According to NAR statistics, 90 percent of home buyers search online for a house. Real estate-related searches have surged by 253 percent over the past 4 years, and thats something that none of us can afford to ignore.

But what are the actual numbers? Is there anything you can do to make sure youre in on this tidal wave of Internet traffic?

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We all know what its like to be on a listing appointment, talking to the sellers after weve already done our research, and finding out that they have unrealistic expectations.

You want to be nice, because you know theyre attached to their home and that theyve assigned value to it where potential buyers wont; at the same time, you need to be [...]

While it seems like everything slows down during winter, our ideas dont have to and neither do our sales. What can we, as Realtors, do to keep things moving along?

Heating Up Your Real Estate Business During Winter

When youre inside, so is everyone else and that means its the perfect time to push your business to the next level of social media [...]

At Benchmark Realty, we have agents all over Middle Tennessee, and some cover much larger geographical areas than others do.

But how far is too far? And how do you know if youre pushing your territory past reasonable limits?

The Judgment Call: How Far is too Far?

When you were an excited, brand-new Realtor, how far would you go to get a [...]

As a Realtor, its your job to market your personal brand as much as possible after all, how can anyone do business with you if they dont know who you are? We mail out flyers, send emails and pass out business cards, but we could always do more we could always use that extra little [...]

Facebook. Its everywhere. But does that mean you need to have a public, business-related Facebook page if you want to succeed in your real estate career?

Maybe.

You have to weigh the pros and the cons, and if youre not sure whether its going to benefit your business, it might not be a good time to start a business-related Facebook page. Weve [...]

While every situation is different, most Realtors are letting good leads slip right through their fingers. Are you one of them?

The Ideal Real Estate Leads: Qualified, Interested and Engaged

It would be amazing if every lead we got as Realtors was qualified, interested and engaged but thats just not the case. However, its our job to read the [...]

As Realtors, we all know that we have to do things that set us apart from every other agent in Tennessee and thats especially important if were trying to be the go-to agent for listings in a particular neighborhood. Word-of-mouth goes a long way, and one satisfied past client could lead to many more in the [...]

Is your real estate business going to grow next year? If youre working with Benchmark Realty, well give you all of the tools (and the time) you need to succeed including a little help with organizing your 2015 business goals.

Are You Ready for 2015 planning?

If you havent gotten started on next years business plan because, well, its not next year [...]

When we accept a listing, one of the first things we think of is staging. Are they hiring a professional? How will they do it?

While many sellers do hire a staging pro, there are many who dont and its our job to at least point them in the right direction. That said, there are four huge home staging mistakes your sellers can make that can [...]

Weve all seen it before: a client whos so excited about buying his or her first home that theyre making classic mistakes.

As a Realtor, its your job to help them do the right thing. The good news? You can do that while building their loyalty and earning their respect and its probably easier than you [...]

With all the buzz in the media about the Millennial generation, it is pretty easy to forget that people who were born between 1946 and 1954 make up 15 percent of the countrys total homebuyers and 22 percent of all sellers across the [...]