D.J. Zurbriggen is an agent with Better Homes and Garden Real Estate Gary Greene in Spring, Texas

Every week, we ask a Houston real estate professional for their thoughts on the top three stories from the week before.

This week, we talked with D.J. Zurbriggen, certified marketing specialist and agent with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene in Spring who, in just his first nine months as an agent, has already closed $1.5 million in real estate.

Houston Agent (HA): Our story on HAR’s bilateral agreement with AMPI, Mexico’s real estate association, continues to find readers in Houston’s real estate community; how influential are Mexican and Hispanic buyers in Houston’s real estate market? and do you see their influence growing with this agreement?

D.J. Zurbriggen (DJZ): Houston is truly an international city, embracing the diversity with open arms. Month after month, we have seen a steady increase in Mexican and Hispanic buyers, and I believe this bilateral agreement with AMPI will help facilitate agents working effectively together to achieve the best outcome for the clients. This collaboration will benefit those who are wanting to purchase vacation homes in Mexico as well.

HA: Another topic that our readers are always interested in is real estate syndication; do you recommend that your agents utilize online syndication sites, such as Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com? Or, have you found more effective forms of online marketing?

DJZ: Statistics show that nine out of 10 homebuyers used the Internet as a tool when searching for a home. Online presence is extremely important for marketing. Speaking as a newer, full-time agent, I know that syndication sites offer different levels levels of promotion, but this promotion can be a bit pricey for somebody just starting out. For this reason, I do as much free promotion that I can do on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Believe me, my sphere of influence knows that I’m a Realtor! Even if you aren’t going to buy advertising from these syndication sites, at the very least create a free profile! I think a mixture of paid marketing, free social media promotion and, most importantly, good customer service will result in your business succeeding.

HA: Finally, last week, HAR reported yet another stellar month of home sales for the Houston real estate market. Do you anticipate this strong market to continue into 2013?

DJZ: TAR reported recently that the Texas housing market posted a 14 percent increase in sales volume and roughly a 6 percent increase in both median and average sale price over last year. The inventory has been consistently dropping and now it looks like most of Texas is in a seller’s market!  With our extremely low interest rates and improving market and economy, it looks like we are headed towards a solid 2013.