The Internet and mobile technology have transformed the real estate industry, just as it has for other businesses. Technology tools are essential for both the real estate professional and for real estate consumers as well. Agents are equipped with handheld devices such as the Treo smart phone and computer notebooks in an effort to connect with clients looking to the Web for a growing list of information, goods and services. The Internet serves as the conduit to provide online data to accomplish a specific task: searching for or marketing a property. In addition, it provides a great deal of specifics used for property valuation, demographic profiles, mapping locations and market analysis.
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2007 survey, the overwhelming majority of prospective home buyers begin their search on the Internet. An incredible 84 percent use the Internet (up from 80 percent in 2006), 84 percent use a real estate agent, 59 percent use yard signs, 50 percent use print or newspaper ads, and 48 percent use open houses. Smaller categories include home books, magazines, home builders, TV, billboards and relocation companies.
Even though the historic status of the Realtor as the "first point of contact" has changed (with buyers most commonly starting their search online), prospects most often follow up their searches by next contacting a real estate professional. Currently, with a wide range of search engines such as Google and portals such as Yahoo, a myriad of Web sites can be accessed. Type in a specific location and one can get a birds eye view; go online to community message boards, local blogs for information, and assess a school's performance even before contacting an agent. Checking your credit, searching local mortgage rates, and calculating your potential payment have never been easier and are standard fare on most national franchisee home pages along with virtual tours, audio clips, and even video podcasts. The real estate industry is becoming a high-tech field that previously wasn't seen that way.
For example, one innovative buyer technology provides for "short message services" (SMS) text codes on property promotions and yard signage, making it easy for prospective buyers to request and receive detailed information about property on their mobile phones via text message. Property information can include detailed specifications, pricing, virtual tours and agent information, all without communicating directly with the agent.
Unique to the seller is a program, the Online Seller Advantage (OSA), that provides daily or weekly e-mails sent with data including: how often their property turned up on research results, how often their property was viewed in detailed format, how many viewers have saved their property in their portfolio, new listings and photos in the seller's immediate neighborhood, price changes of homes in the seller's immediate neighborhood, and status changes (sold, pending, price reductions) of competitive properties in the seller's local area.
None of these features will ever replace the traditional real estate professional. The NAR survey conducted in November of 2007 also asked buyers how they first learned about the home being purchased. The majority (34 percent of buyers) identified a real estate agent, 29 percent the Internet; 14 percent from yard signs; 8 percent from a friend, neighbor or relative; 8 percent through home builders; 3 percent from a print or newspaper ad; 3 percent directly from the seller; and 1 percent through a home book or magazine.
Further, it stated 82 percent of home buyers who used the Internet to search for a home purchased through a real estate agent, in contrast with 65 percent of non-Internet users, who were nearly twice as likely to purchase directly from a builder, or more than three times as likely to buy from an owner they knew before the transaction.
The consumer is gaining in both competency and comfort with their ability to perform some traditional functions that were previously done by a Realtor.
However, the advantage of working with a real estate professional is that they understand the market, are able to negotiate transactions, and provide personal expertise. No technology can ever replace the knowledge of a seasoned real estate professional.
Jennifer Mossotti, CCIM, is a Realtor with Prudential de Movellan Real Estate and a former LFUCG council member.