What is becoming clear is that the real estate agent of today is as much a digital publisher as a professional in a suit.

Potentially disruptive technology is just one of the challenges facing the real estate industry in Australia; think Seek and classified job ads, and think about all the brick and mortar travel agencies that are no longer in operation. What is becoming clear is that the real estate agent of today is as much a digital publisher as a professional in a suit. Moreover, the Internet is swamped with thousands of property listings; the need to be found and to stand out is critical.

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) is a challenge that should not be ignored. More of an irritant than a threat, it’s not a trend that should be ignored. The digital age is placing much more power in the hands of consumers than ever before – just ask Gerry Harvey.

According to research produced by Empire Research Group and commissioned by our real estate technology company, iPostcodes, the trend for homeowners to take control of the sale of their property is reaching a critical mass. Data indicates that up to 30 percent of home sales in Canada and 50 percent in Germany, Italy and Israel are directly attributable to FSBO. The number of websites in Australia dedicated to FSBO has been growing strongly since 2005. In a market where discounting is rife and days on the market are stretching, vendors may well look at other solutions.

Market conditions are a challenge. While disaffected vendors often slate blame exclusively on to real estate agents, markets have a way of pricing a property; not vendors or agents. This is where a knowledgeable real estate agent can provide an update on market conditions, an assessment of the likely selling price of the home and tips for improving the home’s buyer appeal.

In this market and at this time, vendors are time poor; but they are also smarter than ever. The fact is 97 percent go online before making contact with a real estate agency. The Internet may be offering choice, but it is squeezing personal free time.

Real estate ads are paralysing buyers and renters. Amongst buyers and renters, the phenomenon of Fear of Missing out (‘FOMO’) is reaching epic proportions. Information is incomplete and this is forcing them to spend hours looking for property because ads on the Internet lack differentiation and detail. Hence, the FOMO factor is causing buyers and renters to be more stressed; they have difficulty making a decision. This fear factor contributes to unnecessarily long hours searching for their dream home at a time when they are already overworked.

In my view, these trends are opportunities for real estate agents and not threats. The challenge is that vendors are time poor.

The trouble is most ads on the portals and agents’ websites lack meat; they have little or no differentiation.

Price is not the main driver. Surprisingly, decades of research reveals that price is not the principal driver for vendors when dealing with a real estate agent. It’s a basic human need that people want service. Price ranks a lowly #5 on the scale of needs; what people look for is ‘selection’ at #4, ‘service’ at #3; ‘quality’ at #2 and above all, #1 is confidence in the agent. It’s about product knowledge.

Some new platforms like iPostcodes, which has already attracted over 10,000 listings, can bridge the gap. It combines property owner perspective and real estate agent experience has. The platform allows homeowners to directly participate in the marketing of their property. In addition to having a real estate agent take care of all the usual stuff, homeowners can post inside knowledge and relevant facts about their home that no one but they would think to share. This sort of information can add to the stories that agents can tell about their listings to potential buyers and could be a much-needed boost for vendors and agents.

Appeared in Sold Magazine March 2012

Property investors are increasingly looking for more innovative solutions to ensure they get the best out

A property left vacant is literally “dead” money – it represents a loss of rental income, the outlay of costs associated with spending time marketing the property and stress, given that most investors have substantial mortgages.

Property marketing pioneer Steve Basin says marketing through technology is the key and has developed the iPostcodes – an online property platform. He created the site after experiencing frustration when searching for the right tenant and when his agent could not find a tenant for five months.

Mr Basin believes landlords and agents alike can improve a property’s performance by taking a direct role in its marketing.

“With iPostcodes the investor brings “inside” knowledge to the table, things like telling potential renters about great cafés and wine bars, the nearest train station or bus stop in the area, where to get a great family dinner or some of those special features about the property that help it stand out from the crowd,” he said.

