Consumers looking here. Realtors advertising there?

77% of consumers searched the Internet for information regarding real estate. That is compared to 33% for print. Not surprising, right? What is surprising is that the biggest share of a Realtor’s advertising spend at 40% is print. 

A titanic disconnect of where consumers look for real estate and where Realtors advertise. 

Based upon a recent study by Yahoo! Inc., here are the results:

• 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. 

What is clear is that home buyers, and consumers in general, are moving toward the Internet, not away from it. Shouldn't the savvy Realtor be moving their dollars there as well?

By: Ed Kim

Example Customer Websites

www.livingonthemainline.com

www.harrynormansells.com

www.buysarasota.net

www.tucsonhomeconnection.com