if you are selling property, whether it be in Manhattan, New York or Manhattan, Kansas (yes there is a Manhattan, Kansas), you must find out from your agent/broker exactly where your property information will be disseminated. Most people don’t realize how many companies still subscribe to the philosophy that controlling your property information is a good practice and one that they will try to convince you is in your best interest. The only interest protected by withholding your property information from maximum exposure is that of the agent/broker.
With the explosion of the information age has come a more transparent real estate industry in many ways with buyers and sellers able to access property information in ways once reserved for only agents and brokers. Information can no longer be held hostage, or can it?
Just recently I was slapped on the wrist for sharing contract signed data. The sharing of the information was in an effort to better inform my readers (anecdotal of course) about current market conditions as well as future market direction. And it isn’t just contract signed information that is being held hostage. Some firms continue to resist sharing active property data with web sites that could be incredibly beneficial to a seller’s ability to procure a buyer.
So what to do? Ask your agent if they are syndicating your property information. There are a multitude of listing syndication companies out there which will take your property information, including photos, floor plans, links back to your agent’s web site, etc. and disseminate it to every imaginable real estate marketing site out there. This is inexpensive and gives an instant global reach to your property often in as many as 30 or more languages.
In a market where the number of qualified buyers has shrunk significantly, it is absolutely imperative to make sure you cast the widest marketing net possible. Listing syndication is precisely that net.
And BTW, don’t be fooled by the brokers who tell you that there web site gets a million hits a month. That and a dollar might get you a cup of coffee (from a deli of course…not Starbucks). Those hits mean nothing to you as a property owner unless that prospective buyer finds your property. And in today’s market where finding a buyer can be a "needle in the haystack" dilemna, chances are better that they WILL find your property through listing syndication.
