Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Coldwell Banker's Cutting Edge Digital Marketing
October-Article
Marketing a home has changed dramatically in just a few short years. It wasn’t that long ago that selling a property meant sticking a for-sale sign in the front lawn and taking out an ad in the local paper. Those days have changed!
Real estate marketing isn’t just print advertising anymore – or radio, or TV, or direct mail, or even online, social media, blogs or Twitter. It’s ALL of these marketing tools and more. And it’s critical if you’re thinking about selling your home to select a REALTOR® and a brokerage that understands how to market in the digital age.
When it comes to digital and social media marketing, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage leads the way.
We deploy a comprehensive, cutting edge marketing strategy that capitalizes on all the important new digital channels without forgetting the traditional marketing tools that still work well.
Why is digital marketing so important when it comes time to sell your home? Consider this:
•On an average day there are more than 400 million tweets, 500 million active LinkedIn and Google Plus accounts and 3.2 billion likes and comments on Facebook;
•More than one billion unique users visit YouTube each month;
•Over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube (that’s almost an hour for every person on Earth);
•Nine in 10 homebuyers today rely on the Internet as one of their primary research sources, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
As the leading brokerage in Northern California, we have been at the forefront of the revolution in real estate marketing, deploying a multi-pronged marketing strategy to reach consumers in the channels they use today – and that’s increasingly online, social media and mobile communications.
While some other real estate brokerages still rely primarily on traditional and limited marketing programs, we understand the vital role that social media and digital sources play in effectively selling a home to modern consumers.
At Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, we like to think about real estate marketing as spokes on a wheel. These various marketing tools, like spokes, may be pointing in all different directions. But they all work together, overlapping, reinforcing each other, and all pointing back to the center of the hub. That hub is our website, CaliforniaMoves.com, and by driving traffic to it, we are also increasing the visibility of your listing.
Earlier this year, we launched a comprehensive new digital marketing initiative which leverages Google advertising, local TV station websites, a wide variety of popular real estate sites, YouTube videos, Facebook, Twitter, and many of the other top-ranked social media sites -– in addition to major print publications.
It’s estimated that this new digital marketing program will attract an additional three million viewers every month and help drive more potential buyers to CaliforniaMoves.com, our Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage website, and again, ultimately to your listing.
Real estate marketing has indeed changed dramatically over the years. So it’s more important than ever to work with a REALTOR® that “gets it” and truly understands how to use a cutting-edge digital marketing program to sell your home.
For more information about Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s digital marketing strategy and how it can help you sell your property or help you find your next home, please contact me today. I’m ready to help! Visit me at www.RealtorLisaWu.com
©2013 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Office Is Owned by a Subsidiary of NRT LLC. If your property is listed with a real estate broker, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other real estate brokers. We are happy to work with them and cooperate fully. BRE License #01908304
Marketing a home has changed dramatically in just a few short years. It wasn’t that long ago that selling a property meant sticking a for-sale sign in the front lawn and taking out an ad in the local paper. Those days have changed!
Real estate marketing isn’t just print advertising anymore – or radio, or TV, or direct mail, or even online, social media, blogs or Twitter. It’s ALL of these marketing tools and more. And it’s critical if you’re thinking about selling your home to select a REALTOR® and a brokerage that understands how to market in the digital age.
When it comes to digital and social media marketing, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage leads the way.
We deploy a comprehensive, cutting edge marketing strategy that capitalizes on all the important new digital channels without forgetting the traditional marketing tools that still work well.
Why is digital marketing so important when it comes time to sell your home? Consider this:
•On an average day there are more than 400 million tweets, 500 million active LinkedIn and Google Plus accounts and 3.2 billion likes and comments on Facebook;
•More than one billion unique users visit YouTube each month;
•Over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube (that’s almost an hour for every person on Earth);
•Nine in 10 homebuyers today rely on the Internet as one of their primary research sources, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
As the leading brokerage in Northern California, we have been at the forefront of the revolution in real estate marketing, deploying a multi-pronged marketing strategy to reach consumers in the channels they use today – and that’s increasingly online, social media and mobile communications.
While some other real estate brokerages still rely primarily on traditional and limited marketing programs, we understand the vital role that social media and digital sources play in effectively selling a home to modern consumers.
At Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, we like to think about real estate marketing as spokes on a wheel. These various marketing tools, like spokes, may be pointing in all different directions. But they all work together, overlapping, reinforcing each other, and all pointing back to the center of the hub. That hub is our website, CaliforniaMoves.com, and by driving traffic to it, we are also increasing the visibility of your listing.
Earlier this year, we launched a comprehensive new digital marketing initiative which leverages Google advertising, local TV station websites, a wide variety of popular real estate sites, YouTube videos, Facebook, Twitter, and many of the other top-ranked social media sites -– in addition to major print publications.
It’s estimated that this new digital marketing program will attract an additional three million viewers every month and help drive more potential buyers to CaliforniaMoves.com, our Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage website, and again, ultimately to your listing.
