Let me preface this blog with stating: IT WOULD SHOCK YOU WHAT I BUY ON THE WEB. I have worked as a builder for 10 years. We are renowned for the detail in our homes. People see the detail and totally flip: "Where did you get that??? " Web, web, web.
Sometimes I find creative peeps on the web and email them an idea. We go back and forth, and then they build it for me. Prices are usually nice for the quality, and true custom work, because most people like to go good work and appreciate someone who recognizes quality and will pay for it.
Chiseled granite sinks, period mahogany lights, detailed floor medallions. Web, web, web. 
I buy not only my car but my husband's work trucks on the web. OK, no clue really after V6 vs. V8, but I ask him the buzz words. And then I browse the web and see who has what we are looking for on the lot. We usually buy on December 30. You have a VERY motivated dealership, looking to move vehicles off their lot and we get a potential tax deduction. My first conversation with the car salesman is when we arrive to pick up the truck. Everything has been done and agreed on the web.
An automobile is an automobile. Once you specify the make, model and options, THEY ARE ALL ALIKE. There ya go. Drive it off the lot.
Two things I will never buy on the web: First, my dog. I can't even "pre-order" my dog from a breeder. I just have to see her, look at her little face, to know if she is the one for me. Second: my home. I have to see her face, too, to know if she is the one for me.
A HOUSE IS NOT AN AUTOMOBILE. A photo will never tell me if I can smell the salt sea spray, if I hear the buzz of Route One, what the light looks like at dawn. The floor plan does not tell me if the builder is an artisan with old world craftsmanship and well deserved pride in his work. I can't drive it off the lot. I can only hope that the builder/journeyman intuitively knew the most important aspect: how to join it to the earth.
NO TWO ARE ALIKE.
I preview every new listing in my town and look at every photo. But at the first broker open, off I go to see it. If there is no broker open, I go to the public open house which must be unusual judging from the listing agents' reactions.
It doesn't matter what time of day I go, nor the weather. I have this bizarre builder's compass in me that knows which way the house faces and what the light will look like at dawn or dusk. I never see what the house is, just what it could be. I am flawed: I like all houses.
Here's an exciting secret: I have a talent for knowing if a house is the home for my buyers. I preview it on the web and then in person. Then I send a web preview to my buyers and set up a showing. I can't wait to see their faces, when they actually see the house that will become their home!
The web, my ally, my best friend, will not be replacing me, the real estate agent, soon. A house is not an automobile and no two are alike.
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