Internet vs. Traditional Buyers
By: Jeff Somers, Director, Agent Services | June 21, 2006
If you haven’t realized it by now, we’re junkies for real estate data. Our latest fix comes from the California Association of Realtors, or CAR, which recently published their 2006-2007 Real Estate Research Report on Internet vs. Traditional Buyers. This study is chock full of fascinating data points, and here are a few we found most interesting:
- People who use the Internet as a significant part of their homebuying process (called "Internet buyers") increased from 28% of all buyers in 2000 to 70% of all buyers in 2006.
- Internet buyers spend roughly three times longer than traditional buyers in contemplating a home purchase and in touring homes and neighborhoods before contacting a real estate agent.
- Internet buyers also spend, on average, about 2 weeks looking for homes with a real estate agent, versus 7 weeks for a traditional buyer.
- Internet buyers look at fewer homes with their real estate agent than traditional buyers; about 7 homes for Internet buyers and about 15 homes for traditional buyers.
- A whopping 72% of Internet buyers who used an agent used the Internet to find a specific real estate agent.
- In terms of agents interviewed prior to selecting an agent, Internet buyers interview about 1.5 agents on average versus 3.3 on average for traditional buyers.
- And here’s one that really blew me away: 96% of Internet buyers were either very satisfied or satisfied with the overall process of finding a home versus 66% of traditional buyers. On top of that, 97% of Internet buyers said that overall they were either very satisfied or satisfied with their agent versus 57% of traditional buyers.
Now bear in mind, this study was conducted in California only, and given the very local nature of real estate there could be very different trends in other parts of the country. All of this brings me to some burning questions that I have for you, Zillow Blog readers:
- If you’re a recent homebuyer or someone in the process now, are you using the Internet to help in your search? If yes, what are you using it for? Is it helping you save time or do you feel like it’s using up more of your time? What would you love to be able to do online that you can’t now?
- If you’re a real estate agent, do you think that the Internet buyer is really different from the traditional buyer? Do you handle these buyers differently? Why do you think it is that Internet buyers come away so much more satisfied with the homebuying process and with you? And finally, are you tapping into the Internet to find clients? How?
We’d love to hear more on this topic from all of you- we need another fix.
- Stumble it!
- Categories: Real Estate Industry, Real Estate Oddities, Zillow
Comments
8 Comments so far
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cesar on June 22, 2006 2:25 am
Its a local study, but the trensds are the same in the States, and in the international market.
In Spain, the amount of real estate website users is ever growing: in May over 1 million users searched for a spanish property in internet.
Jon on June 22, 2006 3:33 am
I’m currently looking for a home, and I’ve been using the Internet constantly. Don’t have an agent yet, but plan to start interviewing next week. I’m a first-time homebuyer, so I don’t have a great sense of how the process would be without the Internet, but I do feel that I’ve been able to see a lot more and gather a lot more information than I would otherwise. Nothing beats touring a house, but at least in the Cleveland market, there is a good-sized inventory, and it is very helpful to narrow the list down myself, rather than have someone do it for me.
Marlow Harris on June 22, 2006 11:31 am
In my recent experience “Traditional Buyers”, defined as those people who DON’T use the internet, do not exist anymore. There may be some in less urban areas, but I can’t imagine anyone not using the internet, nor have I met anyone recently who does not. Perhaps in rural communities or older folks, but not in our market in Seattle. The only exception would be those very wealthy and busy people who just say “Find me a house” and just expect to be taken to the home of their dreams, without a lot of schlepping and looking around.
All of my new clients, if not from personal referral, come from the internet, and I suspect that is true for many agents, at least in our market.
I suspect, when people who look on the internet say it only took 2 weeks instead of several months to find a home, they’re not counting the time viewing homes on the internet as “looking”. I find that it takes just as long to look, but you just spend less time in the car and more time on the computer. It’s still WORK, it’s just of a different nature.
Jeff Somers on June 23, 2006 11:39 am
Cesar, Jon and Marlow-
Thanks very much for the terrific comments on my post.
Cesar- it’s fascinating to see the same trends taking place throughout the world. Given the, at times, very different structures of the real estate business across countries, it is remarkable to see how the internet is helping customers in the home buying and selling process. Are you posting from Spain or is this a market that you just happen to know about?
Jon- it looks like the CAR study also holds true for OH
One of the other conclusions the CAR study came to was that first time buyers used the internet even more than repeat buyers, especially to do what you’re doing- researching homes. Your post, as a first time buyer, also piqued my interest in some other areas. Have you picked an agent yet? How do you think you will choose this person? Will the internet play a role here as well for you? What qualities are you looking for in your agent? Any thoughts you have here would be very interesting to hear.
Marlow- great post! When you say that all your customers who are not from referrals come from the internet, what do you mean? How are these people finding you on the internet? It would be fantastic to read what you have to say on this.
Again, thanks to you all!
Jeff
Ben on June 23, 2006 6:19 pm
My experience is similar to Marlow’s. All of my non-sphere/referrals clients come from the internet, and all are internet-savvy buyers. I don’t think I’ve had a “traditional” buyer (I’ve been in the biz 2 yrs).
For those who find me through the internet they’ve come through my website, blog and online agent directories.
As a buyer prior to becoming an agent (coming from an e-commerce background) I used the internet extensively to search for homes, find info on the buying process, learned how to interview agents & how to get my finances in order.
Only after my research did I finally contact an agent (referred to me) to look at the properties in person. When I saw something online that I liked I had the agent set up a showing.
Marlene Leverette on June 30, 2006 11:03 am
I am an agent in the Berkeley California area and I think that the internet buyers are more satisfied with the process because they are more a part of it. They like to do their own research and keep me on my toes. Traditional buyers do not put in as much effort and therefore have no idea what goes into the process unless you educate them - then they appreciate you.
cesar on July 19, 2006 3:39 am
Hi Jeff,
actually I’m posting from Spain, and working for a real estate portal: urbaniza.com.
Sorry for the lacky english version.
What happens in the States today, will happen in Spain within two years!
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