Marketing Online “pivotal” in selecting real estate agents!
The Future of Real Estate Marketing (FOREM) had this post on Friday about a Yahoo! study on the impact of the internet on real estate marketing. The Yahoo! study found that the internet has a “pivotal role in the selection process and was central when it comes to selecting a real estate agent.”
Yahoo! found:
Home buyers and sellers consider approximately two agents on average before making a final decision. The Internet impacts consumer trust. Forty percent of respondents credited a site in increasing their trust in the agent. 74 percent of people who accessed an agent Web site got there with the help of a search engine. The online research process is quick and intense: consumers spent an average of 12 hours online researching agents and 75 percent selected an agent within one week of starting their search. 45 percent of respondents used the Internet to learn about agents they didn’t know existed. 41 percent discovered special deals and promotions offered from an agent through the Internet.
The biggest disconnect of the study is that real estate agent’s advertising budgets and consumer preferences are still far out of line with, according to Yahoo!, 77 percent of respondents searching online for real estate versus 34 percent using print media while print media still receives the largest share of real estate agent’s advertising budgets.
The Yahoo! study got me thinking about an earlier study I read. So, I looked it back up. It is still fascinating if you are thinking of selling your home. It was written by Leslie Appleton-Young, Chief Economist and Vice President of the California Association of Realtors® (CAR®) in an analysis of the California real estate market in 2006.
86% of home buyers used the Internet as part of their process BEFORE they started looking for a particular home. The other 14% used the internet after they started looking, but before they contacted a real estate agent. So, 100% of buyers surveyed started looking at homes first and agents second. Since over 80% of buyers stay with the first real estate agent they choose to contact, it becomes clear why internet marketing is good for agents.
In her study in 2006, 92% of internet buyers found their agent on a web site and 63% found their agent through an internet search engine. Zero percent found their agent through brochures, fliers, yard signs or mailers.
Back in 2000, only 28% of people said that they used the Internet as an important part of their home-buying and selection process. By 2006, 70% said the internet was an important part of their process.
Internet buyers were more satisfied with their choice of agents as well. On a scale to 5 where 5 is “surpassed expectations” internet buyers were ranked 4.3 overall as compared to 3.3 for traditional buyers. Of traditional buyers, 35% listed “faster response time from my agent” as the one thing they would change, if they could, about their experience. For Internet buyers 0% wanted faster response time! In the study, 91% of internet buyers said they were satisfied because their agent “was always quick to respond.”
Finally, 97% of Internet buyers said they would use the same agent again. Of traditional buyers, only 50% would use the same agent again. If you’re looking for the satisfaction customers get from internet savvy real estate agents in North Central Washington, look for those you can get to know from their blogging. There are a few of us!
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I think the numbers are probably even more impressive in second home markets like Chelan and Leavenworth. My clientele is probably more web savvy than most, which isn’t surprising since MSFT is the number one employer of my clients.