The subject of this article is to describe how print advertising became terminal and eventually died especially in the lucrative residential Hilton Head real estate business. In my opinion, a tremendous amount of periodicals such as newspapers, magazines, flyers, etc. will be bankrupt over the next two to three years due to lack of revenue from print advertising. I can look at the Island Packet which is our local newspaper in the low country and the important newspaper for the Hilton Head Island area. It was only a few years ago, before the real estate bubble burst, that I paid thousands of dollars every month for ads in my focused areas which were Moss Creek Homes and The Crescent. The Sunday real estate section in the Island Packet was a multi page advertisement for all kinds of properties from the Hilton Head Island and surrounding communities. Often a 4”x4” ad to be run on Saturday and Sunday would cost $300-$400. Today in the Packet, there are very few ads at all and the ones we see are for placed for seller satisfaction, new realtors trying to make a name for themselves, or a couple of the big hitters keeping their names in the forefront. So what does all this mean? It means that print advertising has allowed itself to become complacent and a money machine for publication owners without any planning for the future. With the development of the internet into residential real estate with a bang, this process shortened the amount of time for a buyer to start and finish the process of elimination. Consequently, the sellers have moved beyond the ego need for Island Packet type advertising and recognize their Realtors should be spending their budgets on the internet. Why did all this happen in such a short amount of time? If one is looking in the Island Packet for a 3000 square foot home in Moss Creek or in The Crescent with (4) bedrooms and (3) bathrooms with a golf course view, it is impossible to find those homes that meet this profile because all of the advertising is identified by Realtor or real estate company ( not by type of property). In other words, what is going on is Realtor imaging or real estate company branding. The local real estate agent uses magazines that are set up the same way; fun to read but impossible to find the house of your dreams. The internet has become the efficient tool to get the job done. Most agents who advertise are forced to by their sellers or the Realtors want their name up in lights! I always say, “it’s nice to know that the cook at the Marriott knows your house if for sale in Moss Creek or in The Crescent but he has no plans to buy it. So what has changed. Today’s buyer uses internet sites to profile their needs and especially Realtor.com which is utilized by over 80% of the buyers coming to Hilton Head. Often they know what homes they would like to visit before they make their initial visit to the Hilton Head area. An enhanced Realtor.com site allows the real estate company to place a large number of photographs on the site and a link to the company’s web page. Often, there is a clear description of the community and all the necessary detail about the home. We get calls from first time visitors who ask, “ show me these five houses in The Crescent and these six houses in Moss Creek and any others that might meet our profile. The key is understanding the buyer profile. One of Hilton Head Island’s key Realtors last year spent $40,000 in print advertising in six weeks and received only two cold phone calls when over 50 properties were presented. The problem is the presentation offered no way of matching profiles to properties. The internet shortens the process considerably. Sellers, on the other hand, who understand the process of elimination and property profiling need to demand from their Realtor that their properties are handsomely placed on “living “web sites with correct description and first class graphics. Normally a buyer browsing Realtor.com or other real estate sites will quickly develop a hit list and if you’re not right there “looking good” the first time, you’ll miss the cut forever. Why Realtors ever place a property in a publication or on a web site without photographs is beyond me because the chances of selling the property are “0”. Sellers need to be more involved in the marketing plan of their properties. “A confused buyer will not make an offer”. Another interesting point can be made in utilizing Carolina Realty Group as an example; if your major residential real estate company is proactive, is quality driven, has new and efficient technologies, and represents the home owners correctly, the community will benefit with higher prices & better turnover. If the properties listed for sale by Carolina Realty Group in Moss Creek and in The Crescent, for example, are presented in a quality manner, these properties will outshine 90% of the other homes listed with other agents. The day of the “lone wolf” agent showing up with little data and a small inefficient personal web sites just don’t represent the home owners or Moss Creek, The Crescent, and other communities very well. If I listed my own home tomorrow, the only company I would consider would be Carolina Realty Group. Realtor dollars are best spent on the internet and especially on “living” web sites like the one managed by Carolina Realty Group in the low country. If you have any comments or would like to discuss any real estate issues, please give me a call at any time. I’d love to hear from you. If you know of anybody thinking about buying or selling a property, please feel free to give them my name & number. Thanks for reading my article.