Taking the Real Estate Industry to ‘Main Street’

Commentary by P.J. Martin Smith

RISMEDIA, Dec. 16, 2008-Do a handful of today’s largest media outlets have a major influence over consumer impressions? When it comes to the real estate industry and consumer confidence-this seems to be the case. Large media outlets typically cover broad trends and focus on extreme markets, with little attention paid to “main street” real estate.

The challenge and risk with national reporting is that it is impossible for national media outlets to effectively report on every real estate market in the nation; and everyone who understands the industry knows that conditions vary greatly from market to market. This is a localized business and consumers need to hear about what’s happening in their area. This is why ERA Real Estate has turned to our affiliates who can work with their local media outlets to help get the message out about what’s really happening on “Main Street.”

As a national brand that operates on a local level, the ERA® network is able to respond quickly and consistently to changes in the industry. Through our marketing tools, our affiliates have the unique ability to assess and respond to local market conditions as they occur. All of our U.S. affiliates have access to our marketing resource center that allows them to develop and distribute communications and marketing materials that are relevant to their local market.

The timing couldn’t be better for this type of local awareness initiative. Recent studies have shown that more people in America today read the content published in local newspapers than at any time in recent years. At the same time, content about local news and community coverage has become more important to the readers.

In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by Project for Excellence in Journalism, nearly two-thirds (62%) of editors responding to the survey said they had increased the amount of space devoted to community and neighborhood news in the last three years. This is a huge addressable resource for our affiliates and we are capitalizing on this trend by putting the tools to distribute relevant local real estate information at their fingertips.

ERA Real Estate and its affiliates have received extensive coverage in local, daily and weekly publications-specifically with topics that address how local markets may compare to national trends or how recent changes in laws or governmental programs may have a direct impact on their communities. For example, our affiliates have access to articles discussing industry topics such as the “Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008,” that explains the temporary federal income tax credit Congress created to provide an incentive for first-time home buyers.

Local media outlets know that their readers are interested in real estate news, and we realized very early on that if our affiliates don’t have the capability to provide locally focused content, the outlets will continue to run national stories and ignore “main street” trends.

P.J. Martin Smith is the senior vice president of marketing for ERA Franchise Systems LLC.

For more information, please visit www.era.com.

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