Print and online ad publisher The Real Estate Book will help Realtors share the good news about homes they’ve sold by devoting 20 percent of its print book in December and January to sold listings — at no cost to advertisers.
The Real Estate Book’s "Just Sold 2008" program takes a page from the playbook of Realogy Real Estate Franchise Group President and Chief Executive Officer Alex Perriello.
When Realtors gathered in New Orleans for their annual convention in the fall of 2006, Perriello recommended they spend 20 percent of their advertising budgets advertising sold listings to counter negative stories about some housing markets in the news media.
"If you’re running an ad with 10 listings, put two of them with sold banners on there," Perriello said at the time. "If everybody in the market follows suit, (buyers are) going to open up the newspaper … and say, ‘Holy smokes, what’s going on? I don’t care what the media says, houses are selling.’ "
Although the housing downturn has since become more severe in many markets, The Real Estate Book’s Just Sold 2008 program is intended not only to deliver an upbeat message, but to let consumers know which agents are having success, the company says.
"No question, the real estate market is choppy, but today more than ever, it’s important to stay focused and remain upbeat," said Scott Dixon, president of The Real Estate Book, in a statement. "It’s also vitally important to spread the news about who is transacting."
Published by Network Communications Inc., The Real Estate Book claims print and online distribution in 500 North American markets. Some 20 million home shoppers read the company’s magazines each month, and Web sites RealEstateBook.com and LivingChoices.com attract 1.5 million unique visitors a month, the company says. The Real Estate Book claims an additional 45 million unique users see advertisers’ content through partner Web sites.
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