How much would you spend on a web site?

I am having a hard time lately talking to people about getting a web site setup. I’m not in the web design field anymore, but I used to be. If someone told me they would setup, customize, support and host a web site for $300 (setup) and $20 (monthly), I’d be excited. In fact, I was, and I got my site.

Yet, when I tell people in my classes that’s how much I spent, they all cringe.

I’ve read and re-read the NAR 2007 Technology Survey and see a few things that intrigue me:

DO YOU HAVE A REAL ESTATE AGENT/BUSINESS WEB SITE?
- 35% Yes, 65% No – ALL OF YOU should have a web site!
HOW MUCH DID YOU SPEND TO BUILD YOUR PERSONAL WEB SITE?
- ~75% spent $1,000 or less building their site, ~55% spent $500 or less – $300 IS CHEAP!
HOW MUCH DO YOU SPEND ANNUALLY ON YOUR WEB SITE?
- Over half (55%) spend less than $500 annually – $20 x 12 months = $240 which is significantly less than $500

I was pleased to hear the many success stories from Realtors with their blogs at Inman Connect, which I pass along to the people I work with, yet they still resist to spend the meager amount of time and money to get setup.

Other than free, how much would you pay to get a site that will get you over 300 unique visitors (I know that isn’t much, but I also haven’t been doing this very long), 900+ visits, 500+ people finding you via search engines and greater than 75% of people bookmarking my site?

If it’s just fear of the unknown, check out some great Real Estate related blog sites that I like:

There’s a ton of others that I happen across on a daily basis, but these can give you a good idea of how a long-established group (Rain City Guide), a corporation that should be watched (Redfin) and a newcomer (SellPDX) are using technology to their advantage.