the broker report - properties online real estate marketing tools
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THE BROKER REPORT By Properties Online, LLC
2010 Real Estate Technology Information
Properties Online, LLC has compiled important statistical information for the real estate community. Statistical sources
include the 2009 National Association of REALTORS ® Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers, The California Association of REALTORS, and over 3 million website visitor statistics from over 15 thousand single property websites.
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 1
The Broker Report R E A L E S T A T E T E C H N O L O G Y I N F O R M A T I O N
The Home Search Process
Real Estate Agents continue to be a critical component in the home buyers search process. Home buyers are
relying heavily on online sources and their agents to provide information, with decreasing use of some sources,
such as newspapers and open houses. Home buyers typically spend 12 weeks searching for a home and
preview an average of 12 properties before deciding on their purchase. The Internet has become an essential
and indispensible tool in the home search process with 90 percent of home buyers using it to search for homes,
and 47 percent of buyers stating that the use of the Internet was the first step taken during the home buying
process.
How Buyers Search for Property
Information Sources used in Home Search
26%
40%
46%
59%
87%
90%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Magazine
Newspaper
Open House
Yard Sign
Agent
Internet
2009
2008
2007
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 2
What Buyers Like
What buyers deem "Very Useful"
Where Buyers Come From
Where Buyer Found the Home they Purchased
40%
43%
46%
63%
82%
84%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Neighborhood Info
Interactive Maps
Agent Contact Info
Virtual Tours
Detailed Property Info
Photos
36%
36%
12%
6%5% 2% 2% 1%
Internet
Agent
Yard Sign
Friend
Builder
Newspaper
Seller
Other
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 3
Home Buyers & Real Estate Professionals
The housing market has shifted in the last year, while home buyers still rely on real estate agents and brokers
to be partners as they navigate the home purchase process. The confidence and trust that buyers place in
their agent translates into repeat business. Agents who satisfy buyers by providing the services that matter
are likely to earn repeat business from buyers.
What Buyers Want from their real estate professional
Where Buyers Come From
Where buyers found their Real Estate Professional
46%
16%
13%
9%
8%4%
2% 2%Help finding the right home
Help negotiating terms
Help negotiating price
Help with paperwork
Determine what comparable homes were selling for
Help determining how much buyer can afford
Help find and arrange financing
Other
9%
>1%
4%
4%
5%
6%
7%
10%
10%
44%
Other
Newspaper, Yellow Pages or home book
Walked into or called office
Referred by employer or relocation company
Referred by another agent or broker
Open House
Saw contact information on For Sale/Open House …
Internet website
Used agent Previously to buy or sell a home
Referred by friend, neighbor or relative
2009
2008
2007
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 4
When the California Association asked buyers this same question, the numbers for Internet increased
dramatically.
Is California a sign of what's to come?
Why Buyers Chose their Agent Most Important Factors
77%
11%
5%
0%
7%
67%
13%
9%
8%
3%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Internet
For Sale Sign
Agent's Farming Materials
Used Agent on Previous Transaction
Referral from Friend or RelativeRepeat Buyers
First Time Buyers
31%
23%16%
11%
10%
3% 1%
4%Agent is honest and trustworthy
Reputation of agent
Agent is a friend or family member
Agent's knowledge of the neighborhood
Agent has caring personality / good listener
Agent's association with a particular firm
Professional designations held by agent
Other
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 5
Response Time
Importance of Agents Response Time in the Selection Process
89% of Internet buyers said that their
agents response time was Very Important
Repeat Business
Would buyer use real estate agent again or recommend to others?
0%
1%
10%
19%
70%
0%
23%
23%
14%
40%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Not at all Important
Not Very Important
Moderately Important
Very Important
Extremely ImportantTraditional Buyers
Internet Buyers
66%22%
6%
5%2%
Definitely
Probably
Probably Not
Definitely Not
Don't Know
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 6
Home Sellers & Real Estate Professionals
Referrals from friends and family continue to be among the most important factors when home sellers choose
a real estate agent. In general, marketing in print media, such as real estate magazines and newspaper
advertisements dropped significantly in 2009.
