Copyright 2005 MHG Consulting

Selling real estate over the internet may sound like an awkward idea. However, the exposure the real estate receives over such a widespread media like the internet is every realtor's dream.

Can eBay be used to market real estate? The answer is a resounding 'yes!'

eBay provides functionality that is clearly adaptable to the needs of most realtors. It provides a widespread medium of advertisement for the real estate. It is also a relatively inexpensive method of advertising.

One of the best things about selling real estate on eBay is that it "markets" to many areas around the world, not just a local area. Advertising on eBay makes the property available to more than 100 million potential buyers, including those from other countries. Visitors can browse through the property details 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - all without the realtor having to explain the details about the property to every single prospect wanting information.

Advertising Your Real Estate on eBay

When one has a house or other real estate to sell, he or she may list it for auction on the eBay Real Estate site. This is found at http://www.pages.ebay.com/realestate.

There are many different ways to present the property for sale on eBay. If the realtor seeks to sell the estate at a fixed price instead of having the property go through an auction, he may request eBay to display a real estate listing in a format much like a local paper.

eBay's Real Estate page has three selling formats. These are the auction, fixed price selling, and the traditional real estate listing.

For each of these selling formats, the "user" furnishes additional information regarding his or her property. Details may include lot size, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, type of property, year built, and other information. The auction listing period must also be specified, where the choices range from 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, 10-, or 30-days, or a 30- or 90-day non-auction listing.

The eBay Real Estate website charges two types of fees for listing a property. There is a simple fee for listing the property and also a fee is based on the final amount of the property sale. The charge for a 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, or 10-day auction listing is typically around $100. A 30-day auction listings cost about $150. A non-auction listing costs $150 for 30-day listing, and about $300 for a 90-day listing.

Fees for Timeshare property and land are usually slightly lower. The final fee amount for Timeshares and land is generally about $35.

Selling real estate on eBay is growing in popularity as the internet stretches it's outreach to more countries. Although nothing beats direct and personal inspection of property, the convenience of having eBay connect seller and potential buyer is definitely appreciated.

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