Real estate marketing has indeed changed dramatically over the years. So it’s more important than ever to work with a REALTOR® that “gets it” and truly understands how to use a cutting-edge digital marketing program to sell your home.
For more information about Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s digital marketing strategy and how it can help you sell your property or help you find your next home, please contact me today. I’m ready to help! Visit me at www.RealtorLisaWu.com
©2013 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Office Is Owned by a Subsidiary of NRT LLC. If your property is listed with a real estate broker, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other real estate brokers. We are happy to work with them and cooperate fully. BRE License #01908304
Thursday, October 3, 2013
What Foreign Buyers Need to Know About Buying a US Property
Source: Bay East Association of Realtors
Summer 2013
Summer 2013
The United States places very few restrictions non-US citizens buying, selling and owning real estate in the United States. As an international buyer purchasing property in the United States you may acquire, transfer, or be involved in a real estate transaction without the permission or approval from any federal, state, or local government. However, there are some countries that may place restrictions on its own citizens from buying real estate in the US – therefore you should check the rules of your country to verify you are not under any home country restrictions.
Buying real estate in the US is safe and secure, as all transactions are subject to US contract law and are handled by neutral third party escrow companies who oversee all aspects of the transaction between seller and buyer. For a successful efficient transaction, international buyers should have a good REALTOR®, a good attorney, and if you are financing, be working with a good bank.
International buyers and sellers also need to comply with visitor visas and immigration laws, federal taxation rules and reporting and compliance.
Withholding of Tax on Dispositions of U.S. Real Property Interests
This article, from the IRS, explains the rules for proper withholding of tax on the dispositions of U.S. Real Property interest. It also clarifies who is obligated to conduct the required withholding of tax upon the foreign investor’s disposition of real property interests.
For more details Visit Me at www.RealtorLisaWu.com
Survey: 1 in 3 Buyers Would Bid Over the Asking Price
Source: Inman News July 2013
|
Thursday, September 5, 2013
For Sale By Owner (FSBO): The Drawbacks of Going it Alone on a Home Sale
With housing on the upturn, multiple offers and rising sales prices are being reported in our market. Some potential home sellers might think that selling their home simply requires placing a “for sale” sign in their front yard. Many sellers have learned the hard way that selling a home in today’s marketplace is much more difficult than they imagined; their efforts to save money on commissions may have been more costly than they anticipated.
Before venturing into doing the do-it-yourself option of being a for-sale by owner (FSBO), you need to fully understand what is involved in the selling of real estate and then compare the perceived advantages and the actual disadvantages of trying to sell your property on your own.
Here are seven good reasons why hiring an experienced professional REALTOR® may actually net you more money on the sale of your home when all is said and done – as well as save you countless hours, headaches and stress in the process:
Being a FSBO may not actually save you as much as you think. While you might save some of the cost of hiring a professional real estate agent to represent you, you may still need to pay 2 percent or more to the buyer’s agent in order to attract a larger pool of buyers. Additionally, the true “savings” may be far less after you add all the other costs associated with selling – advertising, brochures and flyers, for-sale signs, attorney fees to draw up documents, etc.
You may get less for your home. The National Association of REALTORS® found that the typical FSBO home sold for $174,900 compared to a sales price of $215,000 for agent-assisted sales. That equates to an 18 percent loss for those do-it-yourselfers hoping to save a 6 percent commission. In addition, prospective buyers of a FSBO property, looking for a bargain, may automatically reduce their offer by the amount of the real estate commission the seller is attempting to avoid paying.
A LOT goes into selling a home. Less than 10 percent of sellers sold their home on their own last year, according to NAR®. Novice sellers may think you just stick a for-sale sign in the front lawn and buyers will beat a path to your door. Guess again! Professional agents develop comprehensive marketing plans, take professional photos, manage inspections and appraisers, oversee staging, hold open houses, place print and online ads, seek out potential buyers and negotiate with the buyer’s agents to get the best price possible for their seller. Homeowners need to ask themselves if they are ready and capable to do all of that work on their own.
FSBOs limit their potential pool of buyers. FSBO properties are usually not listed on as many of the home search engines and websites as listings handled by real estate agents. This is problematic given that 90 percent of buyers use the Internet to commence their home search, according to NAR®. Also, FSBOs typically can’t put the advertising, marketing and networking resources into reaching as many potential buyers as real estate professionals do. And with commissions reduced or even eliminated for buyer’s agents, there’s little incentive for real estate agents to show your home to their clients.
Setting the right listing price is hard to do. Real estate professionals review comparable sales and local market conditions, as well as the pluses and minuses of your home as they suggest the list price. As an owner, you may not have a clear or objective sense of what that price should be. The right price may get your home multiple offers and perhaps even bids over the asking price. However, if the list price too high then many potential buyers may not even look at your home, let alone make an offer. On the flip side, you could undervalue your home’s features that may justify a higher sale price.
