Over the last ten years one of the building blocks of the economy in the United States has been the Internet and thanks to it’s popularity, Real Estate companies have capitalized on the Internet and created hugely successful Real Estate websites including: Trulia, Zillow, Redfin and realtor.com.
Thanks to a recent report by ComScore we know that Trulia, Zillow, Redfin and realtor.com are responsible for 61 million visitors per month out of close to 70 million visitors that all Real Estate websites receive every month as a whole.
Why Real Estate Websites Work
One of the biggest reasons why Real Estate websites are so successful is because they have turned home buying into another form of entertainment because, a consumer can now literally peek inside a home via pictures and online video compared to just ten years ago when a home buyer had to schedule a showing with their Realtor to check out homes that they were interested in buying.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) agrees and also confirmed that ninety percent of consumers, who are planning on buying a home, will start their search for homes online, before they contact a Realtor
Even though the Internet has changed how consumers find homes, it still hasn’t eliminated the need for Real Estate brokers because, the average home buying consumer will still need the services of a broker to buy or sell a home.
Are Realtor Websites Helping Brokers?
If you do a search for homes for sale on Google, or your favorite search engine, it’s not hard to find Realtors online since most agents in local areas like Bend Oregon have their own Real Estate website or a presence somewhere online like Zillow; and that’s good news since NAR also confirmed that commissions paid to Realtors since 2008 have gone up by more than 5 percent.
To learn more about how to use the Internet to find the perfect home, or to view the latest Bend Oregon homes for sale, contact Jason Boone of Duke Warner Realty today by calling me for a free consultation at (541) 362-1031.