There have always been generational gaps when it comes to new technology. Many joke about having to ask their kids or grandkids for help with their phones. Were it not for that generation, they would pick up a corded phone at their home, tell the operator who they wanted to speak with, and then be connected.
When I was in college, I studied abroad in Japan. Each week I would get a call from my family. One Sunday, that weekly call came from my grandmother. When she got me on the phone, she was amazed that she could hear me so well from Palm Beach.
She proceeded to tell me that I could not really be halfway around the world in Tokyo because there was no way that phones could work that way. Obviously calling and phones have changed and continue to evolve.
The Real Estate Paradigm Has Shifted
The marketing of real estate has changed as well. While the days of driving from one property to another and looking around still exist, how the process begins is completely different. In fact just this morning someone called me from 6,000 miles away. Before I could even say “hello,” she was asking about the details of one of our properties while looking at their computer screen.
The Sarasota real estate market is a global marketplace. The results were just released that sales in the US for foreign buyers increased 49% in 2016-2017 up to $153 billion. Florida is the number one state for buyer activity. Nearly a quarter of all foreign purchases occur here, and this is 80% more than the next closest state, which is California.
The top five countries of origin for foreign buyers were China, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and India.
It is not just global buyers looking online; it is all Buyers. 98% of all Buyers are searching online whether they are coming from China, Canada, the UK, or on the other side of the wall in the adjacent condominium.
For Sellers, Targeted Digital Marketing is Pivotal
To anyone thinking about listing a property, to get the most money in the least amount of time it no longer suffices to just “have a for sale sign in the front yard.” Similarly, it is no longer enough to have the “property on the internet.”
Websites have to be local to the target audience such as fang.com in China and Rightmove.co.uk in the United Kingdom. And that is just one facet of a myriad of tactics that are necessary to excel at real estate marketing today.
At our real estate agency Investments In Sarasota we are able to target our advertising to a family in the UK who can afford a $2M home and are looking to have a 30-foot sailboat behind their house while being a 5-minute walk to the beach, or a couple in their 60’s who enjoy opera, continuing education and beach views with a net worth of $5M.
Let us help you take the digital leap so that your property will receive the maximum exposure and the most money available. With us taking care of your real estate needs (941.587.0740) you should have more time to spend with your children as they program your smartphone.
