Tech-savvy home buyers visit more homes

Realtors once feared the Internet, thinking it would allow homebuyers to shop for and buy a home without the help of a real estate professional. But if visiting more available homes is a benefit to buyers and the realtors representing them, then the Internet turns out to be an agent’s best friend.

Recent research completed by the National Association of Realtors shows that those who used the Internet to find their next home visited more homes and searched for a longer time period, looking at 10 homes over a 10-week period (versus four homes and only a four-week period for those not looking on the web). The study also revealed shows that the length of your home search may be dependent on how old you are, and which population cohort you belong to.

The NAR discovered that Millennials typically looked for a home for about 11 weeks, while Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation searched for 8 weeks. Regardless of their client’s age group, realtors are increasingly working the Internet into the house search equation. Instead of being threatened by it, many realtors are finding that they can work with it to better target the efforts they make on behalf of their clients. Thanks to the power of the Internet, today’s house hunt can start in the comfort of your living room, and end up with you making an offer via the laptop in your realtor’s car.