There’s lots of ways to advertise your house for sale, you can’t really go past the big property websites, they have a mass appeal when buyers are searching in a particular area.

But once you have a buyer looking at your property details, you want to get them off of the portals and focused solely on your property – there’s just too many ads and competing properties on this sites for buyers to click on to.

Watch our video to see what we mean….

We know it’s a tough market here in Australia at the moment, although their are definitely some signs of re-awakening up here in Queensland over the past couple of months.

Also we constantly hear that the whole world is in the same situation – not so according to a report by Knight Frank.  We have here a list of the world’s 10 hottest property markets based on research by global real estate consultancy which ranks countries according to highest average growth in housing prices from the 4th quarter of 2006 to the same period in 2011.

So if you fancy a move overseas with the chance of some healthy commissions – here’s where you should be heading – although not sure I’d be heading to N0.5 as a safe career move!

5-year price growth: 27.5 percent

As home to some of the world’s most expensive cities with some of the world’s most coveted real estate, Switzerland has seen property prices boom in the past five years.

9. Malaysia

5-year price growth: 28.5 percent

In an attempt to curb spiraling house prices in Malaysia, the government is considering doubling the entry price for foreigners buying property in the country.

5-year price growth: 28.7 percent

Switzerland and Norway are the only European countries to make the list of the world’s hottest housing markets.

5-year price growth: 28.7 percent

Canada’s housing market has stayed robust over the past few years, unlike its neighbor the U.S., where the housing market is still to recover from the 2008 global financial crisis.

5-year price growth: 30.1 percent

Taiwan is one of the world’s most densely populated countries. Rapid urbanization has led to crowded housing conditions in its biggest metropolitan center — Taipei.

5-year price growth: 39.4 percent

Colombia is the only South American country to make the list.

5-year price growth: 50.5 percent

Singapore is the most expensive real estate market in Southeast Asia. The average price of a prime property in the city-state was $25,600 per square meter or $2,600 per square foot in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to Knight Frank.

5-year price growth: 54.5 percent

Israel is holding on to its spot as the third-hottest housing market in the world since 2009, when house prices jumped more than 21 percent, followed by 16 percent growth in 2010, according to Knight Frank.

5-year price growth: 93.7 percent

Property in Hong Kong is among the world’s most expensive. As a major global financial center, the city overtook London last year as the world’s most expensive office rental market, according to Knight Frank.

And the winner is ………..

5-year price growth: 110.9 percent

China is the world’s hottest property market. Housing prices in major cities Beijing and Shanghai have surged by over 110 percent in the past five years as the world’s second biggest economy experiences rapid growth.

A home in Shanghai’s prime areas cost $19,400 per square meter or $1,800 per square foot in the fourth quarter of 2011. In Beijing, the same home cost an average $17,400 per square meter or $1,600 per square foot, according to Knight Frank.

How long, if ever, do you think it will be before we make the Top 10 list? Answers via your crystal balls please!

You can read the whole report here

The results are back in the tweet war between Realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au and the heavyweights in the red corner have the edge up to today.

From the results, I don’t think either really cares – there’s plenty of family pets that have more followers!

and why would you Tweet for business at 4pm on Friday when most people are in the pub already?

Okay so being a Real Estate Agent can be stressful – but it could be worse, you could be a zebra or a cute little bunny…

There can be little doubt that the first place many would-be buyers look for houses in a particular area is on the large real estate portals such as realestate.com.au or domain.com.au and why not, it is so simple to search by the suburb you are looking to move into and then narrow your search from there.

However, the number of properties you are shown is not always the whole story. You may find 50, 100 or 500 houses ‘for sale’ in your chosen area but closer inspection may show that the actual number of properties for sale is nowhere near this amount. This can be for a number of reasons:

1. If a property is not and exclusive listing with one agent, but an open listing,  then each agent could well have a separate online listing for the property on the portals.

2. Some agents, for whatever reason, may leave a listing online even though the property has been sold or has been withdrawn from sale by the vendors. This is not solely the real estate agents fault and could easily be an oversight on their part so it is also up to the vendor and/or buyer to check and make sure that their property is no longer listed for sale.

3. There have even been talk that some less than scrupulous agents have also left particularly enticing listings online deliberately as a marketing ploy so that on enquiry, the prospective buyer is told that the property has just been withdrawn from the market but that they would be happy to show their other ‘live’ listings….

Why does it even matter, you may ask, if these excess listings are left to bloat the real estate portals?

Mainly because these inflated statistics of available properties can affect confidence in the overall housing market.

If it appears to buyers that there is a huge supply of available houses, surely that will encourage them to shop around more, make them less likely to commit and exacerbate the feeling that they can make ridiculous offers because people will be desperate to sell in a clogged market.