Where Sellers Come From
Method used to find Real Estate Agent
How Sellers Use the Internet
40%
24%5%
5%
5%
4%
3%3%
3%
3% 2% 1%
5%Referred
Used Agent Previously
Referred through employer
Visited an open house
Personal Contact by agent
Referred by another agent
Yard Sign
Direct Mail
Internet Website
Walk in
Newspaper, Yellow Pages, or Home Book
Advertising Collateral
Other
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Research comparable prices
Recent neighborhood sales
Find a specific agent
Track interest rates
Track housing market
Research commission rates
Online appraisal 2006
2007
2008
2009
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 7
Marketing Real Estate
Methods Real Estate Agent Used to Market Home
Repeat Business
Would seller use real estate agent again or recommend to others?
90%
82%
59%
37%
29%24%
20%
12%
4% 2% 4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
59%
22%
10%7%
2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Definitely Probably Probably Not Definitely Not Don't Know
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 8
Technology & The Real Estate Agent
The demographic characteristics of Realtors have not changed significantly in recent years. The median or
typical REALTOR is a 54 year old white female who attended college and is a homeowner.
Value of Broker Supplied Technology
48% of agents and associate brokers would like their broker to
expand the amount of technology provided.
How Technology Gives an Advantage Over Other Real Estate Agents
22%
35%13%
11%
6%13% Exceptional Value
Valuable
Neutral
Fair Value
Poor Value
No Technology Provided by Broker
8%
15%
16%
19%
19%
22%
49%
49%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Saves money
Saves time
Clients demand it
To keep up with the competition
Marginal agents can't keep up
Make other agents look behind the times
Respond to clients faster
Stay competitive
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 9
Networking How important are each of the following in generating leads?
Relationship Building Tools used to stay in touch
Only 18% of agents touch base
with past clients on a monthly basis
Not Important
Somewhat Important
Important
Very Important
46%
36%32%
41%44%
56%
46% 45%48%
38%41%
54%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Email Phone Call Postal Mail Client Party Workshop Other
Former Client
Active Client
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 10
Customer Inquiries Generated from Website How many website inquiries do you get a year?
The median number of inquiries is 4 per year.
60% of Realtors have a website.
Business Generated from Realtors Website What percentage of business came from your website last year?
26%
33%
13%
7%
8%
4%7%None
1 to 5 inquiries
6 to 10 inquiries
11 to 20 inquiries
21 to 50 inquiries
51 to 100 inquiries
More than 100 inquiries
36%
27%
14%
11%
7%5%
None
1% to 5 %
6% to 10%
11% to 25%
26% to 50%
More than 50%
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 11
Website Traffic Report
In the 90s, the telephone was the primary source of contact between a client and real estate professional.
Today, the Internet has replaced the telephone as the first point of contact. Web traffic on broker and agent
websites confirms this.
Where Traffic is Coming From
From a total of 3,477,867 Listing Domain Visitors
Listing Syndication
Break down of Top Referring Websites
44%
37%
18%
1%
Referred by another Website
Direct Traffic
Search Engines
Other
42%
9%6%5%
3%2%
2%
1%
1%
1%
28%
Craigslist
Other Listing Domain Sites
Zillow
Trulia
Realtor.com
Yahoo Real Estate
Hotpads
Frontdoor
Vast
Other
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 12
Search Engines Traffic
Which Search Engine Sends the Most Traffic?
Browsers Used
Top Browsers Used in Internet Search
Operating System Used
78%
14%
3% 2% 2% 1%1%
Yahoo
Bing
AOL
MSN
Live
Other
68%
19%10%
1% 2%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Internet Explorer Firefox Safari Chrome Other
85%
13%1% 1%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Windows Macintosh iPhone Other
The Broker Report
Properties Online, LLC ©2010 | web: PropertiesOnline.com Page 13
Contact Information
Properties Online, LLC
1820 Empire Industrial Ct., Suite C
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
tel: 800.826.5123
e-mail: [email protected]
web: PropertiesOnline.com