It looks like online real estate advertising is still on the rise. With current market conditions realtors and real estate investors are starting to adapt to the changes- using the internet as their primary medium. According to a report by Borrell Associates, online real estate advertising in the coming year will grow to be a $2 billion a year category, only to be followed by $3 billion a year.
Discovering other avenues in real estate and utilizing the online platform is key during uncertain market conditions. In a waning sellers market other opportunities will certainly arise. Within the realm of real estate investing, professionals seem to be turning to other ventures such as foreclosures, and collaborating with their online counterparts as a form of advertising and marketing. Utilizing an online vehicle to market a product or service is the way to go. One thing is certain, online advertising remains the most cost effective and successful means of advertising and will continue along that path with the rise of internet savvy users every day.
As for realtors, they will also have to adjust to the changing market. Most realtors are only advertising their most picture-perfect homes because of market saturation. These are the homes that are selling, say some realtors. Realtors are also allocating most of their budgets to the online medium in order to offset costs and drive interest.
Good news for both realtors and investors is the popularity of real estate in general in terms of the search engines. According to reports, “real estate” was the #1 professional service searched this year. Whether they are buyers, sellers, or investors, real estate seems to forever maintain its sense of allure.
I run a regional real estate company. When we first opened in 1996, we started our own web site, but we mainly felt that it was to just please the sellers. We could tell them that they were being published on the web. But the truth was we didn’t market our web site much. Looking back, we should have pushed the web site because today 70% of our sales are coming from on-line leads. Had we jumped in to the web with both feet from the start, we would be even more effective with our on-line marketing.