Orange You Glad You Are Not This Home Seller?

For those who still don't believe that advertising and marketing are of the utmost importance to get a home sold, try this one on for size.

This afternoon I did a random search, via the web site of the Orange County Register, for a single family home priced in the $300,000 to $325,000 range.

The very first listing which appeared, at the top of my search (low price to high price) happened to be one at 3302 E. Radcliffe Ave. in Anaheim. My first impression was the exterior photo, which clearly showed TWO vehicles parked in the driveway.

Showing even one vehicle on the property is considered a huge "no no" within the real estate community, even before the heightened security concerns of the past fifteen years. Before looking any further, I had a reason to question the real estate agent and company representing this property.

But my concern did not stop there.

Right there, on the thumbnail for the listing, next to the photo with the two vehicles showing, was the detail, "Posted 276 days ago". Granted, it is not the fault of the realty agent that the length of time on the market is posted so prominently. However, this means that the agent has had literally NINE MONTHS to change the photo to not show any vehicles, but did not.

My next step was to click on this property to see what I could find out. And then I saw the "description copy":

"3 Bedrooms 2 Bath in a Residential neighborhood. Central Air & Heat.Close the freeways 91 & 57Minor repairs needed. Sold AS-IS"

Believe it or not, this home is shown as being listed through an agent with a nationally known real estate company.

Let's get this straight. The agent's first "fact" to present to a potential buyer is that the home is "in a Residential neighborhood". Please don't rush to your phone to contact the agent upon learning this. Oh my.

Perhaps he meant to say "close TO freeways...." in the next sentence, and is not asking that those highways be closed. But 276 days later???

This is all he can tell us about a home listed at $300,000?

Face it, even in a good real estate market, this home doesn't have a prayer of selling if this is how it is being advertised.

Frankly, it is bad enough that the seller of this home hasn't demanded a change in this so-called advertisement. But I also can't believe that other local realty agents have not stepped in either. If I was an investor looking for a "good deal" and didn't care where it came from, keep in mind that this home comes up FIRST on a search by price. How much incentive is this to continue looking down the row?

For that matter, out of ten homes which showed on the first property search page, not one of them had been on the market for less than 30 days. With ZERO urgency, there is no telling how long some of these properties will sit on the market.

And if they ever do, you had better believe it won't be anywhere near the $300,000+ asking prices.

Worse yet, this is due to poor advertising and marketing. Not the current real estate market.