This is the sixth and last in a series – see all the posts

We’ll wrap up this series on the 2007 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers by looking at the information gathered about how home buyers use the Internet.

As you’re undoubtedly aware, home buyers are using the Internet more all the time.  The NAR data shows:  71% in 2003, 77% in 2004, 79% in 2005, 80% in 2006, and 84% in 2007.  It will be interesting to see if the numbers keep going up, or if the 16% who don’t use the Internet never will!

Comparisons Between Internet Home Buyers and Non-Internet Home Buyers

Here are some of the most interesting statistics about buyers on the Internet vs buyers who don’t use the Internet:

• Buyers who use the Internet were more likely to work with an agent than those who did not use the Internet:

  • 82% of Internet Buyers worked with an agent

  • 65% of Non-Internet Buyers worked with an agent

• Buyers who use the Internet took slightly more time to find the home they wanted to buy:
  • Internet Buyers took 8 weeks total, 2 were spent before contacting an agent

  • Non-Internet Buyers took 6 weeks, 1 was spent before contacting an agent

• Buyers who use the Internet looked at more homes once they are working with an agent:

  • Internet Buyers visited an average of of 12 homes

  • Non-Internet Buyers visited an average of 7 homes

How Internet Home Buyers Use the Internet 

• Internet Buyers use a variety of sites on the Internet, the most popular being:

  • 54% used MLS websites
  • 49% used Realtor.com (wonder how that got on the questionnaire?)
  • 44% used a real estate company website

  • 40% used a real estate agent website

• How Internet Buyers evaluate website information:

  • 95% were looking for properties for sale
  • 84% rated photos very useful
  • 82% rated detailed property information very useful
  • 60% rated virtual tours very useful
  • 39% rated interactive maps very useful
  • 37% rated neighborhood information very useful
  • 31% rated real estate agent contact information very useful

  • 24% rated detailed sold property information very useful

Use of Social Networking Sites 

And, then, there’s the question of what role social networking sites play in the home buying process.  NAR asked the question of all buyers who responded, not restricting the respondents to Internet Buyers or Non-Internet Buyers.  Here’s the response:

• 10% of all buyers reported using social networking sites daily or almost daily
• 9% of all buyers reported using social networking sites a few times a week
• 8% of all buyers reported using social networking sites a few times a month
• 6% of all buyers reported using social networking sites a few times a year

• 68% of all buyers reported that they never use social networking sites

As you might imagine, 28% of the younger buyers (18-24) used social networking sites daily, versus 4% of the 45-64 year old buyers.

Lessons Learned

I think some of the information in this last post of the series are just interesting.  The information about Internet Buyers reinforces things we’ve talked about before in terms of real estate websites:

• Make your MLS search very prominent - lots of visitors want to see it first thing!
• Use “featured listings” to sell to consumers.  Include lots of detail and photos.
• Don’t ignore the benefit of using virtual tours to attract and retain visitors.
• Use maps where appropriate and provide community information.
• First, sell your visitors on the tools on your site, not your services.

• And, if you’re planning on selling homes using social networking sites, well, maybe not.

This series hasn’t addressed all the statistics that are available in the NAR report.  But, you can always get one of your own to review the entire report.