LESLIE MONACO REAL ESTATE

Real Estate Term of the Day: Exposure

EXPOSURE (MARKET) – the advertising, whether free or paid, of property that is for sale (Barron’s Dictionary of Real Estate Terms)

One of the greatest benefits of working with a local REALTOR® is the amount of exposure that your home will have.  Below are some interesting stats from the National Association of REALTORS® that showcase the importance of exposing your home properly*:

1. Eighty-nine percent of buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker—a share that has steadily increased from 69 percent in 2001. (Real estate agents use shared data for active listings through local MLS systems.  If your home is not listed in your local MLS, the chances of buyers & their agent’s finding your home is reduced significantly)
2. The use of the Internet in the home search dipped slightly to 88 percent from a high of 90 percent in 2009 as the demographics of home buyers shifted to slightly older repeat buyers from younger first-time buyers. (When you hire a local REALTOR®, it is imperative to ask them if they have a marketing plan that is geared towards the internet; the most effective marketing plans will use a combination of internet & print marketing to accurately showcase your home)
3. Ninety-two percent of sellers reported that their home was listed or advertised on the internet. (If 88% of home buyers are looking online, don’t you want to be there too?)
4. The typical FSBO (For Sale By Owner) home sold for $150,000 compared to $215,000 among agent-assisted home sales. (WOW!)
5. The internet and real estate agents have remained the two highest-ranking sources by usefulness consistently for several years, however, real estate agents are ranked the most useful resource. Eighty-three percent of buyers ranked the real estate agent a very useful source and 16 percent ranked the agent somewhat useful. Ninety-seven percent of buyers ranked the internet at least somewhat useful.
6. To find their home, 88 percent use the Internet, 87 percent use real estate agents, 55 percent yard signs, 45 percent attend open houses and 30 percent review print or newspaper ads.
7. Local metropolitan multiple listing service websites were the most popular Internet resource, used by 56 percent of buyers; followed by real estate agent websites, 46 percent; Realtor.com, 45 percent; real estate company sites, 40 percent; other websites with real estate listings, 38 percent; and for-sale-by-owner sites, 14 percent; other categories were notably smaller.
8. For-sale-by-owner transactions accounted for only 10 percent of sales, above the record-low 9 percent in the 2010 study, but well below the record high of 20 percent set in 1987. The share of homes sold without professional representation has trended lower since last reaching a cyclical peak, which was 18 percent in 1997.
9. Unassisted sellers were much more likely to be selling a smaller home, and they were more likely to be in an urban or central city area. The most difficult tasks reported by unrepresented sellers are attracting potential buyers, getting the right price, and understanding and completing paperwork.

Let the above facts speak for themselves as to the importance of proper market exposure for your listing.  Want to learn how I can expose your home to the market? Contact me today to discuss our comprehensive marketing plan and create a realistic approach to selling your home in 2012!

*source: NAR Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers 2011 & AGBeat 2011 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers – 33 facts every Realtor should know