“Buyers and renters don’t enjoy scrolling through dozens of listings and reading the same, boring descriptions. The renter shortlists the top five or 10 and makes time after hours or on weekends to check them out.

“If the property owner doesn’t provide the information they’re looking for, the renters will look elsewhere.

“Investors want shorter vacancy periods and better tenants. If a property is well located in a high-demand location, an investor won’t ever have problems with vacancy.

“But what investor would not seek to have a pool of tenant applications and be able to pick a ‘better’ tenant for their investment property?

“What about finding the one that will take good care and look after the property or the one that may stay longer?

“The investor’s intimate knowledge of their property together with the real estate agent’s experience and the use of technology can make all the difference between getting the right tenant quickly and having your property remain un-tenanted.”

Appeared in Cairns Post 23 Feb 2012

1. Price
2. Presentation
3. Marketing

Any property can be sold and leased out, but it’s how well you make use of the above three factors that increases your chances of:

• getting a higher price for your property

• attracting a better tenant

• selling quicker

• minimising vacancy periods.

And so on …

If a property is not selling or is vacant for extended periods of time, it’s because one or more of the above factors wasn’t properly addressed. It maybe that:

• your asking price is much higher than the market can afford, and/or you didn’t justify it sufficiently

• you presented your property in a poor state, limiting the number of buyers and renters

• your marketing efforts weren’t sufficient to expose your property to a wider audience.

And so on …

My challenge to you is this… I believe that there isn’t a single property in the world that cannot be sold or leased out:

• if the price is set correctly

• if you presented the property in a clean and well maintained state

• if you made use of all marketing efforts to help cast your net as wide and as far as possible to attract a potential buyer or renter.

If you are experiencing any difficulties or if you can’t get your property to sell, or if your investment property is hard to rent out, and you’re still unsure about what to do, I invite you to join me in this live and interactive webinar, “How to maximise your odds when selling or renting any property”. I’ll answer all your questions, and I promise you this: By following this webinar, you’ll have the tools and the awareness to get the results you truly deserve.

• minimise vacancy time
• attract ‘good’ tenants
• maximise the rental income in line with the market.

As a property investor, I know that there isn’t a landlord who doesn’t want all three. Why then do we still experience rental horrors, that we all see broadcast on the news from time to time?

Some of you reading this now may have thoughts running through your mind of some ‘rental horrors’ you have personally experienced.

The reason we have bad experiences is because we are forced to choose those applicants who apply. It’s great when we get a ‘good’ applicant with a ‘good’ history, but what happens when we are unsure? The fact that we must meet our mortgage payments forces us to make decisions that we later may regret.

Therefore, as a property investor, it’s not only about minimising your vacancy rate, but equally importantly it’s about attracting a ‘good’ tenant who will not only pay the rental on time, but will take good care of your property while they’re living there.

Is there a guarantee we will always find a ‘good’ tenant, and will always have our properties tenanted? No, but we always can strive to achieve that, and that’s the best guarantee you can get.

Start seeing your investment property as a business. Not only do you want your business to bring in money every week, but you want your business to be taken care of, so there is no future downtime, and unnecessary expenses.

Extract From Get Results You Deserve

According to property marketing pioneer Steve Basin, marketing through technology is the key. Basin, who developed the iPostcodes online property platform after experiencing frustrations when searching for the right tenant and when his agent couldn’t find a tenant for five months, says landlords and agents alike can improve a property’s performance by taking a direct role in marketing a property.

“With iPostcodes the investor brings “inside” knowledge to the table; things like telling potential renters about great cafes and wine bars, or the nearest train station or bus stop in the area or where to get a great family dinner or some of those special features about the property that help it stand out from the crowd.

Basin claims iPostcodes helps agents and investors get ‘better’ results. “Buyers and renters don’t enjoy scrolling through dozens of listings and reading the same, boring descriptions. That’s an absolute time waster. In any given locale there may be dozens if not hundreds of rental properties to choose from – it’s simply impossible for renters to check them all out physically. The renter shortlists the top 5 or 10 and makes time after hours or on weekends to check them out. If the property owner doesn’t provide the information they are looking for, the renters will look elsewhere.”

