Heads up,Ixonia homeowners: An eager buyer is looking for a $200,000, three-bedroom house in your town.
Thanks to Becky Brand’s Twittering, the 600-plus people who follow her were instantly informed of this would-be homebuyer. Brand, an agent with Shorewest’s Lake Country office, says a simple Tweet can supercharge that oldest marketing tool – word of mouth.
Until February, Brand would have gotten word out about the buyer by chatting with other agents. She might have sent letters to homeowners in the neighborhoods targeted by the buyer – a time-honored but time-consuming technique. Twitter cuts to the chase.
“Selling a house is all about exposure, and this is just another way to create it,” says Brand. And houses in today’s market need as much exposure as possible.
According to Metro MLS figures, sales for the region slumped 14 percent in the first quarter compared to 2008, and by a stunning 36 percent from 2007. By mid-spring, the metro area had a 13-month supply of houses, according to Mike Ruzicka, president of the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors.
Hard-pressed agents can’t afford underperforming marketing outlets, which is why many are abandoning newspaper classifieds. Toward the end of last year, Shorewest ran ads in the Sunday Milwaukee Journal Sentinel announcing it would no longer advertise open houses in the paper. And Shorewest isn’t alone. The first quarter of 2009 saw a 50 percent plunge ($1.3 million) in real estate classified revenue from the same period in 2008, according to Journal Communications Inc. public filings. The national picture is also dismal: 2008 saw a 38 percent decline from 2007, according to the Newspaper Association of America.
Web listings now rule. About 87 percent of all buyers research the market online, most before even contacting an agent, reports the National Association of Realtors. Realty agents are working the Web harder than ever, with ever-evolving video tours, maps and interactive tools embedded in their listings.
Craigslist– the big gorilla of online classifieds – and ambitious rivals like kijiji.com are now standard marketing channels. But, as with newspaper listings, buyers have to actively seek those ads. Social networks can reverse the process, giving real estate agents a way to seek out buyers (or sellers) through sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and ActiveRain,an agents-only network. And so far, it doesn’t cost a thing.
Veteran Shorewest agent Beth Jaworski says she’s getting solid leads, for both buyers and sellers, from social networks, which are translating into deals. Heather Roden, a Mequon-based Coldwell Banker agent, and her partner Jennifer Lindauer have recently waded into Facebook. They say they get about a 2 percent response rate so far.
One surprising development is that sellers learn about the market – and the appeal of their homes – by reading comments people can leave about their listings. And Roden is finding that referrals are pingponging among Facebook connections – from a first-time buyer to a friend to the friend’s baby boomer mom – before anyone involved actually has a live conversation about the home for sale.
“Sales are all about relationships,” Roden says. “And the more relationships you have out there, the better the chance to make a sale.”
Average Prices by County
For first quarter 2009 and percent change from first quarter 2008.
Milwaukee
$116,928 (-31%)
Ozaukee
$298,991 (0%)
Washington
$204,965 (-3%)
Waukesha
$260,141 (-7%)
Figures include all houses sold through Realtors, as compiled by the Metro MLS. Milwaukee County skewed by city of Milwaukee foreclosures.
Average Homes by County
Milwaukee County
Average price: $116,928
9715 W. Juniper Ct., Milwaukee
List:$124,900. Sold: $116,900
3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 6 rooms, built 1984
A foreclosure in dire need of cleaning and updating, but featuring natural woodwork and wood floors.
Waukesha County
Average price: $260,141
W192 S7998 Ancient Oaks Dr., Muskego
List:$275,000. Sold: $260,000
4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, one-third acre, built 1991
A short sale interrupted left this two-story house partially remodeled. Four years ago, it sold for $315,000.
Washington County
Average price: $204,965
7261 Badger Ln., Wayne
List: $209,000. Sold: $205,000
3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 5 acres
A small ranch on a big lot.
Ozaukee County
Average price: $298,991
2383 Keres Ct., Grafton
List:$325,000. Sold: $300,000
10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, built 2008
Brand-new house with Silestone counters and luxury bathrooms.
Sources: Metro MLS; Greater
Milwaukee Assn. of Realtors.
