Who Cares About Data Integrity?

First Off, I am irritated  - so bear with me.

Is it just ME or doesn't anyone care about the integrity of the Listing Data that is out there online?  Maybe consumers don't know, or understand, that some Real Estate sites that are found online only have Some of the lisings but are lacking All of them.  They only place the listings of their 'Advertisers' on their sites.

Other sites update only weekly.  And some have listing data that is Years old (Really!  Years old). 

Many of the 'National Aggregator' sites don't update photos either (5 months on market and 'No Photo' even though the photo has been in the MLS since day 3). And yes, the MLS is where almost all of the sites pull their data from. 

And some pull from multiple sources, so the consumer gets to see 5 of the same listing (and ironically, not all with the same data).

So where am I going with this?  The most accurate listing information you will find is from your local Realtor (office or agent) which has their site updated with the Full Feed from the MLS.  Like http://www.realtyman.com/ for instance.

If you only want SOME of the listing data, then feel free to search several sites.  If you want ALL of the listings, your best bet is the Local Realtor.

Real Estate Marketing Changing Faster than the Market

Everyone has noticed that the Real Estate market has changed over the past few years. But has anyone noticed that Marketing Real Estate has changed, even more dramatically, during the same timeframe.

Traditional print advertising is all but dead.
Even Internet marketing strategies (if some even had one) don't work like they used to, and continue to diminish.

So if you are serious about SELLING your property in this market, lets chat. I'd love to show you all of the new & innovative things that Towne & Country, Realtors is doing to capitalize on this change. T&C, lead by Gerry 'RealtyMan' Bourgeois, has always been on the cutting edge of Marketing & Technology - And We Still Are!

Where Do You Get Home Listing Information?

A Study by the National Association of Realtors in 2007 found the following:
84% of buyers begin their search for a home online.
73% drove by the house as a result of seeing the house online.
57% actually scheduled an appointment to view the property they saw online.

Information Sources rated as "Very Useful" by buyers:
Internet - 78%
Realtor - 70%
Yard Sign - 29%
Print Ad - 17%

From the research done at T&C, we find that the vast majority of inquiries come from people who have seen a property online.
Yes, we still get some print-ad calls, but they are VERY Few and far between.

Anyone care to let me know what their favorite place to find homes for sale is? (Internet or Print).

Gerry 'RealtyMan' Bourgeois meets with Roost.com

Gerry met with Matthew Cullen and Paul Irving of www.Roost.com which is a real estate search site! They have some very exciting things under way. I've been glad to have had the opportunity to Test for them over the past several months. I look forward to continuing the relationship. (Also, it was a beautiful day on Newbury Street in Boston - gotta love Stephanie's).

Realtyman's Vehicles - Past & Present