Investors want shorter vacancy periods and better tenants. If a property is well located in a high demand location, an investor won’t ever have problems with vacancy. Basin says, “But what investor would not seek to have a pool of tenant applications and be able to pick a ‘better’ tenant for their investment property? What about finding the one that will take good care and look after the property, or the one that may stay longer?

“The investor’s intimate knowledge of their property, together with the real estate agent’s experience, and the use of technology can make all the difference between getting the right tenant quickly and having your property remain un-tenanted.” Basin says a managing agent can take care of all the usual stuff; the investor can post inside knowledge and relevant facts about the property online that no one but they would think to share.

As an investor, you are acquiring a property to rent out to tenants. The selection of tenants and the management of the property are critically important to a successful investment. Indeed, a bad choice of tenants and the failure to manage your property could potentially devalue your property and affect your capacity to achieve an adequate return from your investment. The selection of tenants, maintenance of property, collection of rent, vacation by tenant, damages caused by tenants, payments of rates and body corporate fees are just some of the issues that need to be attended to. It is not always feasible for you as the owner and landlord to attend to all these. Property managers are appointed to look after the property efficiently.

But, in an open market situation, the people inspecting a property are processed in the property manager’s office where all of the vetting and reference checks are done over the phone. The challenge is that the people who apply may misrepresent themselves and an investor could be left with a less than desirable tenant. A good property manager will spend time at the open; the key to successful letting is for the property manager to have a choice and a pool of tenants to select from. This allows a much better chance of picking the ‘best’ tenant for the investment property.

Property managers look after dozens of other properties. It is impossible for them to know all the important details about a particular property. That’s why the owner must give information about the property, fill in the gaps in knowledge and provide the important features and benefits of the property, such as: “only a five minute walk to the closest bus stop or a quiet, well-maintained unit block” etc.

“This is where a user-friendly platform such as iPostcodes can make the process of having the right ad for a rental property a seamless exercise and complement the agent’s description with the investor’s.

“Because renters are committing to a six or twelve month contract, it’s important for them to know all the details.”
A renter will have choices too; like knowledge of the other rental properties available in any given locale. An agent’s job and the landlord’s job is to make the prospective tenant feel confident that their property is the best so that there is no doubt in the tenant’s mind. Renters are making decisions on the spot.

“Photos and description need to become the eyes and thoughts of your renter. As they’re scrolling through your photos and reading your description, it’s as if they are physically inspecting your property. So when they do come to an inspection, they are already 50% sold on your property.

“iPostcodes is less time wasting for the agent, the owner and the renter!”

Home prices falling

Selling is no cake walk in the market today. Sales data coming from RP Data looks abysmal. Last year’s volumes were about 13% lower than volumes in 2010 across Australia. The figures are also 33% down from the recent highs of 2007.
The real estate industry is doing it tough; not only are volumes down but prices too. They continued to slide with the RP Data showing that the total value of sales in 2011 was down 18.3% compared with 2010.
This biggest pain is being felt by owners where home values are decreasing right before their eyes, coupled with that…

Time on the market is longer

For many years RP data measured ‘average days on the market’ for both houses and units. Their studies found that on average houses were sold in 6 weeks and units in 5.7 weeks.
As of May 2011, the average time on the market is climbing as the number of listings continues to mount, according to a Market Update report by RP Data. The recent study shows that on average houses are taking 8 weeks to sell and units 7 weeks.
With the industry doing it tough and time on the market longer, we also need to realise that…

Times are changing

The way we marketed our properties in the past is no longer applicable today. Buying and renting begins on the internet and not at open inspections.
The need to stand out on the internet is more crucial than ever.

