When the time comes to sell your Crested Butte property, you may have a few different real estate agents in mind. One question that you may want to ask is whether or not the prospective real estate agent is using technology? There are many reasons why you may not want to consider a real estate agent in today’s internet age who isn’t keeping up with technology.
When I was young, I remember my dad coming home with phone book sized catalogs of homes listed in the MLS (multiple listing service). Agents like him were the only ones that could get their hands on the homes that were available. Today, 90% of homebuyers searched for their home online, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). For sellers, that means that their property is being shown for the first time not in person, but online. 
This is particularly true for a vacation destination such as Crested Butte, where the buyer may very well be searching for homes from Austin, Dallas, or Denver. 56% of vacation buyers start their search online (NAR). Not only that, the tech savvy Millenial generation (born after roughly 1980) are the largest group of homebuyers, outpacing both Generation X and Baby Boomers (NAR). Because of these reasons, sellers should pay careful attention to the technology skills of any prospective listing agents.
Real Estate Technology:
- 85% of buyers and sellers want to work with an agent that utilizes video. Yet most real estate agents in Crested Butte and Gunnison do not use video.
- Homes with a video receive 4 times as many inquiries from prospective homebuyers as those without video. Will your home be listed with an accompanying video?
- A substantial percentage of properties are incorrectly mapped or not mapped at all on the local MLS. For rural properties, isn’t conveying the correct location an important consideration?
- Google Earth images do a great job of conveying property features and location in our mountainous area, but few agents are capable of using this technology.
- Speaking of images, great photography is a must. Even if an agent is using a professional photographer, simple photoshop tasks such as cropping and rotating should be part of a real estate agent’s toolkit.
How I use Technology
Thanks mostly to my amazing wife, I’m one of the few real estate agents in Crested Butte that regularly uses, understands, and leverages technology. My listings utilize videos, accurate maps, and Google Earth images when appropriate. Social Media is another big factor in home sales today. I am on all the major social media channels and can directly trace business back to social media. My highly ranked website works well with tablets and phones, and I also offer a free smartphone app. The point of all this technology, of course, is to make sure that your home isn’t overlooked by prospective buyers (or their real estate agents, for that matter). That way, your home will be sold in the shortest amount of time for the most money possible.
