These days almost all buyers start their home search on the Internet. Gone are the days when putting a sign in the ground and listing a house on the MLS sold a house.
The Internet changed all that. What this shift means is that you need to hire a real estate agent who “works” the Internet and knows how to get your home noticed. You don’t need a good marketing plan. You need a great one! One that gets your house noticed above the rest. Buyers have a lot of choices. You want your house to be the one they find! As the tech savviest Realtor in the Iowa City area I can tell you that Cardinal Realty offers the most comprehensive online marketing plan in the area. It used to be that you needed a big company to get you this kind of marketing exposure. Not anymore!
The fact is that real estate agents come in all shapes and sizes. We specialize in different areas, use different marketing techniques and in general have different skill sets that set us apart. What I can say about myself is that I have a “common sense” approach to real estate and recognized early in my career that the Internet was a game changer for the real estate industry. I’ve been “working it” ever since and am now what you could call a pro!
Websites Where You Will See Your Home Listed
Realtor.com
IowaCityAreaMLS.com
Trulia.com
Zillow.com
ActiveRain.com
Realbird.com (A Single Property Website used to syndicate listings with Craigslist, ActiveRain and many other important real estate platforms)
Local Real Estate Company Websites that participate in IDX (For example Coldwell Banker and Skogman).
That last one is pretty huge as it means your house will be seen on most of the local real estate company websites in the area. IDX, (Internet Data Exchange), is a technology that enables real estate companies to show each others listings. There’s more about that in the link.
It doesn’t stop there of course. What sets our marketing plan apart from the rest is that I go the extra mile to get “blanket coverage” on the Internet – You can expect to see your home on all the social media sites that everyone is talking about – YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter. The goal is to make sure buyers see your house regardless of where they spend their time.
Good Photos Sell Homes
To sell your house online you need to have good quality photos and videos. There is absolutely no way around that. Presentation is everything. All the exposure in the world won’t help sell your home if you don’t present the house in the most appealing way. That would be true everywhere in this very visual world. It’s even more true in the Iowa City area. Iowa City is a transient town and there’s a better than average chance that the potential buyer for your house will be relocating to Iowa City. These are buyers who will make a flying visit to Iowa City and choose homes to look at based on what they see on the Internet. You can see why that means you need to have the best and as many photos as possible for those buyers to see to make sure they choose to visit your house when they’re in town!
The Right Marketing Plan at the Right Price
My ultimate goal as the Broker Owner at Cardinal Realty is to use all the tools at my disposal to ensure a smoother real estate transaction. I do this by embracing technology throughout a real estate transaction – From online marketing to eSigning when the offer comes in. Don’t worry though, I’m still a “people person.” I know how important communication is and always return calls and emails in a timely manner.
Communication, Knowledge, Experience – That’s quite a combo and ensures you get the best service on the way to selling your home in the Iowa City area. The best part is that great service is not all you get. As a small company we have more wiggle room with the commission and chances are the commission we negotiate will be lower than if you list with a large company. After all, as a small company we have less overheads. It’s only fair to pass that along!
Ready to talk about selling your home in Coralville, North Liberty or Iowa City? Contact me for a Free Market Analysis 0r Call 319-400-0268 today!
