Arlington Va Realtors
Arlington Va Realtors have to be up to the task in 2010. As homeowners in Arlington start to get their heads above water this is going to be the year where homeowners start to seriously consider selling to upgrade or downsize. They are going to be looking for a Realtor that is up to the job and can help them get top dollar for their real estate investment.
Meanwhile, many Arlington Va Realtors have been hibernating. Between the chilly economic climate and housing downturn, Realtors have cut back on marketing themselves and the tools they use to promote homes they are supposed to be selling. You may have noticed a reduction in the junk mail you receive from Arlington Realtors. It’s not because they have all gone green.
You can see from the charts below that there are fewer homes for sale in Arlington, but the number days properties stay on market continues to rise. You would expect that low housing inventory would actually have the opposite affect on the number of days it takes to sell a home in Arlington. Maybe it’s time that Realtors stop blaming the market and start looking at what they can do to help sell homes quicker before perceived values start to erode.
The good news is that the challenging market has encouraged a new generation of hungry, innovative Realtors in Arlington Va. This new generation of Arlington Va Realtors understand the changing face of home buyers, how to leverage technology to maximize exposure of homes they are selling and they continually educate themselves allowing for a consultative approach towards local real estate.
According to a recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) report:
- 47% of recent home buyers were first-time buyers.
- The typical first-time home buyer was 30 years old, while the typical repeat buyer was 48 years old.
- The largest segment of home buyers were between the age of 25-34 with a household income of between $100,000 and $124,999.
- 90% of home buyers use the Internet to search for homes, up 30 percent during the past 6 years.
- Around 60% of buyers were also likely to walk through homes view on line.
In summary, home buyers are getting younger, earning larger salaries and using technology to find their next home. They have better things to do than waste countless weekends kicking tires at open houses. They are empowered by iPhone apps, social media networks and websites that share all the previously guarded secrets.
If the marketing plan for selling your home heavily emphasizes a sign out front, glossy brochures and a calendar full of open houses then you may have found a Realtor rich with time but short on ideas for reaching serious buyers. Of course any marketing plan works if the home is priced cheap enough, but who needs a marketing professional if you are going to give the home away. Here are some questions to ask the Arlington Va Realtors you are considering:
- Do you plan to use a staging professional to prepare my home for sale?
- How many professional quality photos do you plan to use in your marketing material?
- Who is my target market and what are we doing to reach them?
- Who are the most active buyers agents in Arlington and how will you reach out to them?
- Will my listing receive premiere placement on Realtor.com, Trulia and Zillow?
- How often will my listing be posted on Craigslist?
- Will I receive real-time feedback reports from agents showing my home?
- What is your social media marketing plan?
- Will my listing be featured on your website and how people visit that website a month?
- Will smartphone users be able to find my listing?
- Are there any green upgrades I should consider before putting my home on the market?
- What aspects of my neighborhood and the surrounding area do you plan to emphasize?
- How many homes have you sold as a direct result of open houses in the past 12 months?
Before investing in a Realtor to help you sell your home we recommend interviewing at least three Arlington Va Realtors. Ask them the same questions and see how they compare.
I caution against defaulting to the “neighborhood expert”. If the so called neighborhood expert has such a large draw of buyers then maybe it makes sense to offer them a commission if they bring a buyer to the transaction. Alternatively, if they are representing you as the listing agent how are they going to bring a buyer and then negotiate aggressively for two opposing sides? It’s impossible. This situation called “dual agency” erodes trust and leaves you hanging to fend for yourself.
I hope you find this information helpful. If you have any questions or are looking for a 3rd Arlington Realtor to interview, please let us know.
You are welcome to take advantage of our free service that keeps Arlington home owners up-to-date on recent sales. It’s called the Home Value Report.
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