For BuyersFor SellersMarket StatisticsReal EstateSeattle real estateWindermere Real Estate May 27, 2010

Do You Want to List Your Home or Get It Sold?

“Can I start out pricing my home higher and then come down in price?” This is one of the most common questions I get asked by people planning to sell their home.

Statistics from March Seattle-eastside home sales show a home will sell faster and for a better price if priced correctly to start.  Overpricing a home can result in a longer market time and a lower price.

Getting Your Home Sold

Moving Your Home From "For Sale" to Sold

So do you want to start with a higher asking price and come down? If you’re serious about selling your home, price it right, otherwise you risk putting a “for sale” sign in your yard, but not selling your home.

What do you think?

Real Estate Opinion February 5, 2010

Have You Sent Thank You Notes to Your Buyers and Sellers This Week?

I’ve received about half a dozen thank you notes from stores and services in the two dozen years I’ve been in Seattle.  I can tell you who sent me each note.  Because there have been so few, I remember who sent them.  I got to thinking about personal notes, and the lack thereof,  because I just received a hand written note from a Bellevue patio furniture store, Summer House.  Not only does the store have great products to sell,  they have great customer service with a nice personal touch.

The note reminded me that people, businesses, and the service industry need to combine the personal touch with the online world.  When business people, including Realtors,  jump on the blogging/Facebook/Twitter/Linked In train, they need to take the traditional marketing tools, the traditional ways to communicate, on board with them.

When was the last time you received a personal note from a business?  I bet you remember, simply because they are so few and far between. More importantly for growing your business, when was the last time you sent a personal note to a past, present or future client?

Home buyers and sellers are having a difficult time right now, even though the Seattle area real estate market is so much better than 2009.  It’s still a lot of work in today’s market.  It can be fun, wonderful, and scary to be either a buyer or seller.  So thank your buyers and your sellers for making a move and making that move with you.

I’m giving a talk about blogging at my Windermere office meeting this Monday and I just found one of my key points here.  To be a successful business person/Realtor it takes a combination of traditional marketing with its personal handwritten notes, mailings,  client parties, or whatever works for you, with an online marketing strategy.  Marketing and communication should combine the best of the traditional means with the best of the online avenues to work successfully in today’s real estate market.