Therese Swan of Alain Pinel Realtors cites a recent study by the California Association of Realtors showing that 45 percent of all homebuyers use the Internet to assist them in the home purchase decision. Since this number is likely to grow steadily year after year, Swan believes it is logical for home sellers to want their home marketed not just in a print ad, but on the web. She uses www.realtor.com to advertise homes for her clients.

"In addition to traditional methods to market homes, I put a strong emphasis on Internet advertising. When homebuyers go on to Realtor.com and click on the property advertisement, they are able to see a complete description of the home along with photos and a virtual tour. Since Realtor.com is the number one real estate website in the nation, I want my clients' homes to be positioned at the highest level on that website," Swan said.

Myrt Bauer, vice president and manager of Windermere Silicon Valley Properties in Mountain View, agrees. "When it comes to marketing a home, the web is the place to be. In Silicon Valley the buyers are so Internet savvy that they know they can go online and find the homes. We have a photo gallery on our Windermere website where we can put eight photos for a virtual tour. Buyers love photos—the more the better."

Bauer, who has been in the business for 32 years, said things have changed from the days when Realtors received weekly updates on slips of paper for new listings. "We finally received books in 1973. Because it covered only one or two cities, that is where you sold and listed homes. Today it is easy to look at listings in Santa Clara, San Mateo and Monterey counties on the Internet," Bauer said.

Clients are more sophisticated today and so are the agents. Because of the Internet age, there are better-educated sellers, buyers and Realtors. Bauer believes the most effective means for a buyer to find a home is to hire a Realtor. "Realtors are able to email their clients an update of the listings immediately so the client can drive by or if it looks really interesting, make an appointment with their Realtor," Bauer said.

Of the traditional means of marketing, Bauer said open houses aren't really designed to sell the house but are often more of a marketing tool for agents to find buyers. "Sellers expect you to have open houses because they believe it will help expose the home to as many buyers as possible. However, I do believe open houses remind other agents, who will probably sell the house, that the home is available," Bauer said.

Broker and attorney Jeff Stricker with Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Altos said, "Exposure remains the name of the game to get top dollar for a seller so I use all the tools to maximize exposure and to give the seller comfort that no stone was left unturned when marketing their home."

When sellers are paying a significant commission, Stricker believes they expect Realtors to use every marketing tool available. Some of the most effective tools to sell a home include: a well-staged and presented home, rational prices and exposure for at least a week to Realtors and the public to give everyone interested an equal opportunity so see the home.

"Internet presence has been the most effective tool here in the valley to increase exposure to the public. The popularity of automated searches will expand this exposure in the future," Stricker said.

Don't forget the power of yard signs, said Realtor Jim Meader of RE/MAX Today. "Yard signs still dominate for effectiveness. A yard sign does two things. It lets potential buyers know that the house is for sale and it tells buyers and sellers that both the agent and the company are also in the market. Phone calls to the offices are still dominated by yard sign calls," Meader said.

Meader said buyers use the Internet to "self-determine" whether they are ready to be in the market. If the buyer finds a house on the Internet that would motivate them to move, they will jump into the market. If they don't find anything, they probably are not ready to move or buy.

"After buyers determine they want to be in the market, they continue to use the Internet to find the homes they want to see. This is where yard signs come in again, because as they drive the streets they see other yard signs in front of homes that may have not met their search criteria on the particular website they are using. This reinforces the need and value of the yard sign," Meader said.

Meader believes sellers still like print media and want to see their house in the newspaper, in local real estate magazines and on flyers. The Internet must also be covered, but he finds that once sellers see their house on the Internet or are told it is there, they stop any further evaluation of the effectiveness or quality of the overall web marketing.

"Print media therefore is still used, but like the yard sign, it has a dual purpose. Print media drives buyers to the web because they see the ad and go to the website for more information," said Meader.

Whether it's a yard sign, mailer, print ad or the Internet, sellers expect exposure. In today's marketplace, Realtors are using every available tool to sell and market homes, including the Internet.