Home sellers turn to blogs

Home sellers turn to blogs: "NEW YORK -- Oct. 11, 2005 -- A number of home sellers are harnessing the power of Web logs, or blogs, to market their properties and differentiate them from conventional residential listings.

The Internet already has become an invaluable tool to the real estate market, but blogs have the unique advantage of targeting potential buyers on a personal level and offering them a virtual tour of the property that, in some cases, sells the home before the buyer ever sees it in person.

While most buyers insist on viewing the property before they make a decision, blogs have proven an effective and inexpensive tool for word-of-mouth marketing, although they often have difficulty targeting local buyers. Real estate agents and brokers also have turned to blogs, either as a marketing tool or simply as a forum on which to post their observations about the market, interest rates or whatever else happens to be on their minds.

For many, it offers a channel through which to connect to potential customers without having to meet in person or speak on the telephone. 'It's like when you give out a business card,' says Prudential Douglas Elliman's Lisa Maysonet. 'You don't necessarily get a hit back [right away] but it's generating an intangible.'

Source: Wall Street Journal (10/11/05) P. D2; Bernard, Tara Siegel

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