Ten Questions with Real Estate Expert Matthew Ferrara

By Dianna Kawell
View Comments

Real estate is becoming an increasingly technology-driven industry. Every day, a typical REALTOR® depends heavily on her laptop, GPS and digital camera to get the job done. For what was long believed to be a face-to-face business, 88 percent of REALTORS® now report using e-mail as the preferred method of communicating with their clients.

However, REALTOR® Web sites may be the one neglected piece of the technology puzzle. Perhaps, it is because agents see little tangible results from their personal Web sites. In the latest Member Profile from the National Association of REALTORS®, members reported on average just four inquiries generated by their Web sites over 12 months—accounting for just 3 percent of their overall business for that year.

In the past year, with members reporting a 14-percent drop in gross income from real estate, these already neglected Web sites have seemingly moved completely to the back burner. NAR is reporting a 20-percent drop in the dollar investment that REALTORS® are making in their Web sites from 2007 to 2008, with the number of REALTORS® who invested zero dollars in their Web sites increasing from 18 to 22 percent over the same period.  

According to real estate educator and columnist Matthew Ferrara, this negligence of REALTOR® Web sites may not be a bad thing. We sat down with Matthew to get the scoop on what marketing features are essential to maximize a REALTOR®’s Web presence in a challenging economic climate.

eConnect: NAR is reporting a direct correlation between what a REALTOR® spends on her Web site and the amount of business generated from it. According to NAR, those real estate professionals who spent $1,000 to maintain their Web sites received an average of 14 inquiries from their site in 2008 (16 in 2007). Among those REALTORS® who invested less than $100 annually on site maintenance, 70 percent reported receiving five or less inquiries from their Web site. Does this indicate that REALTORS® should be investing more in their Web sites and perhaps turning to Web professionals more often for site updates and enhancements?

Matthew: Actually, I think the REALTORS® have been smart about understanding that this is not a good avenue for their marketing online. With a million REALTORS® out there, they can’t out-compete realtor.com and their own brokers. Web sites are a hugely misunderstood application of technology. The REALTORS® have figured it out really well. To start with, the average REALTOR® is making $42,000 a year. They don’t have a lot of money to spend on Web sites.

However, we still see them spending a lot on postcards and print, which we know have virtually no return. REALTORS® have figured out that most Web leads are coming from their broker’s Web presence. Those who are building their own Web sites are those who are making more than the national average.

The second thing that REALTORS® have learned is that the vast majority of the listings are not coming from the Web. They are coming from referrals and repeat business, and agents can take advantage of free social networking tools to reach those clients.  

There is no correlation with using Web sites and making a lot of business. You only need e-mail and a social networking page and your affiliate memberships like WCR to maintain referral business. For example, you could go to a FSBO Web site and search your town, and send an e-mail to those people and get better results than by creating your own Web site and waiting for people to find you among tens of thousands of real estate search results on Google.

eConnect: According to NAR research, REALTORS® are primarily using their personal Web sites for contact information, some educational materials for buyers and sellers and to showcase their own listings. About 90 percent include their own listings on their site. Only about 55 percent use virtual tours. Only 7 percent of REALTORS® have a regular blog. Is there more that REALTORS® should be doing to keep their Web sites up to date and relevant in their markets?

Matthew: Here’s the thing. When I look at NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, virtual tours are the third most important thing that the clients want to see, after more listing photos and better listing descriptions. Agents say, “Virtual tours are slow and don’t look good.” I say, “When you’re buying the house, then you get to decide.” Always listen to your customers.

Agents are putting all this community information on their sites. School reports and community info were low in what consumers want to see, according to NAR’s research. The buyers already know the schools and community and maps. Government sites, nobody needs that. The consumer wants to see as many photos as you can get on there. That’s very important.

eConnect: As far as virtual tours, some of the products out there seem relatively inexpensive. Should REALTORS® be including virtual tours with all their listings?

Matthew: Virtual tours are dirt cheap. But it is free to just use your smart phone for video for the listings. Some of these listing Web sites require you to use a special product for virtual tours, but most now will take a simple link. So you could record a video and post it to youtube.com, which will take a whole range of different formats.

As far as virtual tour products, I prefer the ones that allow you to add narration or sound. Otherwise, you’re hoping that people can look at your silent movie and hope they just get it. Just have another person hold the camera, and say “Hi, I’m Sally REALTOR®, and this is this, and that is that.”

eConnect: Would agents benefit from training in video production and photo editing software?

Matthew: I definitely think that video and digital photography are important skills. Martha Webb’s Certified Home Marketing Specialist course teaches some basics. Definitely, quality use of video and photos is a new emerging standard in real estate. Bad photos can scare people away. Don’t bother to enter a listing until you have the photos because people will just disregard it. Lighting, staging, scripting—these are all important things to plan out.

One common mistake I see is that REALTORS® try to take photos that suck everything in. And sometimes you have to say, this is what is awesome about this living area and focus in on the fireplace or something. You have to have an eye for it and know what to pick, and that is a skill. 

Continue to page 2