The National Association of Realtors (NAR) surveys home buyers and sellers every year and produces a report the entire real estate industry uses. They ask a multitude of questions to get a sense of the market and compare the statistics to previous years. One question they asked this year is interesting:
Where do people, who eventually purchase a house, find that home?
This answer is an important question for a seller and their listing agent to know. And while there are several answers, the question seems to get easier to answer with every passing year.
Below are “must know” facts about today’s buyer from the NAR survey questions:
33% of all buyers looked on-line (the Internet) for property as the first step in the home buying process.
87% of all buyers used the Internet as part of their home search.
94% of 25-44 years old buyers used the Internet as part of their home search.
81% of buyers fount the Internet “Very Useful” in their search
29% found newspaper or magazine ads “Very Useful.”
99% of buyers found the Internet “Useful” or Very Useful”
98% found their agent “Useful” or “Very Useful”
34% of buyers found the home they purchased through an agent.
32% found the home they purchased through the Internet
Only 4% visited an open house first.
ONLY 3% found the home they purchased through a newspaper or magazine ad.
The undeniable conclusion is more and more buyers are becoming informed through the Internet. The facts speak for themselves; the Internet is where home buyers are now turning
Real Estate becoming more convenient to search on Internet
for housing information. If your home cannot be found easily on the Internet, you have potentially eliminated the 87% of buyers using the web for housing information.
As this trend continues, it becomes all that more important that the seller’s agent be on top of Internet technology.
