When I first went into real estate, I thought real estate was a marketing and advertising business. Realtors market themselves and advertise their listings and that is what consumers see. But there is much, much more than that. Real estate is really a communication business. Realtors are the agents of communication between buyers and sellers, and between Realtors and Realtors, and clients, lawyers, home inspectors, lenders, insurance appraisers, and a host of other professionals.
Online, in the comfort of our own homes and offices, many people begin gathering information about buying or selling their next home. The internet has quickly become the place to go to for information about homes, schools and neighbourhoods, as well as most everything else. Through writing about real estate and taking an interest in everything from interest rates to vacancy rates, from bus routes to school rankings, and from home sales statistics to neighbourhood demographics, I’ve learned and I’ve shared what I’ve learned through my blogs, podcast and book.
Selling real estate, as the expression goes, ‘is not rocket science’. You need only, the right price, an MLS listing, great photography, a knowledgeable Realtor, the power of the internet, descriptive text, timely and effective communications, and perhaps, patience, luck, and/or good timing. That’s it. That’s all. It is not rocket science.
Interestingly, the expression, ‘it’s not rocket science’ has only been around since the early 1980s. Prior to the 1980s, ‘brain surgery’ had been the occupation that simple tasks were said not to be. ‘It’s not brain surgery’ dates from the 1960s. Before that, straightforward tasks were simply said to be ‘as easy as pie’ or ‘as easy as falling off a log’.
I only mention this because many people have bought and/or sold a home before and they think they know how to do it. It’s not rocket science. It’s not brain surgery. But like the expression, the process has changed. It has changed, like many things, because of the internet.