Are you already experiencing the pinch? Doing it tough doesn’t have to be your reality!

Register for this complimentary webinar

Attend this live, interactive webinar with me to learn:

• Why we must change our marketing approach in today’s digital age?
• What are the three keys to successfully selling or renting any property, anytime?
• Why is real estate a game of chance?
• What makes people buy or rent this property rather than that?
• What makes one person think this property is worth “x” and another thinks it’s worth “y”?
• Why you’re only one click away from losing a potential buyer or renter, and how to put an end to that.

After this one hour webinar, you will have the tools and know how to act immediately and start getting results you deserve.

Register here

Join Who?

Join Steve Basin, founder and CEO of iPostcodes and the author of ‘Get Results You Deserve – How to get the outcome you desire when selling or leasing your property’.

Find out more about

• his story
• his book
• his passion

Why Complimentary?

Most people think that if it’s FREE there is really no value in it, or there will be a strong sales pitch at the end.
Let me assure you…

I could easily charge for this webinar – it’s value packed with practical strategies you can take away immediately.
There is no hard selling of anything!

There is no sales pitch at the end. Why? Because the service in itself is FREE!

So why are we doing it?

We want to see all property sellers and investors successful in marketing their properties, because we understand that if you are successful then we will be successful too. If you aren’t achieving your results, then there’s no point for iPostcodes to even exist. Therefore it’s crucial that we share our years of knowledge and research and provide you with all the necessary tools so you have the understanding and the know how to be successful today!

And another thing…we also need testimonials from raving fans, so we can help more and more people, just like you!

Seating limited to 100. Why?

I purposely limited the webinar to 100 attendees because I want it to be live and interactive. I want to be able to answer as many of your questions as possible so you can understand and take action straight away.

Registration is fast and easy?

Simply click on this link, select your preferred time,  and you’ll be then taken to a registration page, where you’ll enter your name and email address. Follow the prompts and you’ll be sent reminders and login details when the time is right.

We are using goto webinar, the best and easiest webinar platform in the world. It offers an easy connection, and experience with the webinar is an absolute breeze!

Any trouble and they’re happy to help out… click here

Summary

When: Your preferred time (check the link times below)
Where: At your laptop, Mac or PC!
Cost: Complimentary

Why you shouldn’t miss out?

There is no question that your property will get sold or rented out using the current old fashioned marketing approach, but you are seriously diminishing your chances of:

• getting a higher price for your property and selling it faster
• minimising vacancy periods
• and attracting better tenants

This is especially a ‘must’ event if you are currently experiencing any difficulties in selling or leasing your property out.
What if you miss the event?

If you miss the live session, no worries. Those who register will receive a recording which will be available for 24 hours through a private link.

Bonus to attendees

Everyone that attends the webinar has the chance to win an autographed copy of my new book “Get Results You Deserve”, valued at $24.95.

Enough said. I’ll see you at the webinar to WOW you, and answer your burning questions!

Gil Davies, a very successful real estate agent and an author of a popular book “Sell For More“, knew all along that the most effective form of advertising your property is displaying your property in both a newspaper listing and on the internet.

He proved it not only from his long experience in the real estate  industry, but he went further and backed it up by an independent research firm. I followed this research closely and gave an outline of the results in my previous articles, which you can find it here.

The question that was asked is “What is the effect of advertising on the final sales price?”

The research clearly showed a combination of advertising in print and on the internet definitely gets the highest sales price.

The Interview

Here is the interview. Please forgive me on the video quality; the sound is clear and the message is very real.

With Permission: For What It’s Worth

Who is Gil Davies?

Gil Davis has had a stellar career in real estate for over twenty years. He was a franchisee and top salesperson of L J Hooker then Richardson & Wrench before going independent. His achievements include more than 1,700 sales at an average of 100 properties a year during the last decade, and an amazing 80% market share in his local Sydney area. His largest residential sale was the amalgamation of 18 properties for $27 million. Gil lives in Sydney with his wife and two daughters and is currently undertaking a PhD.

