Don’t Tell your Buyers the Address of the Home!

Monday, June 23, 2008

When I started in real estate many years ago, a top producing agent warned me to never tell a buyer the address of a property until the buyer was in my car or I may lose him/her to another agent.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Often (although less so lately) a real estate agent will ask me, “If my clients go on the Internet and learn about all the homes for sale in their area why would they need me?”  My answer to the agent is always, “Well, if you feel that way then you are right!”

Saying that “123 Main Street is for sale at $500,000” or “It has a lovely kitchen” is not much value added.  Heck, my 9 year old boy can do that!  What they want from an agent is local market knowledge such as:

• Is this a good price?
• Is this a good location?
• What inspections should I get?
• What do you think about the other agent?
• What do you think about the home?

Whether an agent likes it or not, home buyers and sellers want and will get access to real estate data.  That’s a good thing.  Combining trusted data with the advice of a knowledgeable agent gets buyers and sellers to make easier decisions.

Buyers and sellers Consider the Internet an Ally.  So do smart agents.

Real Estate – The Ultimate Social Network?

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

“Social Networking” is today’s hot Internet space. Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and LinkedIn are all evidence of excitement around the fostering of information exchange and relationships via online applications. In fact, Microsoft’s recent investment in Facebook valued the site at $15 billion!

Yet (with the possible exception of Linkedin), the usage of these sites seems far more casual than business critical with sustainable revenue models being highly elusive.

No business relies more on social networking for its success than real estate sales. Realtors, homebuyers, homesellers, title companies, lenders, movers, inspectors and a myriad of other service providers must be well connected with one another in order to successfully complete a real estate transaction. Still, in sharp contrast with the above mentioned social networking sites, real estate is intensely local.  As a real estate broker or homebuyer in San Francisco, I really don’t care about the Houston real estate market or who’s the best home inspector in Denver.  Several excellent sites such as Activerain, Zolve and Trulia Voices miss this tight local distinction, and while providing good information, have little involvement with actual real estate transactions.

Agents, homebuyers, homesellers and real estate service providers all have a tremendous amount of money and emotion tied up in their local real estate social network. This interdependence continues long after the sale is closed. At the core of this network is the agent-to-agent and agent-to-client relationship.  Enhancing this core is what CleanOffer does best.

Real estate is not a national social network but rather thousands of smaller local networks involving people who know each other and are doing actual business together. 

Stay tuned for some exciting news from CleanOffer!