Your broker’s marketing efforts and considerations will include advertising, showing the property, how long the house has been on the market and whether you’re buying another home.

Your home should be listed, whenever possible, in the local Multiple Listing Service and on REALTOR.com, which has the largest online database of homes and virtually 100% of potential buyers who look for property on the Internet.

Advertising

The REALTOR’S® largest expense has traditionally been classified advertising in the local  newspaper. However, today properties are also exposed through popular Internet home search/listing services, radio and television promotions, and real estate guides. Even with all these additional advertising avenues, “For Sale” signs on the front lawn are still remarkably effective. Many  REALTORS® use brochure boxes along with these signs to market the property. When appropriate, and with your permission, your agent may send a mailing about your property to neighbors. Sometimes one of them has “a friend or relative who always wanted to live near me.” You never know.

Showings and open houses

To prepare your home for viewing, make it as light, cheerful and serene as possible. Your REALTOR® will probably find a tactful way to suggest that you not be present while the house is being shown to prospective buyers. This is done because your presence will inhibit their actions and conversations. They won’t feel free to open closets and cabinets, test out the plumbing, and discuss their observations objectively as they walk through. It goes without saying that your children and pets should not be on the premises either. If your REALTOR® has scheduled an open house, you may want to notify the neighbors, and assure them that they’ll be welcome. They’ll jump at the chance to poke around in your house, and sometimes they can turn up a buyer among their friends. In preparing for an open house, you should:

• Pull the drapes back

• Light lamps

• Simmer a few drops of vanilla on the stove

• Light your fi replace

• Set the dining room or kitchen table if you have particularly nice linen or china

• Put fresh towels in the bathroom

• Leave the house so your REALTOR® is free to deal with prospective buyers in a professional manner.

• TIP: When preparing your home, think about the techniques that are used to show builders’ model homes.

Who can help?

Experienced REALTORS® are active in the local marketplace and can provide assistance with pricing, marketing, negotiation and closing. Because experienced REALTORS® have handled many transactions, they’re familiar with the terms and conditions that went into individual sales, not just published sale prices which may not refl ect various premiums, discounts and adjustments.

What Is a REALTOR®?

What a REALTOR® Can Do for You

A real estate agent is a REALTOR® when he or she is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, The Voice for Real Estate® — the world’s largest professional association.

The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.  Founded in 1908, NAR has grown from its original nucleus of 120 to today’s 720,000 members. NAR is composed of residential and commercial REALTORS®, who are brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, counselors and others engaged in all aspects of the real estate industry. Members belong to one or more of some 1,700 local associations/boards and 54 state and territory associations of REALTORS®. They can join one of our many institutes, societies and councils. Additionally, NAR offers members the opportunity to be active in our appraisal and international real estate specialty sections. REALTORS® are pledged to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Working for America’s property owners, the National Association provides a facility for professional development, research and exchange of information among its members and to the public and government for the purpose of preserving the free enterprise system and the right to own real property. The REALTOR® you work with could be one of your most valuable resources. Unlike many real estate agents who are simply licensed by their state to do business, REALTORS® have taken additional steps to become members of the local board of REALTORS® and have agreed to act under and adhere to a strict Code of Ethics. Plus…

A REALTOR® can help you determine how much home you can afford. Often a REALTOR® can suggest ways to accrue the down payment and explain alternative financing methods.

A REALTOR®, in addition to knowing the local money market, also can tell you what personal and financial data to bring with you when you apply for a loan. A REALTOR® is already familiar with current real estate values, taxes, utility costs, municipal services and facilities, and may be aware of local zoning changes that could affect your decision to buy. A REALTOR® can usually research your housing needs in advance through a Multiple Listing Service–even if you are relocating from another city. A REALTOR® can show you only those homes best suited to your needs–size, style, features, location, accessibility to schools, transportation, shopping and other personal preferences.

