A new report just released by Inman News details how home buyers ultimately find their new home. The results are not surprising:
- 36% of all home buyers found the home they purchased through their real estate agent
- 36% of all home buyers found the home they purchased on the internet
Just with the two items above, a whopping 72% of all recent home buyers found their new home through their agent or through their online searches. Ninety percent of all recent buyers did utilize the internet to look at available homes and assist themselves in their home search process.
Agents often ask why I market so extensively online. I do so because I want my clients' homes to sell. I want those 90% of internet searches to see MY clients' homes.
Some agents ask why I also market to my colleagues. Again, I do so because I want my clients' homes to sell.
The report continues:
- 12% of all home buyers found the home they purchased from a yard sign.
- 6% of all home buyers found the home they purchased through a friend, neighbor or relative
Don't want a For Sale Sign in your front yard? You may have potentially lost out on 12% of the potential buyers.
The photo postcard mailing I send to your neighbors helps us capture an additional 6% of potential buyers for your home.
We've now tackled 90% of the market of potential buyers for your home. Most buyers are now aware of your home.
Where do print ads come in to play? Only 2% of buyers located their new home through a print ad.
How about open houses? Not even listed on the report, as while many buyers do visit open houses, they do not typically locate their via these open houses.
So, as agents, where should we focus our time, money and efforts?
I focus my efforts on those 90% of buyers.
If you're selling your home, make sure all efforts are focused on these 90% of buyers. The odds of selling will be in your favor
Don Fabrizio-Garcia, REALTOR
Real Estate Broker & Appraiser
Nationwide Realty
203.746.1199
www.FabRealEstate.com
Interesting statistics. I didn't realize the print ads and Open Houses were so low on the list. It is amazing that Realtors are still spending money on print advertising and giving up time on the weekends for Open Houses. Is it just to keep the sellers happy?
Yes, many agents do print ads to keep sellers happy. Others do print ads because that is what they have always done. I dropped print ads years ago, as they just do not sell homes.
As for open houses, they also do not sell the homes, but they can be a good resource for agents to meet new buyers - who they may sell other homes to. Some sellers still want open houses, but many now realize it is not worth the effort to vacate their home for several hours for an even that most likely will not be the cause of the sale.
I'm fairly new to the business (coupla years now) and my brokerage just changed its name so we do print ads to put our name in front of consumers perhaps more so than to sell the homes advertised. Same goes for open houses to a certain extent.
Otherwise, I couldn't agree more about concentrating your efforts where the buyers are.
Do you have a link to the article? I couldn't find it on Inman.
Julia - The Inman articles are only available for one day, unless you're a paying member.
Print ads can certainly help with branding and name recognition, but they really do not sell houses.