You probably recognize Facebook as a handy, modern tool for
keeping up with your family and friends. But did you know that it
can also be a powerful tool for buying or selling a house?
While the tried-and-true method of listing your house with a
real estate agent is still around, many people are taking advantage
of online options like Facebook Marketplace, which maximizes the
power of their social network.
Facebook, which was launched in Feb 2004, currently has about
600 million active users. These users are connected to their
networks of friends as well as networks of people with common
interests or histories like school, hobbies, and organizations.
The Facebook Marketplace app, which was introduced in 2007,
allows users to post free classified ads for housing, jobs, items
for sale, etc.. In 2009, online classified ad service Oodle took
over Facebook Marketplace. The service is currently free, though it
does have certain limits to prevent people from running a business.
For example, you can't sell more than two cars at a time.
In using Facebook Marketplace, a user fills out a listing that
is similar to a status update. Once filled out, a sales listing
shows up in their network feeds as "Stephanie is selling her condo
in Washington D.C.."
The obvious advantage here is that a user gets instant exposure
across all of their friend's networks. Also, it piggybacks on the
social media sales idea that oftentimes the item being sold is as
important as the person selling it. If the person selling the
property is a friend of a friend, there is more accountability and
the buyer is likely to go into the transaction feeling better about
the deal. Also, the seller is less likely to misrepresent or hide
any negative features of the property. All in all, there is a level
of accountability that doesn't exist in other, more traditional
real estate transactions.
Another advantage of using Facebook to sell your house I that it
might just organically peak interest in your home from a friend who
has been over to your house before and can spread the word to
others that he or she knows are also looking for a house.
So, what's next? Selling houses on Twitter? It sounds ridiculous
now, but you never know!