Chapter 8Online Search, Alerts, and Beyond:Evolving Technology

I. Homebuyers: Taking the Search Online

Online Searches

Most homebuyers say they use the Internet “search” as part of their home research

The Internet has NOT rendered real estate agents obsolete, but has increased business

A. Online Home Searches

□Most agents meet with prospective homebuyers after the buyers have done extensive research online

□Many homebuyers view a home “walkthrough” online, which is a good reason to create “virtual tours” online

□The brick and mortar real estate offices are still thriving□ BRICK AND MORTAR – refers to businesses that have a

physical (rather than virtual or online) presences…in other words, stores that you can drive to and enter physically

B. Brokers and Salespeople – Going Online

□Most California agents say they are using a smartphone with Internet, text, and email in order to better stay in touch with customers

□The majority of the people in the U.S. have smartphones and utilize some form of social media

II. The Three Most Popular Real Estate Brokerage Websites

A. REALTOR.COM®

• Home for sale on realtor.com® span thousands of cities and towns across the U.S. and Canada

• Real estate listings represent over 800 multiple listing services so you get the most accurate and reliable information possible

• MLS data is updated every 15 minutes, making it the most accurate online real estate search engine or search service

B. ZILLOW®□ Zillow has data on over 100 million homes across

the United States, including past sales figures as well

□ It gives value estimates of homes in a given time frame (1yr, 5yr, 10yr)

□ Zillow has expanded its services to include the rental market

C. TRULIA®

□Trulia lists properties for sale and rent as well as neighborhood information and community insights

D. Multiple Listing Services

□Members only

□MLS data is updated every 15 minutes

□The most exclusionary since you must be a member to view listings

III.Aggregation of MLS Real Estate Information

MLS Aggregation

MLS AGGREGATION means the collections of large amounts of seller information from several Multiple Listings Services to post digital listing data and photos online

The aggregation allows the data from neighborhood MLSs to be collected and put onto one site for easier comparison

Agents now list homes directly online, as well as local newspapers and in real estate magazines

Many agents own their own websites

IV. Ownership of Your Real Estate Website

Owning Your Website In a landmark case, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of

Appeals has stated that domain names, despite their virtual nature, should be treated exactly as a “plot of land” would be

V. Real Estate Agents are Still Needed!

Agents Still Needed

The post-market-crash real estate world is more complex and tighter lending standards have made the average transaction harder to navigate without expert help

To adapt and add value, brokerages have scaled back on their office space and more agents now work from home, rather than private cubicles

Since buyers are doing initial online searches, as an agent, you have to spend less time touring them around

VI. Marketing & Advertising Basics

A. Marketing REAL ESTATE MARKETING is the entire process of

communicating the benefit of your real estate service to our customers

TARGET (NICHE) MARKETING – is the ability to select and cultivate a subgroup of people to whom you directly promote your services in a way strategically designed to satisfy their specific needs and preferences

Let customers know you…a good business relationship is built on trust

A BRAND is a name, your name, term, logo, or design that identifies you and your particular service, that differentiates you from your competitors

B. Advertising and Publicity

□ADVERTISING is paid promotion used to encourage and identifies your service to help persuade your buyer or seller to talk to you and discuss how you can help them solve their real estate desires

□PUBLICITY is giving out information about a broker, brokerage, or salesperson using websites, social medias, blogs, new media and even newspaper articles

□PUBLIC RELATIONS (PR) is unpaid communication and relationships with various public audiences

VII. Realtors®

VIII. “Homebuyer” Advertising Statistics

The 6 Most Used Advertising Sources by Buyers

IX. Real Estate Online Search

Using Online Searches

□According to Google, the average homebuyer performs eleven searches online before action is taken

□Buyers use search engines and general websites to make searches on homes

□Using mobile apps such as Google Maps online, allows buyers to see the exact location and view the street and surrounding areas to the prospective homes

X. Owners: Get Loans, Refinance With Lenders Online

A. Home Loan Products

B. Direct-To-Lender Loans Online

□LendingTree® home loan process:

□Quicken Loans® is the largest online retail mortgage lender

□Greenlight Loans® is a mortgage lender that is HUD and FHA approved

XI. The Internet Real Estate Office

A. Traditional Office Methods

• Listing Presentation –• Take a picture of the potential client’s home and input

it into your computer so you have a visual to show them in your listing presentation

• Have a hard copy of a Comparative Market Analysis to show currently sold properties and what they sold for

B. Technological Advances Are Fast Moving

□Realor.com has an APP called Keynote for Listing Presentations that allows you to download information to your iCloud account

□You can store your presentation on your mobile device

C. Listing Syndications

□A LISTING SYNDICATION is the process of getting the listing’s information displayed on numerous other websites around the internet

□The MLS syndicates (shares) new listing information with several other sites like Realtor.com, Zillow, and Trulia

D. Alert Notifications□Auto Email Alerts are a great way to work with potential

buyers

□Help potential buyers fill out an MLS “wish list” for their dream property…they will be notified is such a house listing appears in the next month or so

Open Houses

□When holding an open house, you can use a number of different downloadable APPS and programs to help you keep track of potential buyers and sellers as well as create a “contact list”

□Add a Property Address “Domain Name (URL)” to your Yard Sign

□Hire a Company to Do All Your Address Domain Hosting

XII. Social Media Possibilities

Social Media□Social Media is the most effective way to practice

inbound marketing

□Nielsen studies have found that social networks occupy the bulk of consumer’s online time

□Internet users spend three times as much time on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as on any other sites

□Social media users are NOT just talking with their friends; they are making decisions about how to spend their money

Social Media Sites□FACEBOOK – use Facebook to reach your target market

by creating targeted ads

□TWITTER – use “tweets” for a new listing

□PINTEREST – is a virtual bulletin board where you can “pin” images or videos of listings

□LINKEDIN – has changed how professionals do business giving you the ability to “link” to your website, blog, etc

Your Brokerage Websites□Your brokerage needs to maintain a presence on the Internet,

making it easy to find and contact you

□Listings must be updated constantly as well as sold items listed to show clients of your success rate

□Be sure your phone number is prominent on the first page so clients can contact your easily

□A QUICK RESPONSE (QR) CODE – is a type of barcode that consists of black modules arranged in a square grid on a white background, which can be read by an imaging device and processed

Social Media Sites□FACEBOOK – use Facebook to reach your target market

by creating targeted ads

□TWITTER – use “tweets” for a new listing

□PINTEREST – is a virtual bulletin board where you can “pin” images or videos of listings

□LINKEDIN – has changed how professionals do business giving you the ability to “link” to your website, blog, etc

XIII. 6 Steps to Successful Real Estate Marketing on the Internet

Six Steps1. Own Your Website Domain Name or Suffix Realtor

2. Increase Your Internet Presence

3. Integrate Traditional with Internet Marketing Techniques

4. Use the Web for Your Listing Presentation

5. Keep Up with the Times

6. Keep It Personal As Well

XIV. Niche Marketing Opportunities

Niches1. Divorcing Couples

2. 1 to 4 Unit Zoning

3. Military-Related Services

4. Land Expert

5. Large Condo Complexes

6. Luxury Properties

7. Urban Living Specialist

XV. Marketing Demographics

Demographics

1. Baby Boomers – old school

2. Millennials – tech savvy