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Melanie Thomas - PhD student (Southern Cross University)

If somebody asked us to verbalise what we are looking for in a property we would all struggle. However when we look at an advert or walk into a property we can instantly write it off as not being what we want despite holding all of our desired functional attributes.

This is because of the psychological or symbolic attributes we desire, those that allow us to tell the world – this is where I live and this is who I am.

My name is Melanie Thomas,I am a researcher at Southern Cross Business School undertaking a survey on property choice for my PhD. My first foray into the world of property and marketing research began when my brothers were trying to purchase property and were continually told that as young people they were expecting too much, that it was their high expectations that were shutting them out of the market and not the unaffordable nature of property in Australia.

So this got me thinking… what are the expectations of young adults in regards to property?

I undertook academic research and the results showed that

· Yes, they have high expectations

· Their expectations are high because they place a huge emphasis on housing to create and develop their identity

· They are unwilling to make sacrifices to these expectations; instead they will delay purchase until they have the financial means to purchase what they desire.

This has vast implications for the property industry. An enormous group of potential customers who hold very firm and detailed expectations of what a property should be will soon be flooding the market as their financial status grows.

In the past housing purchases were driven almost entirely by major life events such as marriage, children and retirement. While these events still have a significant impact upon housing purchases, changing consumption patterns have made housing choice much more important.

The increasing decline in institutions such as traditional family, stable labour markets, stereotypes, gender roles and religious ties has resulted in individuals establishing their identity through different mediums.

Research has proven that consumers purchase brands to create their identities and I suggest that this increasing flexibility in creating an identity has huge implications for property.

I am currently undertaking a research project on the consumer decision making process surrounding property purchase and I am looking for participants.

If you are currently in the market for a property and would like to participate in academic research please click here

In future posts I will present and discuss the finding of the research project.

“I’m so excited to present these Live webinars to every ‘real estate agent’ in Australia. All I’m asking is set aside 1 hour of your time. It will change the way you see marketing property  forever. Go ahead, don’t take my word for it, make up your mind yourself!”

Learn: Why one major real estate franchise group is predicted to collapse within the next two years.

Learn: Why 10,000 real estate agents abandoned their profession in 2010 alone.

Learn: Why the FSBO market is rising dramatically.

Learn: How consumers are becoming a lot smarter and ‘time poor’ and what this means for the real estate industry.

Learn: Why real estate ads are paralysing clients and reaching epic proportions.

Learn: Why members of the public trust real estate agents less today than they did a year ago.

Learn: What makes a good agent great.

And you’ll also learn a whole lot more….

Creating awareness and clear strategies to turn this tide of change around is the focus of this webinar.

The extensive research for this webinar took six months in the making, and we have condensed over 3 million dollars worth of raw data into this short 45 minute executive briefing.

If you are a serious real estate agent, you will not want to miss this event.

Register for this limited time webinar

“I’m so excited to present these Live webinars to every property owner in Australia. All I’m asking is set aside 1 hour of your time. It will change the way you see marketing property  forever. Go ahead, don’t take my word for it, make up your mind yourself!”

Learn: What are the three keys to successfully selling or renting any property, anytime?

Learn: Why is real estate a game of chance?

Learn: What makes people buy or rent this property rather than that?

Learn: What makes one person think this property is worth ‘x’ and another thinks it’s worth “y”?

Learn: Why buying and renting begins on the internet and not at open inspections.

Learn: Why you’re only one click away from losing a potential buyer or renter, and how to put an end to that.

Learn: Why it’s not about the commission, but it’s all about the end result.

And you’ll also learn a whole lot more….

Creating awareness and clear strategies to get the results you deserve is the focus of this webinar.

If you’re a serious property investor, or want to take control of the results you get when selling your property, you will definitely not want to miss this event.

Register for this webinar