How the Internet has Revolutionized Home Buying
Home buyers are increasingly turning to the internet in order to get information on their potential purchases, and relying less on the real estate agents for this information. The internet provides a rich assortment of resources for the potential home buyer, from sales history of the house to the performance of the local school district. Some estimates show the percent of buyers using these resources as high as 84%; as a result, home buyers are better informed now than in the past.
And is this trend likely to bring about the demise of the real estate agent’s livelyhood? The answer seems to be a resounding no; at least for now. The complexity of selling/buying a home is great enough to make most people shake in their boots at the thought of completing a sale without the assistance of an agent. In fact, it appears that the real estate agent’s job has become easier as a result of this trend. In the past an agent may have had to show a prospective buyer up to 25 homes before he gets a sale. Those who use the internet to do some research on average only need to see half that number of homes before finding what they are looking for.
This has caused some people to question whether or not the real estate agents are earning their 3% commission on these sales. After all, the buyer is taking on some of the agent's work load by doing research on their own. And if fact, some real estate agents are taking advantage of this idea by running their business through online sites and making their commission more flexible. They also provide buyers tools on their websites for researching the homes and neighborhoods, further reducing the work necessary on the real estate agent’s side.
Another benefit for the real estate agents from this trend is how they are finding their new clients. In the past most real estate agents had to rely on word of mouth referrals to find perspective clients. With the internet revolution the clients are finding the agents through the website listings. Many agents find a majority of their clients directly from the internet. This is even less time the real estate agent has to spend seeking these clients. The agents can spend less time on more clients. What businessman doesn’t enjoy that?
The internet has become an invaluable tool for the modern home buyer. It provides them with information they didn’t use to have access to. The more informed a buyer is the better, especially in something as complex as buying a new house. It is this complexity that also insures that the real estate agent won’t be likely to lose their jobs any time soon. This is good news for everyone involved, as long as they are willing and able to implement this new technology in the ancient pursuit of putting a roof over their head.
