EXPERIENCE PAYS OFF

New research from VHT Inc., which offers marketing services to realty practitioners, concludes that agents with five or more years of industry experience usually represent higher-priced listings, and they generally spend more money to market them than less experienced agents. VHT queried 1,300 agents and brokers, finding that those with two to five years on the job had listings in the range of $490,000; and those with 10-plus years of experience represented listings averaging $600,000. Agents with five or more years on the job devoted $864 in marketing costs per listing, compared to $675 per listing spent by agents in the business for fewer years. Just a fifth of those polled agreed that newspaper ads are effective for marketing purposes, finding online ads and signage "more valuable." A vast majority of agents surveyed - 90 percent and 89 percent, respectively - used brochures and postcards as marketing tools, but less than half (41 percent) reported buying television spots. VHT also identified Realtor.com, Craigslist and Google as the leading national Web sites used by agents to advertise listings.

Source:
Inman News (06/12/08)
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