What do we do Now?
-by Peter Francese

Since October of 2007, the value of an index fund based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 40 percent.  But a great many stock funds are down at least 50 percent from a year ago, and hardly anyone is suggesting that this is the bottom.

By comparison from October of 2007 to this past October, the median sale price of a New Hampshire residence (not including condominiums) has fallen just 13 percent.  All homeowners can rightly be distressed about the drop in home prices in our state, but over the past year it’s pretty clear which was the better investment.

Considering the sharp drop in retail sales and the general economic situation, it’s likely to be some months before consumer confidence climbs up from its all-time low point.  The president of Best Buy recently said, “In my 42 years of retailing, we’ve never seen such difficult times for the consumer.  People are making dramatic changes in how much they spend, and we’re not immune from those forces.”

The fact that, despite their problems, Best Buy is so much better off than their chief competitor, Circuit City, which has filed for bankruptcy, offers some insight for REALTORS®. The biggest difference between those firms is that Best Buy invested a great deal more in their website, and they invested more heavily to understand how customers for electronic goods were changing.

There is no doubt that this is an extraordinarily difficult time for New Hampshire REALTORS®.  But it is my belief that when the economy recovers, the most successful ones will be those who invested in upgrading their website and increasing their knowledge of today’s home buyers.

Results from the monthly survey which we ask you to complete will provide more information about home buyers (October survey results are described below).

But improving your website really requires some technical assistance.  Here are three suggestions for the next time you upgrade your site:

• 1. Make the  print bigger.  More of the people visiting your site are older and have trouble reading small print.
• 2. Use as many virtual tours or video tours of homes as you budget permits.  More site visitors will expect to see some type of video presentation rather than just small still photos.
• 3. Describe in more detail a home’s benefits in terms that matter to prospective buyers.  More buyers, for example, want to know if it has broadband access, how close it is to town or if it’s handicap accessible and/or energy efficient.