How is technology changing real estate?

Question

It's obvious that technology is changing the real estate industry by providing the average Joe way to advertise their property without professional assistance. What are the things that you once had to do all the hard work or all the hassle that technology has now helped you solve or manage?

Nicholas Miller · Answer

On a more serious note...  Marketing!  I use facebook to target the right ads to the right prospects, minimize my marketing budget and maximize the effectiveness of ads to groups.  Here is a screen shot of my facebook power editor

If you look closely you will see that this ad EXCLUDES realtors, it will show up to men ages 18-25  in 4 zip codes.   I can target messages based on home ownership, income, home value...

Lets say you want to run an ad like this

you would PROBABLY want to reach out to homeowners.  Contrast that with

this ad would probably BEST be targeted to renters, owners of homes in this addition (If Im going to do an open house with the goal of getting business from the neighbors I want them to see my face before they see me at the open house...  When they say "We are thinking about listing next year" I want to have proof that I can get the message about their home out in ways other local realtors will not.

Trackable links (see underlined) thanks to bittly can help you test the effectiveness of on ad against another...

As the days get cold the real estate market slows down...  This winter Ive decided to experiment with some rebranding.

Im only going to promote this experimental image in the 46725 zip code as a "bandit sign" to attract distressed homeowners...  The duct tape and spray paint cost $15 and I haven't spent a cent on marketing but Ive already gotten two good leads.

If the image proves to be more lucrative than the clean cut, professional image I went for last summer I will expand the market...  If not I will kill it off with little risk as the 46725 has a lower average ticket than the 46804 or I could focus the professional image to one demographic and the other to a separate demographic based on response.

Personally, I believe SEO is becoming a thing of the past and .com's are going to lose value as there are MANY new domains and effective target marketing is going to grow...  Just look at FB stock prices...  The reason they shot up is because of the marketing platform & capitalization on mobile.

Nicholas Miller · Answer

Zillow tells me exactly how much my homes are worth...  Networth shot up 800% overnight!  Can't seem to sell anything but Im sure its right

Rob Gribben · Answer

Screening, www.clearsceening.com.  You setup your criteria for your properties, and they handle the rest and send you a recommendation to accept or decline, based on the criteria you've setup for your properties.

Aaron Pugh · Answer

David,

I noticed you were very active on BP and wanted to ask if this was a good place to share marketing ideas and things for real estate.  I just wrote my first post discussing domain names and SEO.  I linked the post back to my blog for similar posts, click here.  I was wondering if you were happy with the results for this type of posting or if I would be better off in another place.  Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Aaron