Savvy real estate agents use the internet to get homes sold

As a new day begins, more and more homebuyers search the internet to look for homes before they go to see them in person.

According to the National Association of Realtors and other sources, at least 91 percent of homebuyers start their home search online.

This is a huge audience to be reached in the way they want to be reached.

So, if you plan to sell your home, make sure that your realtor’s real estate marketing plan includes internet visibility of your home on the many popular high traffic websites that buyers frequently visit to search for homes.

While Hilton Head Island continues to be one of the hottest vacation spots in the United States of America, all of Beaufort County is growing very fast. As homebuyers throughout the country relocate to our area, most of them begin shopping on internet real estate sites for their dream home.

Effective internet exposure of homes for sale requires resources, time and knowledge.

It is accomplished by the concerted effort of progressive real estate companies and proactive agents.

In today’s real estate world, your home must be attractively displayed online – in addition to advertising it in your community newspaper.

Professional photography is a must.

In addition to using the local (www.HiltonHeadMLS.com) and national (www.Realtor.com) multiple listing services, savvy area agents also use other real estate listing sites and social media to attract visitors looking for homes and real estate information.

Other major real estate sites include Zillow, Trulia (more than 6 million listings), MSN Real Estate and Yahoo Real Estate.

There are also hundreds of smaller sites with syndicated listings. Zillow now owns Trulia, and the way they display homes and real estate information is incredible.

There are many more online venues, and your real estate agent should be using them and implementing effective internet marketing to successfully sell your home.

Larry Stoller is a broker-owner and Realtor with Real Estate Five of the Lowcountry. Larry@RealEstateFive.com or www.RealEstateFive.com