It’s not always easy to be a “closer.” Getting a potential buyer to make an offer isn’t the end of the process. It is not uncommon for agents representing buyers and sellers to negotiate back and forth on many of the terms in the purchase contract, including price, occupancy requirements and other conditions of sale – and there are often additional negotiations regarding credits and repairs during the escrow process. FSBOs may find themselves sitting across from an experienced “closer” looking to drive a hard bargain and cut the best deal for themselves rather than working to reach a “fair” compromise between both parties. This is a critical part of the transaction; FSBOs should ask themselves who is looking out for their best interests? Working with a professional REALTOR® could help sellers avoid several of the pitfalls during the negotiation and closing processes.
Legal landmines in selling a home. There are a myriad of potential legal landmines for FSBOs. Who will write the purchase contract? What if a buyer’s contract proposal has clauses and other terms that could be detrimental to you? Sellers are obligated to disclose all material facts about their property and any omission or incorrect information could later be grounds for a claim or lawsuit. A REALTOR® can help you through that process by providing you with the correct advisories and disclosure forms.
Selling a home is a lot harder than most people realize, even in a good market. And it’s very easy for non-professionals to make mistakes along the way that will end up costing them in the long run. With the sale of a home being the single biggest transaction most of us will ever make, this is the time to use an experienced REALTOR® to manage the process. I’m ready to help. Visti me at www.RealtorLisaWu.com
Before venturing into doing the do-it-yourself option of being a for-sale by owner (FSBO), you need to fully understand what is involved in the selling of real estate and then compare the perceived advantages and the actual disadvantages of trying to sell your property on your own.
Here are seven good reasons why hiring an experienced professional REALTOR® may actually net you more money on the sale of your home when all is said and done – as well as save you countless hours, headaches and stress in the process:
Being a FSBO may not actually save you as much as you think. While you might save some of the cost of hiring a professional real estate agent to represent you, you may still need to pay 2 percent or more to the buyer’s agent in order to attract a larger pool of buyers. Additionally, the true “savings” may be far less after you add all the other costs associated with selling – advertising, brochures and flyers, for-sale signs, attorney fees to draw up documents, etc.
You may get less for your home. The National Association of REALTORS® found that the typical FSBO home sold for $174,900 compared to a sales price of $215,000 for agent-assisted sales. That equates to an 18 percent loss for those do-it-yourselfers hoping to save a 6 percent commission. In addition, prospective buyers of a FSBO property, looking for a bargain, may automatically reduce their offer by the amount of the real estate commission the seller is attempting to avoid paying.
A LOT goes into selling a home. Less than 10 percent of sellers sold their home on their own last year, according to NAR®. Novice sellers may think you just stick a for-sale sign in the front lawn and buyers will beat a path to your door. Guess again! Professional agents develop comprehensive marketing plans, take professional photos, manage inspections and appraisers, oversee staging, hold open houses, place print and online ads, seek out potential buyers and negotiate with the buyer’s agents to get the best price possible for their seller. Homeowners need to ask themselves if they are ready and capable to do all of that work on their own.
FSBOs limit their potential pool of buyers. FSBO properties are usually not listed on as many of the home search engines and websites as listings handled by real estate agents. This is problematic given that 90 percent of buyers use the Internet to commence their home search, according to NAR®. Also, FSBOs typically can’t put the advertising, marketing and networking resources into reaching as many potential buyers as real estate professionals do. And with commissions reduced or even eliminated for buyer’s agents, there’s little incentive for real estate agents to show your home to their clients.
Setting the right listing price is hard to do. Real estate professionals review comparable sales and local market conditions, as well as the pluses and minuses of your home as they suggest the list price. As an owner, you may not have a clear or objective sense of what that price should be. The right price may get your home multiple offers and perhaps even bids over the asking price. However, if the list price too high then many potential buyers may not even look at your home, let alone make an offer. On the flip side, you could undervalue your home’s features that may justify a higher sale price.
It’s not always easy to be a “closer.” Getting a potential buyer to make an offer isn’t the end of the process. It is not uncommon for agents representing buyers and sellers to negotiate back and forth on many of the terms in the purchase contract, including price, occupancy requirements and other conditions of sale – and there are often additional negotiations regarding credits and repairs during the escrow process. FSBOs may find themselves sitting across from an experienced “closer” looking to drive a hard bargain and cut the best deal for themselves rather than working to reach a “fair” compromise between both parties. This is a critical part of the transaction; FSBOs should ask themselves who is looking out for their best interests? Working with a professional REALTOR® could help sellers avoid several of the pitfalls during the negotiation and closing processes.
Legal landmines in selling a home. There are a myriad of potential legal landmines for FSBOs. Who will write the purchase contract? What if a buyer’s contract proposal has clauses and other terms that could be detrimental to you? Sellers are obligated to disclose all material facts about their property and any omission or incorrect information could later be grounds for a claim or lawsuit. A REALTOR® can help you through that process by providing you with the correct advisories and disclosure forms.
Selling a home is a lot harder than most people realize, even in a good market. And it’s very easy for non-professionals to make mistakes along the way that will end up costing them in the long run. With the sale of a home being the single biggest transaction most of us will ever make, this is the time to use an experienced REALTOR® to manage the process. I’m ready to help. Visti me at www.RealtorLisaWu.com
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)