Economist's Commentary: March 17, 2008
Does Having a REALTOR® Web Site Make Sense?
By Jessica Lautz, Senior Research Analyst
Sixty-one percent of REALTORS® have a Web site. Of these, 35 percent are Web sites maintained and developed by the agent, while 27 percent have a Web site that is provided by the firm. REALTORS® provide a wealth of information on their sites ranging from their own property listings to information about home buying and selling to mortgage and financial calculators.
REALTORS® typically spent $300 to maintain their Web site in 2006 and received a payoff of a median of four customer inquiries from their Web site. REALTORS® who spent more on their Web site, typically, had a higher number of inquiries. REALTORS® who had Web sites, reported a median of three percent of their business was generated from their site. Again, those who spent more increased the number of business flowing in from their Web site.
On the client side, the Internet is a very important source for buyer’s home searches. In previous years, clients used to rely solely on their agent to find all listings for them. Now, clients are researching their home purchase on their own and bringing their agent listings of homes they want to see. Nearly a third of all buyers found their home on the Internet. This has nearly doubled since 2004.
The first step for 32 percent of home buyers is looking online for properties for sale. An additional 12 percent of buyers looked online as their first step for information on the home buying process. Younger home buyers are more likely to use the Internet as their first step in the home buying process. Overall, 84 percent of home buyers used the Internet in their home search.
Home buyers found the photos of properties, detailed information about the properties for sale, and virtual tours very useful in their online search. The most popular sites visited were the MLS Web site, REALTOR.com, and real estate company Web sites. After doing an online search of properties, 73 percent drove by or viewed a home, and more than half walked through a home they viewed online. One in five home buyers found the agent they used to search for or buy a home from an online Internet search, while they were looking for homes.
Clients rely on the Internet as a popular source of information on the home buying process, home listings, and as a way to find a real estate agent. By, creating a REALTOR® Web site, it is one more way to advertise and market listings and REALTOR® business.
This is one in a series of commentaries by the Research staff of the National Association of REALTORS®. Read more commentaries >
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