I was recently interviewed for an article by John Rebchook of InsideRealEstateNews.com for a story titled: "Internet Complements Agents." At my companies COhomefinder.com and 8z Real Estate we provide the best internet technologies for our Colorado real estate clients, but that service doesn't stop with the web. Not only do customers need to be able to access listings and statistics to their property search but also local info from a recognized expert in that city and neighborhood. While the web provides great resources, a great agent completes the puzzle to making your best real estate investment. There was this common misperception that within five or 10 years, the Internet would replace the real estate agent. To learn more why a REALTOR continues to be important please read this excerpts from John:
The internet is a hug component of a home search and growing. As John explains:
"Web-based searching for a home is on everyone’s radar screen – 89 percent of buyers use the Internet, according to the National Association of Realtors. But there has been a largely unnoticed trend. For the first time, Hornung notes, more people found their home through the Internet than from a real estate agent, according to the most recent NAR report. Sure, it is close. Internet No. 1 When the NAR asked buyers where they first learned about the home that they purchased, the No. 1 answer was the Internet, at 38 percent. Real estate agents came in at No. 2, at 37 percent, the Realtor-trade group said last November in its 2010 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report. In 2001, real estate agents were the No. 1 method of finding a home by a wide margin. Some 48 percent of the buyers found the homes they eventually bought from a real estate agent, and only 8 percent from the Internet, a distant number two. In 2009, the Internet and real estate agents tied for first place, at 36 percent each. In 2008, the No. 1 source was the real estate agent at 34 percent, compared with 32 percent for the Internet"
Despite the ease of access to real estate information online, John explains with his article that agents are still important for consumers searching for homes:
"Despite the growing popularity of Web-surfing to find a home, Hornung contends the real estate agent is more important than ever. The Internet is a great complement to a knowledgeable real estate agent “The under-stated story out there is what a great time it is to be a consumer. There truly is an unprecedented amount of information available. I would say that the Web has not only made for better consumers, but I truly believe it has made real estate agents better as well. The baseline level of market knowledge of the Internet-empowered consumer has pushed real estate agents to raise the bar on their own market knowledge. Especially now that the bubble-market is over, consumers want to hear the advice of a knowledgeable real estate professional.” He noted that buyers, after doing their “homework” on the Internet, “look to an informed real estate agent with knowledge and experience to interpret the data and provide context to the data. It’s a great combination for the consumer. Online research makes the consumer very well informed. I believe consumers today are the most informed ever."
But there are some things you cannot learn online, and that is where the real estate agent comes in. A few of these include these bulletpoints I spoke with to John Rebchook:
- A real estate agent will be able to point out deterents to a property a buyer may not notice. For example, a real estate agent may tell a prospective buyer that a house on a certain street isn’t as great of a deal as it appears, because from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. each weekday, headlights will be shining through her windows. “
- The Internet is a snapshot of real estate at a particular moment in time.
- A real estate agent who has worked in that market and has sold hundreds of homes in that area can put the house you are considering into a historical context
- Some agents are so familiar with an area that they farm, if you throw out an address, they can give you specifics about the home such as it needs a kitchen makeover.
Be sure to read the full article that the internet complements real estate agents.
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