In a Record Busting San Francisco Housing Market Sellers Ask, "How Do Real Estate Agents Add Value?"

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Pro Marketing Materials Generate Higher Sales prices

In a 'for sale by owner' situation, or in the case of a disorganized or inexperienced realtor, important deadlines and opportunities can be missed.

San Francisco, California (PRWEB) May 06, 2014

As many San Francisco neighborhoods are breaking housing price records month over month, sellers are starting to wonder how to get the best value from their agents.

How do agents help their clients when so many homes in San Francisco sell quickly, with multiple offers and for a price that often far exceeds asking?

Ruth Krishnan, top 7% San Francisco realtor, thinks that’s a smart question to ask. “42% of buyers find their homes on the internet. 34% of them find homes through a real estate agent. And 10% see an open house sign,” said Krishnan. “I find most buyers are savvy enough to search for homes themselves. They use applications like Redfin and Trulia and Zillow to look for homes and open houses. What not everyone knows is that realtors can pay to make a listing more visible on some sites — which boosts buyer awareness, interest, and, ultimately, selling price.”

Top real estate agents use their skill and experience to optimize the home-selling process, ensuring faster sales and better sales prices for sellers. “In a 'for sale by owner' situation, or in the case of a disorganized or inexperienced realtor, important deadlines and opportunities can be missed. Here in San Francisco, the Tuesday tour listing deadline gets missed — or agents don’t act fast enough to get the home listed on the sites like Zillow,” said Krishnan.

What else can San Francisco real estate agents do for sellers who want the best sales price?

Krishnan emphasizes the importance of high-quality marketing materials. “In this day and age, if your photographs aren’t good enough, buyers may never make it into your home.” Photographs can be used in listings, blog posts, and, in Krishnan’s case, the interactive websites she creates for every home she lists as well as high-end brochures and even 3-D renderings of future plans so that, if a home is small or has an awkward layout, buyers can see its potential.

While careful marketing is always important and technology’s importance is on the rise, especially in technology-driven San Francisco, sometimes it’s the little things. “I always make sure to use great signage so that, even with all of San Francisco’s crooked little streets, buyers can find the home easily. That’s something even an experienced realtor could miss,” said Krishnan. "Especially because it's very time-consuming." Krishnan herself sometimes up to an hour before and after open houses puts up and takes down signs.

Experienced realtors also have extensive networks, so they can prepare homes for sale quickly and have established relationships with “everyone from tax consultants or structural engineers,” said Krishnan. “Having these kinds of valuable professionals at my fingertips provides a great resource for my clients.”

Top realtors bring experience, technology, extensive networks, marketing savvy, negotiation skills, and old-fashioned know-how to the sales process.

The take home? Sellers may be able, in a hot market fueled by internet-savvy buyers, to sell without a realtor, but they won’t sell their home as quickly or for the best price.

About Ruth Krishnan: Ruth Krishnan is one of the top agents of San Francisco Real Estate. With a background in design and business, Ruth Krishnan brings an artistic eye and strong negotiation and business skill to the arena of real estate sales. Representing both buyers and sellers, and with a long knowledge and comfort with the unique real estate market of San Francisco, Ruth Krishnan has a long history of satisfied clients and successful deals.

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