Syndication Solution

New Policies
The Austin Board of Realtors (ABOR) has announced that starting May 1st, they will no longer syndicate listings that are entered in the MLS. This new policy could have a large impact on your ability to sell your home, depending on the agent you choose to represent you.

Did you know that 95% of homebuyers start their search online? With information about the thousands of homes that are currently for sale just a click away, the internet is a smart place for buyers to get their feet wet. I'm sure you're familiar with many of the prominent websites that host this information, such as Zillow, Trulia, Home Finder, Homes.com, Yahoo Homes, and many more. Would you be shocked to hear that starting this week, ABOR will no longer push listings to any of these websites?

A strong online presence is a key aspect of advertising your home, and helps ensure it receives the most interest, and ultimately, the most money in your pocket. With nearly 30% of all home sales being facilitated via these types of websites, sellers can't afford to have their homes kept off highly trafficked sites. With ABOR's new policy, home listings will only be syndicated to three websites: austinhomesearch.com, realtor.com, and texasrealestate.com.

Since listings will not be automatically pushed to countless high-profile sites like they currently are, it will be up to agents to decide whether or not they spend the copious amounts of time manually entering their listings into dozens of sites to provide their clients' homes with the exposure they deserve.


My Solution
The work-around for this issue is yet another reason I'm thankful to be a part of the Keller Williams family. Because we are such a large company, we have our very own in-house listing service, which pulls in all of our listings from the MLS. After that data is received, it's syndicated out to over 900(!) websites, so our clients' homes have the most exposure possible. While I probably couldn't name 100 real estate websites, much less 900, the impact is simple: if you list your home with me, your home will be exposed to the most buyers possible.

As far as we know, KW is the only brokerage with an internal listing service (known as the KWLS), which means our company is the only one who will not experience a moment of change when this new policy goes into effect. Rather than spending my time entering and re-entering information about my sellers' homes into website after website, KW will automatically do this for me, which helps ensure I reserve my time for more productive activities, such as finding buyers for my listings, communicating with my clients, and educating myself on our ever-changing market.

If you're interested in listing your home for sale with an agent who isn't affiliated with Keller Williams, I urge you to ask them how they plan to market your home, and how quickly they will have information about it available on prominent websites.

A strong online presence is only one facet of my advertising package. If you want to hear more about what I do to get top dollar for my sellers' homes, give me a call!

Buying Or Selling Real Estate? Call Me.

I am now a Realtor® with Keller Williams, and I couldn't be more excited.

The path to getting here has been an exciting one. Back in 2011, my dad and I decided that we would find an investment property for him to buy, and I would help him manage it. I called up an awesome realtor I knew to show me homes in the area, and after seeing 6 or 7 I knew which one fit the bill. We went back to show my dad, we made an offer, and about 2 months later we closed. Since then, we've been lucky enough to have amazing tenants and very minor maintenance on the house. 

What I took away from this first taste of real estate was simple: I loved it. 

When John and I decided to buy our first place, I knew the realtor we should work with was the same one that had found my dad his investment property. We ended up falling in love with a condo and hit speed bump after speed bump in our attempt to buy it, but our wonderful realtor successfully got us through the transaction, and we now live in what we feel is our perfect first home. 

Again, I loved the process, but I also took away a deep appreciation for the realtor that held our hands through the 6 months of choosing the biggest investment of our lives. Despite the countless setbacks, she persevered in our names and kept us going when it seemed like there was no possible way we could work it out. 

This is what I want to provide for my clients and is what will drive me to do my very best for them. I was in the buyer's seat not long ago, and I will never forget how much I relied on and appreciated our realtor. She answered my calls at 9:00pm and reassured me that we would get through the latest speed bump, and we did, mainly because she worked hard to push us over it. 

These are the relationships I want to form with my clients. When I was the buyer, I didn't know how anything worked, and I needed our realtor to hold my hand. Now, after classes, exams, and the amazing training Keller Williams has given me, I know I can be the one to hold a new buyer's hand. I have the knowledge, resources, and countless experienced colleagues to provide advice and support, and I am unbelievably excited to start this new career.

Really, my career has already started. I've been licensed for a few months and am working with multiple clients across different parts of the city. I'm lucky to have been born and raised here because it's allowed me to get to know Austin and its neighborhoods in a way that many realtors don't. 

I already knew Austin was an amazing city, but starting this new career has reinforced that with some incredible statistics. Did you know that 170 people move here every day? Home sales are up by 20% and are selling nearly a month faster than they did in 2012. The median selling price is 9% higher than last year, which equates to roughly $18,000 per home . This is an exciting time to get into real estate, and I'm ready to dive in.

If you or anyone you know is looking to buy, sell, or lease real estate, I would love for you to keep me in mind as someone who can help you find somewhere to call home. You can check out my website to see properties that are currently on the market, or you can contact me personally and I'd be happy to set up a custom search for you based on your criteria.

Don't be a stranger, I'd love to hear from you :)