Michael Petruccelli says; The real estate market may be rebounding. Homeownership is still the American dream. And yet an Increasingly number of those in the market for a home tell agents they're "just looking" or downplay their interest, says this longtime real estate coach, during a recent program at Plumlee Gulf Beach Realty. Buyers try to camouflage themselves. Approximately 89 percent of homebuyers use the Internet to do a preliminary search for their homes, according to the Florida Association of Realtors' 2010 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. They turn to online listings to browse, read reports to gauge the right time and place to buy, and arm themselves with information before they speak with any sales agent. It all calls for a change in strategy. In this market, the traditional (sales) methods, I'm finding, doesn't work as well. The buyers are much more educated than they were in the past. But there lies another problem. What they read on the internet may not be current or accurate information and may not apply to their situation. Hence misleading them and giving them a false sense of confidence. There's too much talk in the industry,about going "back to basics" and practicing age-old sales techniques. It's important to alter the approach during a time when foreclosures and short sales have made the landscape more complicated, and cash buyers who've heard of "steals" in Florida may have unreasonable expectations. The buyers have changed, the times have changed and the market has changed, yet some real estate agents are taught to do things the way they did 35 years ago. It's insane.

Michael Petruccelli Real Estate