Do you view Realtor.com as your friend or enemy? How does it compare to Trulia?

i wish that we did not have to share information with the companies that charge us to have our pic up next to our information! dont like either site! so, both are enemy.

I don't pay up for premium Realtor.com. Your listings go there anyway, and what you get for the money isn't much. Your marketing dollars are better spent elsewhere.

I do not agree with the above statement. There is a big difference with free Realtor.com and the enhanced............. (Friend)

There's a difference... but does it translate into more leads/$$ earned or just a more information-rich display of info?

And why should there be any "premium" stuff at all on Realtor.com?

they get photos from me and have me pay to show more. we should make them pay the listing agents a per photo fee if you ask me.

I sold one of my listings myself due to a lead from realtor.com who said the pictures I put up made them fall in love with the house.

Another agent in my office sold one of my listings the same way. The buyer saw the enhanced listing on Realtor.com and called the office rather than me...but still. The pictures sold the house.

That same agent that sold my listing sold one of her own listings...again, thanks to the pics the buyer saw on Realtor.com.

Would it have sold eventually without the R.com? Possibly. Have no way of knowing, as it "is what it is..." buyers saw it on R.com and called us. Have no idea how many others who just say "They saw it online" but don't know where they saw it..saw it on R.com

It's also worth it to me as a listing tool, and I can put a branded video (actual video, not just a virtual tour) up on R.com (but not on the MLS.)

I only pay $15 a month for enhanced listings because my broker subsidizes the fee for us. The broker I'm sure pays a hefty fee.

Would I do it if I had to pay it all myself? Probably not because it's an outrageous amount of money.

I think R.com has a helluva nerve charging SO MUCH for this. ANd really, it's not so much to ask that they put the agent's name by their own listing. 4 pictures is a joke. Should be at least 15 pics minimum. But hey, they didn't ask me...lol

Like everything else in real estate, quality exposure costs money. The math is simple, realtor.com is the most popular home search site. Therefore your listings have to look good there. Therefore you have to enhance. The amount of leads you can isolate to realtor.com is irrelevant. The people are looking there. The houses are being shown there. Your competition is enhancing and looking great. Therefore so do you.

If you are afraid to spend some money in this business, you will ultimately fail. This is not a good business for cheapskates and penny pinchers.

Realtor.com is popular, but they are using their position in a strong-arm fashion to make money. I'm not saying an enhanced listing shoudn't cost more - but it should equate to actual cost plus a slight profit, imho.

Yes quality exposure costs more, but to get it on R.com shouldn't cost as much as it does for the simple fact that without our data they wouldn't be in business.

I would never disagree that quality exposure costs money. I do think that Realtor.com is unfairly expensive. But as long as agents keep ponying up the money it will continue...they know they have us between a rock and a hard place.

Does anyone know the cost for the enhanced listings through Realtor.com? I don't find pricing on the website, and don't really want the sales dept to call me.

Not that I really want to pay, but have seller(s), past and present, who question why some listings have like 20 pictures there, but not their listing.

Don't be cheap. Your sellers want first class marketing. Pay the freight and provide it to them. That means enhancing every listing on Realtor.com. Cost of doing business. If your sellers are noticing that you are cheaping out on their exposure, well, that is just a horrible turn of events. Here you are planning to collect thousands and thousands of dollars in commissions, and you don't want to spend a few hundred to enhance your listings? Very bad. Very, very bad indeed.

They used to base the price of enhanced listings based on the amount of listings you had the year before. I don't know what they are doing now. I haven't been signed up for that for about 2 years though. I agree that enhanced listings aren't a complete waste of money. The one that was a complete waste of money with Realtor.com was enhanced agent. Maybe that has changed though.

Thanks, and Navarac, it's a low $ listing, if sold at asking price, I stand to make $2,000, less my $250/close fee. I'd like to have the million dollar listings, but I don't. I just have the lower end listings. I already have enhanced on Trulia and Zillow.

Now, you are correct, if I did the higher priced listings, it is a price of doing business, but if they charge $500 per listing, not sure this is money well spent.

Whether it is enhanced listings on Realtor.com, the newspaper, real estate book, etc.,the bottom line is are you increasing the odds of a successful sale, or just doing it because the seller wants it? You could spend every dollar of your commission on marketing with ZERO left over for you. It is a balancing act, and always has been.