According to the recently released 2008 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 87% of buyers used the Internet in searching for homes which is no small number.

The survey also revealed where buyers first learned about the home they purchased. With 34% of the buyers saying real estate agent, 32% the Internet, 15% yard signs, 7% saying from friend, relative, or neighbor, 7% from home builders, 3% from a print or newspaper ad, 2% directly from the seller, and 1% saying a home book or magazine.

No real surprise in the survey as to where buyers are searching for homes. Buyers are on the Internet. And due to the large number of real estate websites, buyers are searching for homes not on one but several real estate websites. 

A strong online marketing presence is crucial to exposing your home to potential buyers.  Because the days of placing a sign in the yard, taking a few photos, and sticking the listing in the local MLS are gone. They are antiquated methods and NOT effective in selling homes.  

If you are interested in having your Spring Texas home’s listing where the buyers are, give me a call at 281.804.8626. I will be happy to share with you my marketing strategy which includes having your home’s listing on a smorgasbord of real estate websites.

Including the real estate sites of Realtor.com, Yahoo.com, MSN.com, AOL.com, Zillow.com, Trulia.com, Homes.com, Move.com, HAR.com, Homescapes.com, Google Base, Frontdoor.com, Roost.com, Hotpads.com, Vast.com, Geebo.com, OLX.com, Craigslist.com, Oodle.com, Frontdoor.com, Houston.org, Homestore.com, Prudentialproperties.com, Prudential.com, Activerain.com, Localism.com, Garygreene.com and other real estate sites. 

You probably have not heard of the majority of these websites, but the buyers have. And when you are selling your home you need to be where the buyers are.  

Read also:

• More photos = more money when selling Spring Texas homes
• All real estate sites have the same listings - True or False?

The topic for this post “Spring Texas home sellers missed opportunities” is courtesy of my husband, working partner, and fellow Prudential Gary Greene, Realtor, Rick Ratchford. Rick is an exclusive Buyers Agent meaning he only represents buyers and not sellers. I on the other hand represent both buyers and sellers but that’s a topic for a different post.

In his role as a buyer’s agent, Rick has in length discussions with buyers about their desires and needs in a home. He sets up an automatic email notification based upon specified home criteria for his buyers. So his buyers will be notified when a new home matching their criteria is added to the real estate market.

How does all this automatic email notification of new listings to potential buyers translate into missed opportunities for Spring Texas home sellers? 

Its in the photos or in this case should I say lack of photos. Far too many times to count, Rick has seen email notification of new listings contain ZERO, ZILCH, NADA photos. Buyers purchase with their eyes. They do not write down the MLS number of the new listing and go search for it every day just to see if the listing agent has finally added photos.

Spring Texas home sellers you only have ONE opportunity to capitialize on pent up demand. If your listing agent is not on top of her / his game its gone. NO PHOTO AVAILABLE = NO SALE

If you are interested in purchasing a Spring Texas home, contact Rick at 281.300.3141 and he will set up an automatic email notification for you. You will then be one of the first to know when a new home is added to the market that matches exactly what you are looking for.

Read also:

• 4 Reasons to get pre-approved before shopping for your Spring Texas home
• Spring Texas home search - Not all sites are created equal
• How to get the best deal on your Spring Texas home purchase

If you are interested in selling a Spring Texas home, contact Jill at 281.804.8626. She will make sure that you do not miss out on pent up demand.

Read also:

• Selling your Spring Texas home - 9 mistakes to avoid
• When selling Spring Texas homes - more photos = more money

Yesterday I was at a closing with my buyers who were purchasing a Spring Texas home when a discussion arose about a St. Joseph statue that the sellers had buried in the front yard.  The sellers believed that if you want to sell your home, you bury a St. Joseph statue in the yard, say a prayer, and before you know it the house will be SOLD. 

Now for a little background on the sellers home, it had been on the market for 270 days which is 3X longer than the average days on market for Spring Texas homes. Its initial list price was $233,000.  During the 270 days it was on the market it had been reduced three times. When my buyers and I viewed the home it was on the market for $194,500 or 16.5% less than its original list price.

