting online marketing. Refer to blog. They say the growth of online marketing is steadily overtaking that of print media. They accuse the Herald of banding around old figures to support their reasons for sellers to advertise with them. Online marketing is certainly attracting many buyers as it is up to date, instant and constantly changing.
As part of running an open home it is our job to find out where people first sourced the property. I also find it interesting just casually asking people who are in the market to buy how they do their looking. What I have noticed is there are women looking to buy who are constantly scanning Trade Me and realestate.co.nz for new stock. These women tend to be either working from home or work and are just doing a quick scan in between their other roles. These two websites are the quickest as they pull in all the new listings. Buyers will often say they saw the property on line however that is after they have viewed it in the Property Press.
I believe there is credibility in all types of media, it’s just understanding what works in your local area and what would work for a certain type of home. After all, when you spend money on advertising you want to know your dollars are well spent. That’s where your local real estate professional should be able to advise you. As real estate salespeople this is something we deal with all the time and we learn fairly quickly what does and doesn’t work.