It is up to both agents and vendors to ensure that their listings on the portals are up to date and give a true reflection of the homes that are available for sale or the portals risk losing their relevancy.

As a footnote and some blatant self-promotion, on all our single property websites, your home can be marked as SOLD with one click or removed entirely at the vendors request.

Today we have a guest post from Ally at HLF. Some really sound points to ensure you get the best possible price for your house and ensure it sells quickly.

It has become difficult for homeowners to get the full price for their properties with the property market in its current state. This is particularly true in high foreclosure markets, where foreclosure re-sale homes can often sell for up to 50% less than other non-distressed properties in the same area.

So how do you, as a traditional property seller make your home stand out from all the others in your area? Unfortunately there is no sure answer to this question, and in this slow market you are probably going to have to settle for a bit less than you would have gotten a few years ago. There are, however, a few things you can do to increase your property’s appeal.

Fix up your property to increase its value

If you are competing against foreclosures, then this is your time to shine. Foreclosures are often left in poor condition, without proper wiring or plumbing and plenty of minor issues repairs that will need to be taken care of at the buyer’s expense. In order to make your home stand out, you can ensure that your home looks a world away from these types of properties.

Do whatever it takes to get your home looking fabulous. Whether that involves painting walls and ceilings, replacing door knobs and electrical sockets, or fixing leaky taps and sinks. Another thing to consider is the state of your yard. While it may seem irrelevant to you whether or not your lawn is mowed, your flower beds are weeded, or the pavement in front of your house is swept (after all, the new homeowner will have to take care of those things on their own), having an unkempt yard can make your home seem unattractive.

First impressions are everything, and even if the particular color of paint you chose for your walls or the flowers you planted outside aren’t what the buyer would choose for themselves, it does make it easier for them to see the potential that your property has. It’s also important that your home look as inviting as possible on the photos you will be sharing online with your listing. If the yard is overgrown and there are wires coming out of the ceiling, you won’t get nearly as many viewers.

Use lots of high quality photos for your online listing

Many homeowners make the mistake of posting only one or two photos of their home, and often these are only photos of the home’s exterior. The problem with this is that a prospective buyer wants to be sure that they aren’t wasting their time when they go to look at houses. It is a known fact that the more photos you include, the more traffic your listing will get.

If there aren’t sufficient photos listed, it doesn’t give them much to go by, and therefore they move on to the next listing that has photos giving them an idea of what the house looks like. In a worst case scenario prospective buyers may even take your lack of photos to mean that there is something wrong with the interior of your home and will avoid it.

Try to get as many photos of both the exterior and the interior of your home. Don’t leave out anything that might be of interest to the buyer, such as outdoor sheds, extra storage spaces, attics or basements. Of course you should also take photos of everything else such as bathrooms, toilets, kitchens and living areas. Before you take the photos, make sure you have made the necessary repairs, cleaned and scrubbed all surfaces, floors and windows, and removed any clutter like shoes, clothing, stuffed animals or other personal items from view.

It is also recommended that you take your photos on a sunny or at least clear day, as this will make your home appear more attractive, with light streaming in through the windows and fewer shadowy areas. Last but not least, make sure your photos are high quality. If you don’t have a good camera of your own, you should borrow one or even consider hiring a photographer in order to present your home in the best light possible.

Don’t overdo it

Once you finally have people round to look at your home, don’t overdo it by placing scented candles everywhere, displaying countless trays of freshly baked cookies or going into air freshener overkill. While this is often standard advice dispensed to sellers as a way to make their home more appealing to prospective buyers, it can actually have the opposite effect if you go too far.

All of these things may cause buyers to think you are trying to cover something up, like unpleasant plumbing smells or musty odors. Aside from that, smells are very subjective and what to one person is a heavenly fragrance may be a disgusting odor to another. On top of this, many people have allergies to air fresheners or even scented candles, and you won’t be doing yourself any favors if the buyer leaves your home sneezing and wheezing.

If there are any unpleasant odors, you are probably better off tackling these at the source rather than trying to cover them up. If your home smells musty, perhaps you need to remove some of the carpets and have them replaced with vinyl or parquet, or if there is a smell of cigarette smoke, make sure you don’t allow anyone to smoke in your home from the time it goes on the market. Freshly painted walls will also remedy this problem.

Make sure everything is freshly cleaned and open the windows to air the place out. Areas that need extra attention include the toilets, bathrooms and kitchens, as these are areas where odors often originate from. It would also be better to put away any old appliances in kitchens or personal items like razors or sanitary napkins in bathrooms.

At the end of the day, these little things can make a big difference to prospective buyers, and if your home feels clean, new and fresh, you will make a better first impression, and ultimately have a better chance of selling your home.

