Do the Mash and Get Noticed

For the first time since the real estate bubble started about 8 years ago, there are more RE agents within the profession than properties being sold.  That means that, for example, last month there were not enough homes on the market for every licensed agent to each sell one.  And when agents can't do their job, it effects everyone, from the brokers employing them, to the assistants supporting them.

A friend of mine relayed to me her take on the current RE market - she likened it to trickle-down economics, although she labeled it trickle-down real estate.  With the state of the market today, she said, only a limited amount of poperties are being sold, and the people buying them are utilizing the movers and the shakers of the real estate game - those with the biggest names, the cream of the crop so to speak.  Anything these RE agents aren't moving are slowly trickling down to the the next tier of agents who have their chance...and so on and so forth.  By the time it's the newest agent's turn in the market, there's simply nothing left.

So how do the newbies level the playing field?  They need to branch out.  They need to be able to reach the same size audience that the major players already have due to years of hard work and reputation.  Fortunately, this is not as difficult as it once was - the internet allows one to reach people anywhere a phone line exists, so access is possible.  However, you have to do more than just reach your audience, you have to capture their attention by differentiating yourself. 

Education is your Key

If you want to differentiate yourself from your competition, you have to understand the online tools and technologies that are at your disposal.  Once you understand what they are and how they work, you can start to combine them in ways that allow you to stand out. 

Take for instance the newest trend with RE professionals - posting virtual and / or video tours on the video sharing site, YouTube.  Before you can even post a video, you need to know how to make one, what needs to be in it, and how to splash your information into it. If you want to give them additional information, you need an agent website, which should also offer them valuation propositions on homes they can search for in a specific area with a neighborhood search capability.

This sort of "technology mashing" taps into a whole new audience that wasn't even looking for real estate, however they found themselves on your website because of a 42 second video you posted.  And your knowledge was what helped you get noticed.