How Music Dated the Real Estate Listing

July 7, 2008
By: Marc Grayson
Author's Website: http://www.webographers.com

Many online classifieds don’t directly reflect data of ’how long a property has been on the market’ as top-level information for online consumers.

Recently, we were browsing listings in the Phoenix metropolitan and came across a “choice” listing online (20 photos, good detail, virtual tour, video tour, etc)…a listing that met our strict criteria when engaging in an advanced search. An absolutely beautiful and engaging home presented online.

Funny thing with the virtual tour was the music selected by the agent. The music playing was Christmas / Holiday music. Immediately, we could do the math and draw conclusions of how long this listing has been on the market; inferring a small, but duly noted, air of caution (why hasn’t this property moved).

Yes, “the weather outside is frightful” here in the desert (not snow, but blazing hot summer heat).

Be sure to cross check any online listing tools within your arsenal that use any “seasonal” or “holiday” oriented flair. This agent did a bang-up job in giving us every resource to see this property in it’s best light (after a pretty penny spent I’m sure by this agent). One small item that required a little attention-to-detail.

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Categories: General, Marketing

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buytoletstudent

I'm with Sid Kirkland, automatic music on a site reminds me of poor web-design, teenage MySpace profiles, and mobile ring tone sites. Not ideal for a reputable company trying to sell real estate. But, then again I suppose I think this because I can't remember an instance of this working. Does anyone have a link to a site in this industry with automated music that does complement user experience?

Not holding my breath...
Jim

Marc Grayson

Jay...aggresive browsing here in PHX.

Jay Thompson

Browsing Phoenix listings? For sport or because you're looking for a home?

If it's the latter, what you need Marc is a good Phoenix real estate agent... ;)

Marc Grayson

I'm fine by music w/ tours. The home showcased was very sophisticated. Would've selected a more classical, timeless piece versus the "jingle bells".

Sid Kirkland

I really think that any site that has music playing automatically should be fined. It's always low quality and if I wanted to hear the beach boys, I'd turn on a classic rock station where they play them incessantly. The new generation, if they do want to hear music, want a play/pause option at the very least. There are many embeddable players now that can offer a variety of tunes...but really...that's not why they're on your site so can the cheesy tunes! It's not 1998 and Little animated gif's and MIDI files are NOT COOL
(End Rant)

NikNik

No music is best....it's just a distraction anyway. What's the first thing you do when you run across a site with music? Probably, pause it (if there IS a pause button) or turn your speakers down.

BTW-I'd take a cookie bouquet any day of the week!

Dan - Real Estate Marketing

That's a funny story. This seems like it happens a lot on a lot of different sites - people invest the money but don't take the time to pay attention to the details.