Slow to contact an agent, Internet buyers want service with that initial contact

Sometimes research confirms what is universally known or suspected. Take the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ 2006 Internet Versus Traditional Buyer Survey, in which the major finding was the following: The share of home buyers using the Internet as an integral part of the home-buying process has nearly doubled to 70 percent from 2001.  •  As a REALTOR® and broker, you’ve known for some time that the Internet is reshaping the real estate transaction and clients’ expectations—it’s definitely reshaping your office and sales force. But sift a little deeperthrough this study’sfindings and you will discover that landmark differences still exist between Internet buyers and their traditional counterparts. Understanding these differences can give you an edge as you plan your next marketing campaign, strategize lead generation and cultivation efforts, and establish customer service benchmarks. We’ve highlighted several of the more striking findings.• Internet buyers had an annual income of $184,900, compared with $148,910 for traditional buyers.

• Fifty-four percent of Internet buyers said the information that they gathered from the Internet was less useful than that provided by their REALTORS®; none considered the
information gathered from the Internet to be more useful than that obtained from their REALTORS®.

• All first-time buyers typically spent 5.3 weeks considering buying a home and 4.3 weeks investigating homes for sale before contacting a REALTOR®. They then spent 3.2 weeks previewing eight homes with their REALTOR®.

• Seventy-three percent of Internet buyers had at least a four-year college degree and 11 percent completed post-graduate work. By comparison, 72 percent of traditional buyers held a college degree and 5 percent completed post-graduate work.

Decisions, Decisions

Internet buyers spent an average of 5.8 weeks considering buying a home before contacting a REALTOR®, nearly three times more than traditional buyers, who spent 2 weeks in this stage ofthe home-buying process.

Slow Starters; Fast Closers

Internet buyers spent 2.2 weeks looking for the home they ultimately purchased, compared with 7.1 weeks for traditional buyers.

Fuel-Efficient Buyers

Internet buyers visited 6.7 homes with their agents versus 15.4 for traditional buyers, prior to making a purchase.

First Impressions

While Internet buyers like to dawdle and browse during the front-end of their home-buying venture, they’re not forgiving when it comes to having their needs serviced. In fact, 69 percent ranked their agent’s response time as “Extremely Important” in the agent selection process, as compared with 31 percent of traditional buyers.

Real-Time Customer Service Expectations

Approximately 46 percent of Internet buyers expect agents to respond to their queries within one hour; 23 percent of these buyers expect an instantaneous response time. Conversely, a full 49 percent of traditional buyers expect same-day response time.

What’s surprising—and encouraging—is that the data revealed that 23 percent of Internet buyers reported obtaining real-time responses from their agents. What’s more, on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the equivalent of “Exceedingly surpassed expectations”), the Internet buyers gave their agents an overall mean score of 4.3 versus 3.3 for traditional buyers.

Finding REALTOR.com®

Prospective Internet buyers leave their cyber footprints in many places, but 75 percent of first-time buyers and 87 percent of repeat Internet buyers visited REALTOR.com®. Other leading destinations included real estate company Web sites and an individual home’s Internet listing.


C.A.R.'s 2006 Internet Versus Traditional Buyer Survey, an approximately77-page document, is available for purchase in electronic format for $19.95 for C.A.R. members and $39.95 for non-members and in hard copy format for $24.95 for C.A.R. members and $49.95 for non-members by calling (213) 739-8227 or logging on to www.rebs.com .