The home was built in 1984 and although it had some recent updates of flooring in a couple of rooms and new kitchen counter tops and backsplash its window treatments and wallpaper dated the house. The house showed dark because of the heavy window treatments and the upstairs carpet was severely in need of stretching. I almost forgot to mention the blue carpeting on the stairs and in the upstairs gameroom.

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WARNING …. WARNING …. Overpricing your Spring Texas homes is a bad strategy.  I use the word overpricing but home sellers use the phrase “Testing the Market”.  No matter what you call “it” the end result for you sellers is less money for your home.

Why? ………..

 What’s wrong with “Testing the Market“? ……  Testing the Market will bring you

Less Showings: Buyers are beginning their shopping and we should say comparison shopping for homes online. They are comparing the value of your home to others based upon the photos and price. All of this even before they step inside. Bottom line if buyers think your home is overpriced they are not even going to make an appointment to view it.  Read More »

The real estate industry like other industries has its fair share of abbreviations. And I would have to say that I am just as guilty as the next Spring Texas Realtor in using real estate abbreviations in my correspondence. I throw them around assuming that everyone knows exactly what they mean.

So what does MLS, CMA, LP, SP, DOM, A, OP, P, PS mean?

MLS - Multiple Listing Service: A database that contains information on property listings. In the listing agreement it will identify whether the broker will or will NOT file the listing with a MLS. The local MLS for an area typically has the most comprehensive database of listings.

CMA - Comparative Market Analysis: An impartial evaluation of market activity and is used to estimate the potential selling price of a Spring Texas home.

LP - List Price: The dollar figure at which the property is listed for sale.   Read More »

In the Spring Texas real estate market, buyers and sellers alike are often confused about the differences between market value, appraised value, and tax appraised value. 

So let’s first start by tackling market value. The market value of a home is how much a ready, willing, and able buyer is willing to pay for the home.

The appraised value of a home is the value determined by an appraiser. If you are a buyer financing the purchase of a Spring Texas home, your lender may require the property to be appraised by an appraiser. The appraiser works for the lender and his job is to determine if the value of the home is equal to or greater than the amount that you are financing.

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Have you ever heard the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”?  Well, nowhere is it more true than in the listing photos of Spring Texas homes. Simply put more photos and more quality photos will translate into you selling your home for more money.

Just how important are additional photos?  According to a Realtor.com survey online listings with at least six photos are viewed 300% more than other listings. 300% …. NOT 10% but 300%. Now that’s pretty powerful.

With 84% of the buyers using the Internet to search for homes, 300% more exposure to these potential buyers translates into more interest, a faster sell, and more money.

Read also: How do buyers find the Spring Texas home they purchase

But its NOT just quantity of photos that will drive buyers interest in your Spring Texas home but also the quality of the photos. Good quality photos will seduce buyers to fall in LOVE with your home even before they enter the door. Read More »

Attention all Spring Texas home sellers: How secure are your homes?  As a seller, you probably have reservations about letting buyers and their Realtors who you know NOTHING about view your home. 

But buyers are NOT going to submit an offer till they actually view your home. So you have to provide them with easy access. And you can’t stay in the home during the showings because then the potential buyers don’t feel comfortable.

So what can you do to secure your Spring Texas homes and their possessions while they are on the market?  

Prevention:

• Secure the valuables - Remove temptation. Now is not the time to be displaying your priceless coin or baseball collections. Not only are they a temptation but they are also a distraction to potenial buyers. Read More »

If you are a Spring Texas home seller, you better be ready to compete against new construction homes for buyers. Because in and around the Spring Texas area, buyers have numerous new construction options.

How do you compete?  

Better Pricing - New home builders are luring in buyers with huge discounts, financing incentives, flat screen TVs, and furniture gift cards. Now you don’t have to give the buyers your TV to get your house sold. But you need to have it priced right to attract the buyers. They will be comparing your home against others they view and they won’t make offers on over-priced homes.

Excellent Condition - The builders inventory homes are NEW. They do not have worn out carpet, outdated light fixtures, loud paint colors, grout that needs a deep cleaning, or sidewalks that could use power washing. The builders homes sparkle and so should yours.

Read Also: Top 30 things to do before putting your home on the market

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