ATTENTION HOMESELLERS!

WHERE DO BUYERS COME FROM?

OR

WHY DO REALTORS SPEND HUGE DOLLARS IN THE NEWSPAPER?

A recent AP story (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20025015/) highlights the trend of real estate advertising away from print and classified advertising in newspapers. This comes as no suprise to those of us at Keller Williams but I know it may be a shocker to sellers in the local market.

Full page real estate print ad's in the Sunday paper sure look nice and provide sellers with an insurance policy, but the truth is the printed "BLING" does little to actual sell houses. In fact it is little more than comfort food for sellers. They open the paper and feel comforted to know that their Realtor is doing everything they can to sell their home.

The truth is sellers need to start ordering their comfort food from a different menu and the menu is the internet. Statistics show that more than 80% of buyers begin and continue their home search online. Yes, that's 80%. Sellers, the big question you need to ask your Realtor is, "What is your internet strategy and how will the internet sell my house?"

For those sellers that take comfort in opening the Sunday paper to see a photo of your residence, I would hope that photo doesn't lead to a nasty case of indigestion and an unsold home.

Of course, cutting edge Realtors interested in selling homes quickly will be spending advertising dollars in places where the buyers will be spending their time; online. So, don't be too concerned when you open the Sunday CDT and you don't see a full page ad sponsored by Tim Rogers or Keller Williams. Rest assured that we are ahead of the trend and we are selling houses on the internet.

We will leave the printed indigestion to the competition.