Ally is part of the team that manages some of the most successful personal finance sites in Sydney, Australia, including Home Loan Finder.  Before joining HLF, she was a Media Planner in McCann Worldgroup Philippines, Inc., wherein she had the opportunity to work on several innovative and globally recognized projects.

You could also get your properties own unique single property website which will definitely make it stand out from the crowded real estate portal listings.

Are you as an agent already using QR (Quick Response) Codes in your business?

With the explosion in the use of smartphones and tablets – sales of which are already outstripping conventional PC’s and laptops – QR codes are a quick and simple way of connecting your clients with your online content, be that listings on your own company website, portals such as Realestate.com.au or Domain.com.au, videos on You Tube, Vimeo, etc or even your Facebook fan page.

The QR code is just an html link in a form that can be read by an app on a smartphone or tablet.

You will have seen them popping up in magazines, on billboards and interestingly I’ve noticed a lot on the labels of wine bottles – not sure what that says about me!

The beauty is the average person in the street, according to recent surveys, has three things they never leave home without, their wallet/purse, their keys, and their PHONE.

This means that if they see a QR Code displayed that might be interesting, they always have the means to view the content behind that code immediately at their fingertips, no writing down web addresses or Facebook page links – providing they have one of the many bar code reader apps installed, they just point and click and whammo, they are at your site/page/video immediately on their phone.

So with this in mind, imagine each of your For Sale boards has QR Code that links the viewer to that properties website or page or that in your print ads you have the code as part of the ad – no searching for listings, just point and click like a camera and your site/page is there.

To get a barcode scanner for your smartphone, simply go to the iphone appstore or android marketplace and search for QR code reader or Barcode scanner – there are plenty of free apps out there.

Then check this out

As a special offer to users of Property Domains, we will produce and supply any agents with QR Codes for any of their listings, videos, facebook pages or whatever you wish.

The codes will be emailed to you as images so they can be pasted into documents, uploaded to social media sites, forwarded to printers for inclusion on signs etc.

The world is your oyster…….

To take advantage, simply email us from our contact page or call us on 0423 980601 for a chat.

If getting your property’s own website as part of it’s marketing package for only $29.95 + $9.95 p/m seems like a great deal to you, either watch our how-to video here

Or read below and then follow fill in the order form here

‘Now you have seen the features and benefits of a Property Domains single property website as part of your overall property marketing strategy, it is simple to order your very own site.

Simply return to the Property domains home page and click the blue ORDER NOW button in the top right hand corner which will open up our order form.

Firstly add your home address,

your town or suburb,

then use the drop down menu to select your state

and add your postcode.

In the preferred website address, you enter the web address you would like for your property,

there are a couple of examples below and we recommend keeping it as short as possible and using the .com extension.

In the vendor details section, add your first name,

Your last name,

your email address

and the best phone number that we can contact you on. All of these fields must be filled in to submit the form.

In the next section, you can add your real estate agents details, by default, it is set to Yes I have an existing agent.

If you do not yet have an agent marketing your property or are selling your property privately, simply click the NO box and this section will become hidden and you can continue below.

However, as most vendors have already engaged the services of an agent, you should fill in their details here.

including their name,

the company they work for,

the town or suburb of their office,

their email address if you have it and

their best contact phone number.

In the payment section, you can choose to pay from your bank account or credit card using ezidebit, a secure payment gateway supported by Westpac,

or if you have already have a Paypal account you may prefer to use this option.

Both options are totally secure and safe to use.

In this example we are using ezidebit .

Before proceeding, you must agree to accept our terms and conditions which can be accessed from our home page.

You may also like to subscribe to our newsletter where we will keep you posted on articles and updates to ensure you get the best possible price for your property.

Click the order now button which will take you to the ezidebit secure payment page.

Please note that the company name is Flitterbys PTY LTD, which is the company that owns and runs property domains.

The first thing you will see is your unique Invoice/Order no. make a note of this for future reference if you need to contact us.

You will also see that providing you filled in the order form in full, all the necessary details about yourself are filled in.

In the Debit Arrangement section, the set up fee of $29.95 is pre-set to be paid within 24 hours

The subsequent ongoing low monthly fee of $9.95 is also pre-set.

The first monthly payment will be processed some 48-72 hours after your order is received, by which time your site will be up and running live on the internet.

The payment method section is the only section where you have to fill in your details.

Select either to pay from your bank account or credit card and then fill in the required details.

Ezidebit also have their own service agreement which you must agree to.

Buy clicking to accept the terms and conditions, you are also initiating your final order and payment.

You will be taken to our Thankyou page where your Order/Invoice number is shown and your preferred website address plus a short message from us.

