In a world where the Internet makes marketing miracles possible and home data seems to flow free, every once in a while you’ll hear of someone attempting to buy or sell without an agent.

While some stories speak of success, they also reveal the time, expertise, and energy that go into a sale and the un-debateable benefits of having an agent.

Here are 4 ways a recent story of an Australian owner taking charge of his property marketing showed marketing and managing a home is a whole job and why now more than ever smart consumers need to use a real estate agent:

From the Herald Sun:

“Northcote man Kurt Opray sold his Californian bungalow for $1.05 million at the weekend, $135,000 above his reserve.”

 

1) Online Marketing Takes Coordinated Constant Effort

From TheMoveChannel.Com: “The Northcote home… had its own blog and YouTube [offering] updates in advance of his home’s auction,”

 

This Northcote story is proof of two things. The first, online marketing works. Opray’s home sold for $135,000 more than asking price as a result of the competition he drummed up online.

The second epiphany is that online marketing is a fulltime job.  Unlike most owners who consider marketing alone, Opray has extensive experience as a social media and online marketer. Most sellers don’t have this level of expertise and don’t have the ability to focus day and night on the sale of their home.

Consumers STILL need Agents: Agents need to show sellers a detailed marketing plan for their home and keep them up to date on what’s happening with their property. Tools like Client Listing Reports can be a big help with the latter.

2) Having data doesn’t mean you understand it

Opray was quoted in the National Business Review, “I know my house better than any agent. Who better to sell the house than me?”

The comment is typical of many amateurs who don’t realize you can know a home (or so you think) and still be clueless about the market.

Understanding how to read market facts is key in moving a listing today. That’s expertise that only focus and real experience can provide.

Consumers STILL need agents: Don’t be afraid to pull out the data guns and give prospective clients a local market overview that demonstrates the hard-earned knowledge you bring to the table … Trulia’s Local Pages and can help by putting  data in an easily to view format, at your fingertips.

3) Showings and Connections sell homes

From TheMoveChannel.Com: “Opray aimed to bring as many buyers to the home’s blog as possible, giving them a personal insight into the house.””

Opray had to scare up a following and create connections online to sell his property. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were someone out there who was already tapped into a network of people buying and selling?

Consumers STILL Need Agents: When it comes to proving your value, don’t forget your connections in your local and agent community matter. Don’t be afraid to flex your knowledge of local listings and buyers to impress your clients and remind them (subtly of course) of all that you bring to the table.

4) Even the smartest use an agent for expertise

Despite all that Opray did to help sell his home on his own, in the end even he (the genius social marketer) hired an agent.

Despite all the online resources available to home-owners today, it’s clear that they still need agents to help sell their homes. Don’t doubt the value that you can offer to potential clients! Use these points in your listing presentations to demonstrate that transactions can’t happen without you.