1646 West Chester Pike
West Chester, PA
610.497.2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
West Chester, PA – Don Dowd is a top Chester County, PA realtor, consistently placing in the top 5 in sales out of over 3000 RE/MAX agents in the Pennsylvania and Delaware regions. As a seller's agent, Dowd knows all about selling houses, and he knows what it takes to get a home sold in good times and in bad. Dowd has some advice for those thinking of selling a house on their own – you are likely to make more money if you list through a top real estate broker.
"Most homeowners list their home without a realtor for one primary reason; to save money," Dowd says. "But the fact is -- people that list their homes with realtors end up getting more money in the long run – even after paying out the commissions. But you don't have to believe me, just look at what the founder of ‘For Sale By Owner' did when he needed to get top dollar for his home – he listed it through a real estate broker".
Dowd is referring to FSBO founder Colby Sambrotto, who recently sold his 2-bedroom condo in New York through a realtor for $2.15 million -- $150,000 higher than his original asking price before he enlisted the help of a broker. Dowd points to this case study as a classic lesson in why realtors usually end up putting more money in their clients' pockets.
"The major advantage of working with a top real estate agent is the resources they are able to put in to marketing your home" Dowd continues. "For example, most prospective buyers will search online for top realtors in their city or county to find homes for sale. And leading area real estate agents spend upwards of $50,000 in marketing over time to continually occupy the top spots in the local search engine results. So when a seller lists their home with a top realtor, they are able to leverage the online infrastructure that is already in place for maximum web visibility."
"Another area where an FSBO seller will have trouble is the exposure received on other real estate websites. An FSBO listing only goes out to a few websites, while my listings go out to 115 or more. In addition, as a listing agent, I have an email list of over 10,000 realtors that I have compiled over the years I've been in this business. So when I list a new home, virtually every real estate agent in the area knows about its features and can easily match it with the buyers they have looking for this type of home."
Online is not the only place where a leading realtor can drive wider market exposure. They are also able to reach more prospects with their direct mail campaigns.
"In a typical direct mailing, we send out 100,000 postcards at an average of $.50 each to targeted prospects most likely to be interested in the homes for sale in a given neighborhood or price range. That's a total cost of $50,000. If your home is one of those listed on that postcard, you are marketing to a larger pool of qualified prospects than you could realistically achieve selling the house on your own. And anyone in sales knows that it's always a numbers game – the more prospects that walk through your door, the faster you will find your ideal buyer."
Some home sellers prefer to do it themselves not just because of the perceived cost savings, but also because they may have had a bad experience with a realtor in the past. Dowd has some advice to avoid this happening in the future.
"I've talked to many sellers that tried listing their home previously with a part-time realtor or someone that was simply unresponsive to their needs. The best way to make sure this does not happen is do your due diligence and find a real estate broker that knows your area and has a proven track record of success – even in down markets. A good realtor will be able to use the most cutting edge marketing methods, and have the negotiating skills to make sure you get the selling price you deserve. Find out what the realtor negotiated for their own commission split is with their parent company, this will give you a good indication of how well they will negotiate on your behalf."
Don Dowd is a RE/MAX Main Line real estate agent and member of the prestigious National Association of Realtors. Don has been in sales for almost his entire adult life and began his career in real estate at age 22. From 2010 through 2012, Don consistently ranked in the top 5 in sales out of 3204 RE/MAX agents in the Philadelphia and Delaware area. He is on pace to surpass those figures for 2013. What sets Don apart from most realtors is his ability and willingness to invest the resources necessary to properly market the homes of his clients. He is able to do this because he retains 99% of the commissions he earns, as opposed to most real estate agents that keep 50%. His superior resources and exceptional negotiating skills make Don Dowd one of the top realtors in the region.
Don Dowd
1646 West Chester Pike, Suite 2
West Chester, Pa 19382
Mobile: 610.497.2000
Office: 610.692.2228
DonDowd72@yahoo.com
###
