Listing agents place ads for several reasons. First, they need to show the seller that they are doing something to sell their home. Second, by showing how much they advertise, they can also attract other individuals who are thinking of selling their homes. They point to their ads to show their clients that they are aggressively marketing the property.  When other home sellers constantly see ads from a particular Realtor, they are inclined to want to list with that Realtor, too.  So even though the ads look like they are directed toward home buyers, they often have another purpose.  To attract home sellers.

What sellers don’t normally realize is that a listing agent’s true marketing emphasis is directed toward other Realtors, not the general public.  Their main goal is to convince the selling agents (buyer's agents) to find buyers and make offers.  This is a good thing because if you are selling a home, you want as many Realtors as possible bringing buyers around to take a look.  Most of a listing agent's marketing efforts toward other Realtors are invisible to the general public, but it is where an effective listing agent does a home seller the most good.

Additionally, many listing agents now have "teams."  One member of the team will probably be a licensed agent who acts in the way described just below: Selling agents (buyer's agents) do advertise homes for sale in order to attract buyers. Although the ads do market a specific property, they are mostly intended to attract buyers in general -- not a buyer for that specific property.  The agent would be happy if you did buy the property you called on, but it happens so rarely that they do not expect it. What happens when you call on a real estate ad is that you often schedule an appointment to go look at the advertised home. While you are out looking at that home, you will probably want to look at others -- so the agent will show you a few other homes, too.  Eventually, you and the Realtor will zero in on what you need and like in the proper price range and you will make an offer.

That is how most buyers find their Realtor -- by "accident."  For the better results in finding a Realtor, find your Realtor through a referral from someone you know & trust.  It could be a friend, relative or your neighbor.  Or, you can ask your Mortgage Professional who they work with, and who they trust.  As they interface with Realtors on a daily basis, they will know who would be a great Realtor for you.  In all relationships, trust is everything.  Trust your Mortgage Professional to refer the right Realtor to you, and trust your Realtor to have your best interests as their goals.

Finding Property and Using Your Own Realtor. Actually, the best thing for you to do when you see an advertisement in the paper is to call your own Realtor and tell them about the ad. Since addresses usually do not appear in advertisements, your Realtor will call the listing agent and find out the MLS number for the property.  If the listing is on the internet, it probably already provides the MLS number. The MLS number allows the agent to access the listing directly on the Multiple Listing Service computer.  That reveals a lot more information than what is available to you on the web. The house may turn out to be a great home for you, but it may also be a property the Realtor has already disregarded because it backed up to a busy noisy street and you have told your Realtor you wanted a quiet neighborhood.  

The purpose of this newsletter is to stimulate thought for my clients and those

professionals with whom I network.  If you are a real estate, estate planning, taxation,

financial planning or insurance professional receiving this newsletter, please call my

office and introduce yourself to me.  I'm always seeking to grow my referral network and

expose more service professionals to my client base.  I specialize in helping those