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With online
services, computer companies and technology stocks in general doing their own
version of the 1929 stock market crash, real estate agents can take some solace
in the knowledge that the Internet isn’t likely to put them out of work
anytime soon. When
the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University surveyed 3,000 homebuyers in
Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, researchers inquired about
the Internet’s role in the home search. Sixty percent of the nearly 400
respondents said an Internet home search was "important." Twenty-eight
percent labeled it "very important." "The
Internet was the fourth most popular way to find a home," said Dr. Jack C.
Harris, Center research economist who conducted the survey. "The highest
percentage of respondents who used the Internet did so to collect information
about homes and neighborhoods before making a commitment to an agent or lender.
The web was seldom used to find brokers and lenders or to communicate with
agents. Some respondents expressed frustration that they could not find more
home information on the Internet." Harris
concludes that while consumers are uncomfortable conducting business over the
Internet, they are willing to take advantage of the information it offers. While
some real estate professionals see the Internet as a threat to their industry,
others realize better-informed buyers may actually make the agent’s job
easier. Only
6 percent of respondents said the Internet was "very important" in
their search for a lender. Three percent said the web played a "very
important" role in finding a real estate broker. Nearly
half (49 percent) of the homebuyers reported finding their new home through a
real estate agent. Yard signs were a distant second with 21 percent using them
to find a home. Friends and relatives were third with 11 percent, the Internet
fourth at 7 percent. Newspaper ads (5 percent) and open houses (3 percent) were
even less popular means of finding a new home. None said they found their home
as the result of a television ad. "More
than 82 percent of homebuyers responding to our survey used a real estate
agent," Harris said. Of these, 64 percent used a buyer’s agent.
"Some 75 percent agreed that the agent was a good source of information on
houses and the community." The
value of the agents’ advice is more significant. Nearly half those responding
to the survey said their agents assisted with mortgage financing, either by
providing a referral, through an in-house mortgage officer or through a system
in which the loan application was submitted through the brokerage office.
Two-thirds said they bought title insurance through an agent referral. Harris
also asked the homebuyers why they moved. Most (42 percent) listed "wanted
a larger home" as a major reason for buying. "Tired of renting"
was the second most cited reason for the purchase. Other reasons, in order, were
relocated from another town; wanted a better neighborhood or better schools;
wanted a more convenient location; wanted a smaller or lower-maintenance home;
newly married or divorced; and forced to move. This
group of Texas homebuyers spent an average 4.2 months looking at an average of
16.5 houses before buying. Those who used an agent spent 3.7 months searching
compared to 5.8 months for those who did not use an agent. "The
search length varied significantly," Harris said, "depending on the
reason for moving. Those who searched longest (5.7 months) were looking for a
better neighborhood, which may take longer than finding the right house.
Divorcees, on the other hand, were much less particular (3.3 months)." Buyers
of condo apartments spent only 2.8 months looking. Harris says that may be
attributed to older buyers who had a good idea of what they wanted. Buyers of
manufactured homes looked an average of 4.5 months before finding the property
they wanted. Courtesy
of Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, March 2001. |
