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What role does the Internet play as a home-search tool?

Published 8:32 am Thursday, October 8, 2015

Even though more consumers are using the Internet as a tool during their home search, buyers are increasingly utilizing the knowledge and expertise of a real estate agent, the National Association of Realtors’ “Real Estate in a Digital Age” report said.

“Consumers have the ability to do more home buying research online and be more connected during the home-search process than ever before, but research proves they are still seeing the value of a Realtor brings to the transactions, from the initial search to well after the closing,” NAR President Chris Polychron said.

The report found that finding the right property was ranked as the most difficult step in the home-buying process. With the Internet now the first place many people go for information, it’s not surprising that 4 in 10 buyers looked for properties online as a first step in the buying process. However, 88 percent of buyers in 2014 purchased their home with assistance from a real estate agent, up from 83 percent in 2010.

When it comes to website listing features, photos and online property information were more important to millennials, while virtual tours and direct contact with a real estate agent were more important to baby boomers. Despite visual content growing in popularity and importance, older homebuyers found virtual tours more useful than younger buyers (45 percent among the Silent Generation and baby boomers, compared with 36 percent among millennials).

Internet use also impacted the length of a home search; those who used the Internet to search homes visited more homes and searched for a longer period of time, looking at 10 homes over a 10-week period (vs. four homes in four weeks for those not looking on the web).

The Snohomish County-Camano Association of Realtors is “the voice for real estate in Snohomish County.” If you have questions for Ask the Expert about real estate, email us at info@sccar.com.