Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

There’s still Kansas City home sellers out there who will hire an agent just because they used the agent on a prior home sale or purchase.  Some sellers will hire an agent that’s a relative. Other will call a real estate brokerage and let the broker assign an agent. There’s more sellers than I can count that will hire the agent with the most yard signs in the neighborhood. But hiring a Kansas City real estate agent in any of these ways overlooks one of the most important aspects in hiring an agent… the online marketing the agent will do to get the home sold.

There’s a lot of agents still selling homes that aren’t current on the most effective marketing means.  The MLS is one of the major ways that homes sell but relying mostly on that tool to sell a home puts a seller at a disadvantage. In today’s real estate market, it’s vital that sellers hire an agent who understands exactly where buyers are searching for homes. This means knowing where and how to market a home online. Along with networking with other agents, the marketing an agent does online can give a Kansas City home seller a CLEAR advantage over the competition. I’ve sold homes as soon as they’ve gone online because of where we put them and how well they show once buyers see the home online.

Some things never change and one of those is that there’s no marketing I know of to overcome a grossly over-priced home. But for sellers who are priced appropriately, the online marketing that’s done is vital since the 2010 NAR buyer survey found that 89% of home buyers found the home they purchased online. Think about that for a moment and you’ll realize the first and last question you should ask your listing agent is how they will market your home online.

In addition to finding that 89% of buyers search the internet to find their homes, the buyer survey also found that 88% of home buyers use a buyer’s agent. This is much higher than the 80% figure in a previous survey. So it’s more important than ever to hire a listing agent who will properly market your home online AND network with the buyer’s agents in the community to get the word out about your home.

Posted by Jason A. Brown