Has the Internet Made Buying a Home Easier?

When the Internet first became a fixture in our lives, brokers and firms worried that real estate agents would become obsolete. After all, buyers now had listings at their fingertips and information at the ready.

While it’s true that buyers and sellers are more educated than ever, there is nothing like the seasoned eye and knowledge of an experienced Realtor.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but those words are often just chatter, especially when it comes to house listings on the Internet. Technology has given us wide-angle camera shots that distort rooms, carefully staged photographs, the exclusion of power lines or the sound of street noise.

The Internet doesn’t show you which streets flood, what house is on a busy road or backing up to the train tracks or where houses have had a history of not selling. It also doesn’t know what’s happened around that house. Did the neighboring home sell in a bidding war? At auction? In a week? In two years?

Buyers who research homes extensively on the Internet tend to believe they know more than a Realtor, as they focus on one particular house and reference a macro view of national trends and statistics that have no relevance in our local market.

But like most experienced Realtors, I am licensed and trained to advise you. I have a vested interest in helping you find the right house, on the right street - for whatever your needs may be. If you chose wisely when you purchased, you will sell more easily and hopefully you will turn to me to assist you. Most buyers do not have that innate real estate sense that can make the difference between sitting on a house for years and having the ability to turn it around in weeks when it comes time to sell.

The greatest benefit I see from the Internet is our ability to advertise and market your property locally, regionally and globally.

At William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty we recognize not only the local market, which is important, but also that your buyer might come from literally anywhere in the world. Our global marketing ability and exclusive placement on sites such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and most other real estate sites, cannot be touched by other firms. While the old saying location, location, location is still true, you could now add placement, placement, placement.

Click here to read Rachel Walsh's blog on other real estate topics.

 

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