Numbers Game

In my very first post on this blog, I told you that I was being inundated with numbers.  These numbers were the number of web site hits that PropertyGuys.com have claimed publicly, as well as some more objective numbers (from comScore.com) that I was sent in an email from a representative of ByTheOwner.com (who, I might add, was trying to get me to abandon PropertyGuys and put up one of their signs).

Since then, I’ve found a reasonable measuring stick to hold up against these companies.  There’s a handy web site that I was informed of called Alexa.  This site allows anyone to compare the traffic to a number of web sites, and gives you a pretty little graph of the whole thing too.  Seeing as I couldn’t get any evidence of PropertyGuys’ claims, I decided to use this site to see how the top FSBOs stack up – and how that compares to the “industry standard”  MLS.ca (and REALTOR.ca).

In my very first email communication with the local PropertyGuys franchisee, I was told that:

“We have over 100 franchises across Canada.  As a result we have approximately 52 million hits to our site a month. This is very comparable to MLS, which has about 60 million hits per month.”

Seems like a pretty apples-to-apples comparison, doesn’t it?  Now, if you have a lot of web and computer knowledge like I do, you might just agree that the term “hits” can be misleading.  Even still, the comparison that I was given – and the main reason why I decided to pay PropertyGuys to market my home for sale on their web site – was because they claimed to get very similar web site traffic as MLS.ca.

Now, unfortunately I can’t give you accurate web site stats without physically or electronically breaking into the corporate servers of these places and checking for myself.  But what I can offer are comparisons that will show you the scale of the difference in traffic between various sites.  Finally, an “apples to apples” comparison.

By the way, before you read on, I’ve tried numerous times to get PropertyGuys to substantiate their claim with some hard evidence.  I still welcome it, but from everything I’ve seen and experienced so far, I don’t see how there’s any way that their comparison is valid.

Graph 1: Comparison of FSBOs

My interpretation: PropertyGuys and ByTheOwner have been duking it out for quite a while.  GreyBruceListings and OntarioPLS aren’t even on the radar.

Graph 2: PropertyGuys vs. MLS

My Interpretation: It doesn’t take a data analyst to see that there’s a huge, and I mean HUGE difference in the amount of traffic received by MLS.ca and PropertyGuys.com.  I also gather that if you want to sell real estate in Canada, as I’ve been told by many people, you need to be on MLS.  Considering the very expensive barrier to making this happen, I’d like to see some justification of the cost of placing a listing on MLS.

I’d still like to see some traffic statistics similar to what you’d see with Google Analytics, or Webalizer.  Unfortunately, PropertyGuys would need to come forth with this information, and so far they have not been forthcoming.

After having our home on the market for about three weeks now, the listing has had 227 “hits”.  To avoid an all-out episode of rage, I’m going to make the assumption that the listing was actually viewed 227 times – even though their other stats seem just a tad overstated.  But I’m digressing again.  The point is that I’ve been keeping a bit of an eye on the counter, and the times that the listing was viewed the most was when I was advertising this blog!

Oh, and since this post is largely about those big pretty graphs above… I’d love to know why the PropertyGuys web site only provides a counter.  Yes, a simple counter straight out of the late ’90s.  No historical information, no demographic information, no graphs – and get this: it even counts a hit when *I* view the listing!

So, what now?  If those property marketing guys aren’t living up to their promises, where does one turn?  Well, there may be an answer in the future… but for now, this is your cliff-hanger ending.

(P.S.: If you’re really pressed for time, email me and I can give you a teaser)

By Golly, it’s Working…

This post will be a short one.  Supper’s in the ol’ nuker-wave, and the weekly home sterilization (a.k.a. “cleaning”) is about to commence.

Just 20 minutes ago, before a nice thunderstorm decided to pour buckets on the house, I went out to check the mail.  I had a letter.  Actually, “we” had a letter – Pam and I.  You see, the letter was addressed exactly as in the contact information in the current PropertyGuys.com house for sale listing.  I’m quite certain that there isn’t any other place where our contact information would be written like this.

What was so special about this letter, you ask?  Well, it was postmarked from the small town of Markdale (only about 10 minutes away from our home), and signed by Sheri Hill and Nereda Manion of Royal LePAGE RCR Realty, Brokerage based out of Flesherton.  Again, this is only 10 minutes away from here.  As a sidenote for those of you who are from far, far away, this is about 2 hours northwest of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and about 30-40 minutes south of Owen Sound and Collingwood.

Now, this one I know I’m not reading into.  The facts prove it, Sheri and Nereda – one of you or your associates was trolling for new listings on PropertyGuys.com! No big surprise here folks.  Everyone’s doing it.  The private marketing firms are trolling for expired agent listings, as well as other FSBO marketing firms’ listings.  The agents are looking at private sales on Kijiji, in the classifieds, and on bulletin boards everywhere.

Here’s the kicker: You sent me your standard form letter.  The last paragraph reads:

“If you have any thoughts of selling, please call.  We’ll be happy to provide a Free Market Analysis so you can see what your property is worth in today’s market.  Only then do you need to make a decision about listing.”

Respectfully, Sheri and Nereda, we’re listed, and you already appear to know this.  We’re offering both of you – as well as any other agent or regular Joe – a commission paid on closing of the sale if you think you have someone who’s interested in this great property.

For anyone that comes to us without an agent, we’re more than happy to reduce the asking price by the amount that would have been given to an agent.  For those of you that come with an agent, it would only be fair to consider the agent’s cut of the sale, and split the cost.  I’m sure we can work something out.  Finding a compromise is what negotiating is all about.

My final thought?  I would have preferred a phone call.