A REALTOR® often can suggest simple, imaginative changes that make a home more suitable for you and improve its utility and value. A REALTOR® is sensitive to the importance you place on this major commitment you are about to make. Look for a real estate professional to facilitate negotiation of a win-win agreement that will satisfy both you and the seller.

Step 4 of 7 – Step 4: Market It

If you bought a car, you could purchase a given model with selected features from any dealer. Since the car comes rom one assembly plant, it’s going to be the same whether purchased from dealer Smith or dealer Jones. Homes are different. Each is unique, the marketplace is always in fl ux, interest rates constantly change and new buyers search for homes each day. With such fl uidity, it requires REALTORS® to craft marketing plans specifi cally for individual homes and market conditions. Selling can entail a variety of marketing strategies. Once listed, it’s likely that the home will be quickly entered into the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and placed on REALTOR.com®. REALTORS® routinely market by mail with new-listing announcements and regular newsletters. Open houses, broker access to the home via the use of a lock box and networking with both local and out-of-town brokers are also common.

Much of a broker’s work will be quiet and unseen — yet important. The quiet telephone calls, the work with contacts, the follow-ups with open-house visitors, conversations with ad respondents, the web postings and other outreach efforts are all part of the process required to sell homes.

Experienced REALTORS® base their marketing efforts on previous transactions and ongoing research. For instance, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 37 percent of all buyers check the Internet. NAR numbers also show that most households move within 10 miles of their current location while 20 percent move at least 50 miles.

How to market your home.

If you look at a typical transaction you can see that there are fi ve general areas where REALTORS® can assist in the home-selling process.

• Preparation: Before being placed on the market, homes must be in “show” condition. REALTORS® can explain what repairs and upgrades are required for individual homes which are most likely to produce the best results.

• Pricing: Brokers do more than price homes for sale, they also construct sale terms designed to speed the selling process. It may be, for example, that a home priced at $150,000 with a 2 percent seller credit to the buyer at closing will be far more attractive to purchasers than a home priced at $147,000. Why? That 2 percent credit is worth $3,000 to the purchaser at closing — the time when buyers are most likely strapped for cash.

• Marketing: REALTORS® will execute strategies and programs to get the home sold. Typically this includes placement on the local MLS and Realtor.com as well as related marketing, advertising and networking.

• Negotiation: REALTORS® assist owners in the bargaining process, offering advice and counsel as offers are received and by working closely with legal counsel, tax specialists and inspectors as required.

• Closing: Once a contract for the purchase of a home has been accepted, a series of inspections and checks are typically required to satisfy buyers and lenders. REALTORS® can help owners complete the transaction process by assisting with the many requirements found in a typical sale agreement.

How to hold an open house.

There are no universal marketing standards for real estate because marketplaces are localized. For instance, open houses may be common in some communities but rarely used in others.

In the case of an open house, a REALTOR® typically advertises that the home will be open for a given period (2-5 p.m. on Sunday). During the open period, the REALTOR® hosts the home while the owners leave for a few hours. At the open house, the REALTOR® will provide literature, maintain a visitor log and answer questions. By interacting with visitors, the REALTOR® will seek feedback regarding the home and opportunities to follow up with prospective purchasers.

How do you show your home online?

The Internet is an important factor in real estate marketing and will likely become more important in the future. The Internet has two important roles in the real estate selling process. First, it is a “place” to view real estate. Realtor.com, for example, lists about 1.4 million homes, the largest group of homes online or off. Individual REALTORS® also maintain thousands of localized sites while professional

groups and, likewise, industry organizations, have an online presence. Online real estate information includes not only home listings, but numerous additional features and benefi ts. For instance, Homestore®

offers neighborhood information, school data, recent home sale prices,video tours, model forms, real estate news and consumer information. Equally important, the Internet offers new communication media. E-mail and instant messaging give REALTORS® and consumers more opportunities to keep in touch. As the Internet evolves, more technologies and techniques will be introduced to make transactions easier and more efficient.