Technical or Traditional? According to the California Association of Realtors’, 62% of all first-time home buyers used the Internet for conducting research at the beginning of the home-buying process, while more than 50% of repeat buyers continued with their traditional methods relying more on their agent as their source of information according to the 2005 survey.
Home buyers who used the Internet as a primary part of the home-buying process increased 6% this year, up from 56% in 2004.
Home buyers are more informed now than ever, eagerly doing research on their own. The Internet has helped, not hindered, the Realtor’s position in the home-buying transaction for the buyers ultimately seek Realtor’s expertise and judgment throughout the home-buying process.
Other findings from the report were:
According to the report, Internet buyers were younger, wealthier, better educated and more likely to be married than traditional buyers. The average age of Internet searched home buyers was 39 years compared with 46 years for traditional buyers.
More than nine out of 10 Internet buyers were married, while eight of 10 traditional buyers were married.
85% of Internet buyers had at least a four-year college degree and
11 % completed post-graduate work. By comparison, 78% of traditional buyers held a college degree and 4% completed post-graduate work.
Internet buyers had an annual income of $185,088, compared with $151,190 for traditional buyers.
Considering buying a home: Internet buyers spent an average of 5.8 weeks before contacting a Realtor, traditional buyers spent 2.1 weeks.
Looking for the home: Internet buyers spent 2 weeks looking for the home they ultimately purchased, compared with 7 weeks for traditional buyers.
All first-time buyers: Typically spent 4 weeks considering buying a home and 4 weeks investigating homes for sale before contacting a Realtor. They then spent 3 weeks previewing 8 homes with their Realtor.
All repeat buyers: Typically spent 3 weeks considering buying a home and only 2 weeks investigating homes for sale on their own. They spent 5 weeks previewing 10 homes with their Realtor.
About six of 10 Internet buyers said that in the long run their realtor’s information was more useful; none of those surveyed consider the information gathered from the Internet to be more useful than that obtained from their Realtors.
As more consumers spend more time online, they feel a growing comfort level with using the Internet when buying a home. Given the competitive nature of the current real estate market, consumers increasingly look to the Internet for information. As a result, homebuyers are better informed and maintain a greater sense of control over the home buying process.
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Source:
Los Angeles-based C.A.R. is one of the largest state trade associations in the United States, with more than 165,000 members.
