Advertising:

When a Realtor comes to your home with the anticipation of listing it for sale, they have a company portfolio all laid out on why they represent the company who should list your home. Included in this portfolio is a list of all the publications where they advertise. This generally includes newspapers, local real estate publications, or in the case of larger companies, their own weekly publication.

If the truth be known, media advertising has very little to do with selling your home. On the average less than 5 out of every 100 inquiry calls received in a real estate office actually comes from an advertisement that someone saw in a newspaper.  If there is such a low return on this expenditure of funds, why do it?

The Homeowner expects it - they like to see their home in print.

The Sales Associates demand it - In some cases they even compare notes as to which company has the largest ad.

It's good for business - it's all about name recognition, i,e. getting the public to think they are doing more than anyone else to get homes sold.

Open Houses - This is one area where media advertising is very important. Since many condominium and townhouse developments do not allow for sale signs, it is important to let the public know they are available. Most Realtors have open house on Sunday afternoon, thus advertise in the Sunday real estate section of the newspaper. My experience has been that many people attending open houses have a copy of the ad with them when they tour the home.

Local Television:

Several years ago, before the Internet, some local television stations would present a community bulletin board which displayed a video selection of homes for sale in their community area. The idea was that people who were looking for a home would select this channel and see if there was anything for sale that they would be interested in. This program would generally run late in the evening on selected nights and each home would be displayed about 5 seconds. Depending upon how many ads they were displaying and the time allotted, the series may repeat. It turns out only two people watched the program; the Listing Agent to make sure their ad was being shown and the homeowner so they could see their home on television. In the three years my company participated in this program, not one lead or inquiry was received as a result of this expensive advertising. Most of these programs have disappeared but if one exists in your area - pass it by.

The Internet:

It goes without saying that the internet is changing everything. Today, virtually all Real Estate Brokers use the Internet to display their listings. Only the techie challenged are resisting but they will have to succumb or go out of business.

The MLS Books that all Realtors used to assist prospective buyers has been replaced by a computer connected to a major listing service such as realtor.com . Instead of wading through a book the size of a local telephone book, selection criteria are used to narrow the search to the specific desires of the client.

The internet listing may also have additional photos, expanded detail information, and full descriptions of the various elements in the home.

When the internet first came into play, inquiries from this source were considered dubious. Just someone searching the web. Today, virtually all are taken seriously.

With the internet, the role of the Realtor has changed to some degree. No longer does the Realtor search for potential listings, the prospective buyers bring their own. The Realtor has become more service oriented. They are asked to provide information on neighborhoods, school locations etc. They cannot provide such information as racial makeup of neighborhoods, or the quality of the schools. Other sources outside the real estate community can provide that, probably on the Internet.

If you are selling your home yourself, you need to contract with a FSBO company who can place you home on the internet. Prospective buyers are not wasting gas touring neighborhoods, they are surfing the internet. If all you have is a sign in the yard, you may have a long wait.