Informed and Knowledable Public Using Internet to Find and Sell Real Estate

According to a recent study conducted and presented by Leslie Appleton-Young, Chief Economist and Vice President of the California Association of Realtors® (CAR®) in her analysis of the Real Estate Market in California for 2006, customers have moved their real estate transactions almost entirely to the Internet. Is your REALTOR using the Internet to sell your house to the world 24/7/365?
You might want to ask him or her about a few of the report's interesting findings:

* 92% of Internet buyers found their agent on a web site; 63% found them through an Internet search engine; 0% of Internet buyers found their agent through brochures, flyers, yard signs or mailers to their home

* In 2000, 28% of people said that they used the Internet as an important part of their home-buying and selection process. In 2006, 70% said they did

* 86% of home buyers started using the Internet as part of their process BEFORE they started looking for a specific home; the other 14% did after they started looking, but BEFORE they contacted a real estate agent; that means that 100% of buyers surveyed started looking at homes first, agents second.

* Internet buyers spent an average of 4.8 weeks doing research before contacting an agent; traditional buyers only 1.7 weeks.

* Internet buyers bought a home on average after spending 2.2 weeks looking for a home with an agent; traditional buyers spent an average of 7.1 weeks

* Internet buyers previewed an average of 6.7 homes with their agent (they had already eliminated ones they did not wish to see), traditional buyers previewed 15.4 homes

* Only 3% of all Internet connections available at the primary computer used for the home-buying process were dial-up: Internet home buyers and searchers are not sticking with dial-up, just as they are not sticking with traditional methods

* The approximate distance between previous residence and new residence for traditional buyers was 25 miles; for Internet buyers, it was 242 miles

* 69% of Internet buyers said response time was extremely important. 83% of those buyers chose email as their favored communication method with their agent. 0% chose "in person."

* Internet buyers were more satisfied with their agents: 4.3 to 3.3 for traditional buyers, on a scale of 5 where 5 is "surpassed expectations."

* 35% of traditional agents listed "faster response time from my agent" as the one thing they would change, if they could, about their experience; Internet buyers? 0%!

* Internet buyers were far more satisfied in every important researched category of satisfaction than traditional buyers were; when asked the number one reason for satisfaction with their agent, 91% of Internet buyers said that satisfaction was because their agent "was always quick to respond." Traditional buyers? Their number one reason was "worked hard on my behalf", chosen by 62% of them, leading us to conclude that traditional buyers did not find their agents "quick to respond."

How does your agent rate?

Jennifer Bunker. CRS, GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker