Real Estate Marketing Trends
The Hamilton market has started the year with much better enquiry than the same period last year. There are also some particularly evident trends emerging in the process that buyers are using to find property. These changes are particularly important for sellers to understand to give themselves the best possible opportunity to market their home in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
The first trend we have noticed is that buyers are far more informed than ever before when enquiring about a property. Largely due to the significance of the internet buyers now have far more access to information than ever before. They are therefore undertaking more research before contacting a salesperson. Not only are they interested in learning about the property itself they are also interested in the neighbourhood and surrounding values. Suburb profiles are draw-cards for them as are neighbourhood metrics. The more information they can glean about a property the more likely they will confidently enquire about it.
Secondly, the internet is only one source of information. Buyers use a combination of new technology with old style browsing. Lodge has well over 1000 buyers who everyday receive an email alerting them to properties which are new to the market which meet their search criteria. This service is ultra convenient for active buyers. However, our research has shown that properties that have large newspaper ads get a spike in internet viewings in the week after the ad runs. This shows that firstly there are a number of active buyers who still use the newspaper. Secondly it highlights to us that there is a significant number of buyers who are not ‘active’ but are motivated into action when casually browsing the property section of the newspaper. Hence, in this hi-tech world newspaper advertising is still a very important source of enquiry.
The third trend is linked to the lack of time people have today. In a world where often both couples are working convenience and the desire to save time has become a dominant benefit. Tools such as the Lodge open home map or internet tools whereby a custom built open home map can be constructed and optimum route plotted are a necessity for buyers with the means to buy but limited time to look.
Salespeople report that these three trends are having a significant impact on the process that buyers are going through. The buying process is an evolutionary one. Technology is improving the real estate experience for both buyers and sellers. However, it is important to understand the tools that buyers value in order to place your property on their map.
January 21 2011 02:55 pm | Uncategorized