Thanks for watching and we look forward to building your properties unique website to give it the exposure it deserves and ensure you get the best possible selling price.’

That link again Order Here

Read below or check out the video here http://youtu.be/D0XQlqgQKbE

Our unique single property websites are designed to be a cost effective part of your overall property marketing package and can be used in conjunction with other real estate websites like realestate.com.au, domain and many others – and also by adding your website address to all your printed advertising like flyers and newspaper ads.

To illustrate this, the first thing to note is that your unique website address, closely matches your street address, this makes it easy for prospective buyers to type and remember.

The Header at the top can be customised to suit any real estate agent that you may, or already have your property listed with – as you can see from these examples of live websites.

We also have different coloured templates to suit your properties style.

In the address bar, the icons give a fast visual indication of the

• Number of bedrooms
• The number of car park spaces
• The number of bathrooms
• Whether the property has a swimming pool
• The land size
• And the house size

Moving down to the image viewing screen, your main image is displayed on the home page. Below this picture is a slideshow of all your other property images that can be scrolled through and selected to view in the main screen. Your can include up to 75 images of your property on your site.

The features box displays those features that make your property stand out from the crowd, and act as a hook for the prospective buyer to want to learn more about your property – and you can include as many features as you like.

Below the images screen is where we display your properties tagline and description. Your description can be as long and detailed – or as brief – as you choose.

From our sharing section,

• any visitor can click to request a viewing which will contact the agent directly with their details.
• Also, you or any other  visitor can email your property details to friends, colleagues or potential house hunters
• Visitors can also print your properties details for future reference
• And in these days where social media is so important, your property can be posted to the visitors Facebook page where all their friends will see it,
• And tweeted via Twitter so all their followers can view your property website.

The information box below is where your properties asking price is displayed.

Any open for inspection dates or Auction timetable can also be shown in this area, – or it can be left with an email link that asks the viewer to contact the agent for more information, if you’d rather these details were private.

At the bottom of the page prospective buyers can easily and quickly contact the real estate agent, either through their website, their phone number or their email address.

If we return back to the homepage, you will notice the tabs across the top of the address bar.

The first of these tabs is Video and Plans. In this screen, viewers can watch any property video that you may have had made, and importantly, they are watching it from within your website, – they are not being taken to an external source where they may get distracted by other property videos.

Below the video screen is where we showcase your properties plan view if available, this can give buyers a better perspective on size and space.

The Maps tab takes you to a google map of your neighbourhood with your property marked on it. Here viewers can zoom in on your location, get directions, check out a satellite or even a street level view of your property.

Next we have a Walkscore map that is marked with many of the services and amenities that are close to your property, – such as restaurants, coffee shops, shopping centres, schools etc.  - so that prospective buyers can get a feel for the local area, and what it has to offer.

We have also included a mortgage calculator page so that buyers can work out repayments based on your properties asking price.

Finally, our meet the agent page gives a more in-depth insight into the agent selling your property, including a picture, office address, website and email links, phone numbers and a biography section.

Now, it is very important that when people search for your property on the internet, that they can actually find it, so we have made our websites to be search engine friendly as well.

If we type in our street address,  - which closely matches our unique website address,  - you will see that out of over 400,000 website pages that Google thinks is relevant when searching for 50 wattle street noosa heads,   - our unique website is No.1 on the list – pretty good as the site is now only 1 week old.

So to recap, when you choose to have us build your own unique website, what you get is a website

• that can be customised to suit any agent,
• you get an exclusive web address that closely matches your street address
• you can use up to 75 images and unlimited features to grab the buyers interest
• prospects can arrange inspections at the click of a button – and share your property details by email, Facebook and Twitter
• In your description, you can really sell the lifestyle your property offers
• You can display an asking price, an auction date and a list of open for inspection dates, – or keep these details private and ask the buyer to contact the agent for more information.
• In the footer you can show the buyer quick contact details for the agent selling the property.

Our Tabs give viewers easy access to any property videos and plans

• A Google map with directions and street view
• Walkscore for an impression of the local area
• Mortgage Calculators if reqd
• And more information about the agent selling your property.

Our websites are designed to fit in as part of your property marketing package, not replace it,  - and at less than $30 to build and then less than $10 per month until you sell, – it is probably the best value property advertising you will find.

Jonathan Bouzanquet of Love Property Group in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland is keen to hear from any local agents that are looking for a new challenge with a dynamic new real estate company.

To be based in Doonan in the Noosa Valley, Love PG are a fresh new client focused company that is keen to hear from you if you have experience in real estate sales.

Call Jonathan in confidence on 0468 841200 to arrange an informal chat or email him here