October 9th - 2004

Make your personal web site professional

Are you among the 50.5 per cent of REALTORS who have a personal web site for business purposes?

Are you among the 50.5 per cent of REALTORS who have a personal web site for business purposes? According to CREA's latest membership survey, that number is up from 47.8 per cent in 2003.

But, if the statistics from the 2003 mls.ca survey are any indication, the remaining 49 per cent may be thinking about developing their own site to keep up with consumers’ wishes. In 2003, almost 75 per cent of REALTORS sold a property where the buyer indicated they had seen it on mls.ca. The National Association of REALTORS 2003 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers also shows 42 per cent of home buyers used the Internet frequently as part of their home search.

Designing your site
So you’re convinced you need a web site. But, unless you are really computer and Internet savvy, you will probably want to hire a web designer to create your site. Many web design companies who specialize in real estate sites can be found online. If possible, it’s a good idea to visit a few real estate web sites that you like and find out who designed them. Just like in the real estate business, referrals are often the ideal way to find the best person for the job.

Long before you start the design stage, you’ll need to develop a solid plan of what you want to achieve with your site. The following list of dos and don’ts should help you avoid some of the most common mistakes on REALTOR web sites:

  • Do define your audience, content and purpose. Try to think like your audience and ask yourself what you would want to find.
  • Do include your MLS listings and photos and a link to mls.ca. According to CREA’s research, the number one reason consumers are visiting your site is to search for homes and the number one feature consumers ask for is the ability to see photos or virtual tours.
  • Do include information about the community and local neighbourhoods. This is especially important for people who may wish to relocate to your area.
  • Do promote your web site as often as possible. Don’t leave it to chance that people will happen upon your site. Talk to your web designer about ways to promote your site including the use of search engines.
  • Do keep your information current. Nothing turns off a repeat visitor more than stale information. Regulations under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act also require that you keep listings current.
  • Don’t get too flashy. Keep it simple because not everyone will have the latest multimedia plug-ins or high speed connection.
  • Don’t use too many graphics. You want your pages to load as quickly as possible – if it takes too long you will lose people.
  • Don’t put too many links on one page. Keep the navigation simple.
  • Do double or even triple-check spelling and grammar. Typos can make you look bad.
  • Do get professional design help. You want your web site to be attractive, creative and user-friendly, not tacky and unprofessional.

Rules and regs
Not only is the design of your web site critical to your online real estate success, but there are some important rules to follow as well. ARELLO (the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials) has published “Best Practice Internet Guidelines” to help REALTORS avoid the most common Internet pitfalls. The guide shows the “regulatory spirit” of each rule and then gives what is considered the “best practice.”

What are some of the most common pitfalls? Advertising listings that don’t belong to you and violating the privacy rights of sellers are just two examples. The guide is available online at www.arello.org.

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For more information contact

Ontario Real Estate Association

Jean-Adrien Delicano

Senior Manager, Media Relations

JeanAdrienD@orea.com

416-445-9910 ext. 246

Ontario Real Estate Association
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The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.

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