Gary Cardillo’s Southwest Florida Real Estate Blog

Behind the Scenes Marketing You May Not Be Aware Of

April 14th, 2006

Most people today are unaware that there is an inventory of over 5000 houses currently on the market in our county alone; 300 in PGI.  With a market that changed as unexpectedly as this one has, most people have been left wondering where the buyers are.  There are buyers in the market but today’s person who is looking to purchase a property is very different from those we have seen in the past couple of years. 

In Thursday’s Herald Tribune, it is clearly shown that over 40% of the buyers that were in the market the past few years were investors or better put, speculators.  They are no longer in the market as prices have gone to levels that don’t allow them to achieve the profit margins they are looking for when they buy and resell.  The buyers we are seeing are much more deliberate and emotional in their approach and by that I mean that since they are looking for themselves they are letting their personal feelings and desires dictate their buying posture. 

Before we were seeing “tons” of showings as investors were looking at anything and everything that could possibly turn a profit however, the buyer of today is being very specific.  If they want a home on sailboat water with a western exposure and a 3 car garage, don’t expect them to be looking in the power boat section that only has a two car garage.  Since there are so many homes on the market, most realtors are tightly focusing on those properties that closely fit the customer’s criteria and may overlook homes that are close but not an exact match.  That has led, in my opinion, to more “order filling” than creative thinking. 

If I find a home that is not an exact match but has elements that I think may be of more interest than what my buyer has initially indicated, I’m showing them the home. With this market you have to be creative in all areas of real estate (listing, showing and marketing).  So if our market now consists of fewer but more particular buyers, how are we generating interest in your home?

Despite all the negative press that has been printed about housing bubbles, increased insurance and tax rates and of course the dreaded hurricane season soon approaching, there is one thing that has not changed; our affordability compared to other markets.  When compared to a Miami, Naples and Sarasota, you cannot touch anything close to what we have to offer.  The only things lacking are the cultural amenities those areas offer however, with the planned growth for our area, it is only a matter of time when we will offer many of the same venues. 

In our opinion, focusing all our advertising and marketing dollars to the local market is a mistake since it is both limiting in return and outside exposure.  We are advertising on the real estate channel in the Naples, Bonita Springs and Marco Island markets and are publishing blogs and soon to be featured articles in the Charlotte Sun and on the internet.  The purpose of publishing is the increased traffic it gives to our website that will bring buyers to our featured listings page and MLS access where your home is listed.  In addition, we have sent out marketing pieces to those states from where we are seeing the greatest number of newcomers moving into our area.  These areas are Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, New England, New York (and Tri-State area) and Mid Atlantic states.  However, that is only what we are doing on a national basis.

Since our current real estate market is a national phenomena and not a localized one, we have targeted buyers in countries whose currency is favorable to ours.  This is a very extensive task as we are in the midst of contacting almost 230 broker/Realtors in Europe and additional offices in Central and South America.  To make this more appealing to them, we have not only offered a generous referral fee but an exchange of links to our website.  With a client base as well as investor contacts, our hope is to bring more specific focus to our market and ultimately to your home.

As you can see, we are making an extensive effort on your behalf locally, nationally and internationally and that does not take into account our targeting of the major search engines and the advertising that is ongoing on Google and Realtor.com.  We will continue to update you on the latest market conditions and our pursuits in bringing a qualified buyer to your home.