It’s no surprise that the real estate industry is being shaken up by the rapid growth of web-based real estate companies and real estate services. All you need to do is turn on your television and watch the evening news or fire up your computer and the media is tracking this phenomenon. While the realtor hasn’t gone the way of the dinosaur–yet, it has dramatically changed the way realtors conduct their business and how internet savvy and computer literate they have to be in order to add value to their services.
As Internet savvy homebuyers, delve into the home buying process and look for homes they want to purchase, it is apparent that they are fueling the vast changes in the way homeowners market their homes for sale and the way buyers undergo the home buying process. However, most buyers are still using a realtor to handle most of the paperwork and in some markets realtor services are purchased a la carte which indicates they still want that human touch.
According to the 7th Annual California Realtors Association, “Internet Versus Traditional Buyers Survey” which tracks internet, technology use and consumer trends in the real estate industry.
The following highlights were part of their findings. It is clear that homebuyers are increasingly seeking real estate data from the internet, finding their agent via realtor websites and prefer the benefits of communicating with their agent via tools like e-mail, voice mail, cell phone, computer based faxes, etc.
o The typical buyer is now an Internet buyer. Homebuyers who used the Internet as an integral part of the home buying process increased significantly in the past six years from 28 percent of all buyers in 2000 to 70 percent in 2006, as high-speed Internet access became increasingly popular.
o Socioeconomic differences between Internet buyers and traditional buyers have become less apparent as more buyers use the Internet, but the two groups continued to behave differently when it came to the home buying process. Savvy Internet buyers devoted more time researching on their own before meeting with an agent compared to traditional buyers, but they spent less time working with an agent, during which they viewed significantly fewer homes before making a purchase.
o Internet buyers were generally more satisfied than traditional buyers on every aspect of the home buying process. Home buyers were satisfied with their agent primarily because of their agent’s quickness in response and work ethic. One common source of dissatisfaction shared by both Internet buyers and traditional buyers was the late closures of their escrows.
o The Internet played a more important role in the home buying process for first-time buyers and GenXers (Age 29-40) than repeat buyers and Baby Boomers (Age 41-60). The average age for first-time buyers is 32.
While the above facts were made available to realtors in this named study recently, it doesn’t begin to cover the vast changes currently occurring in the real estate industry and which are being posted in blogs across the internet. With the rapid growth of Youtube realtors are beginning to delve into featuring video tours of properties for sale. Craig’s List continues to make media news as various lawsuits arise over their posting of homes for sale or rent. Zillow.com which has been in existence for only a year is revolutionizing the way sellers and buyers can communicate with each other and set the value on their homes. With 52 million house valuations across the U.S., the site attracts as many as four million visitors a month. Google.com is looking for real estate agent listings for its classified-ads system, known as Google Base. Social networking sites such as Active Rain, which is set up in a My Space format, but specifically for realtors is also gaining momentum and popularity.
As technology makes enormous inroads into the real estate industry it is shifting knowledge and power to buyers and sellers. In doing so, it has loosened most realtors’ long-standing control of vital information. There used to be a time not so long ago when MLS (multiple listing service) information was printed in soft-cover books!
It will be interesting to see what new changes in the real estate industry the near future will bring. Amid the media hype, realtors who are jumping on the internet bandwagon and doing their best to adjust and adapt to the changing technology will bring value added services to their buyers or sellers. And that’s what counts most–satisfied clients.
Tags: technology social