The online consumer is very important to home sellers, averaging higher incomes than their offline peers and spending more on the homes they purchase. Below are key statistics that demonstrate the importance of this audience in marketing a home.
Where buyer first learned about home purchased
| 1997 | 1999 | 2001 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| Real estate agent | 50% | 49% | 48% | 41% | 38% | 36% |
| Internet | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 24 |
| Yard sign | 17 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
| Friend, neighbor or relative | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Home builder or their agent | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Print newspaper advertisement | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Knew the seller | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Home book or magazine | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Other | * | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | * |
2005 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Usefulness of information sources among those buyers that used each source
| Very Useful | Somewhat Useful | Not Useful | |
| Real Estate Agent | 72% | 22% | 6% |
| Internet | 69 | 27 | 4 |
| Yard Sign | 49 | 40 | 11 |
| Open House | 42 | 45 | 12 |
| Newspaper Advertisement | 29 | 52 | 19 |
| Home Builder | 37 | 36 | 26 |
| Home Book or Magazine | 24 | 51 | 25 |
| Billboard | 19 | 32 | 49 |
| Television | 11 | 34 | 55 |
| Relocation Company | 16 | 31 | 53 |
2005 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Value of online features
| Very Useful | Somewhat Useful | Not Useful | Did Not Use | |
| Detailed Property Information | 83% | 15% | 1% | 1% |
| Photos | 84 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| Virtual Tours | 59 | 26 | 6 | 10 |
| Interactive Maps | 44 | 36 | 8 | 11 |
| Neighborhood/Community Information | 36 | 43 | 9 | 13 |
| Real Estate Agent Contact | 29 | 35 | 14 | 22 |
2005 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Actions taken as a result of internet home search
| All Buyers | First-time Buyers | Repeat Buyers | |
| Drove by/viewed a home | 75% | 75% | 74% |
| Walked through a home viewed online | 57 | 56 | 57 |
| Requested more information | 25 | 27 | 23 |
| Found agent used to search/buy a home | 21 | 23 | 20 |
| Contacted builder/developer | 11 | 8 | 12 |
| Pre-qualified for a mortgage online | 9 | 11 | 7 |
| Applied for a mortgage | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Found a mortgage lender online | 5 | 7 | 3 |
2005 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
What homebuyers were looking for online
| All Buyers | First-time Buyers | Repeat Buyers | |
| Properties for sale | 95% | 95% | 95% |
| Information about an area | 22 | 21 | 22 |
| A real estate company | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| A real estate agent | 4 | 4 | 4 |
2005 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
- In the past few years almost 70 percent of Americans used the Internet regularly.
- Approximately four in ten buyers now use the Internet to shop for their next home, nearly an 18-fold increase in only four years (NAR).
- Three out of ten consumers who are accessing the Internet are in the market to buy a new property, or have been in the last six months (NPD Group for Media Metrix).
- Nearly three out of four respondents report convenience (73 percent) and being able to do research before talking to a realtor (69 percent) as the top reasons given for searching for a new property online (NPD Group).
- Seventy-seven percent of homebuyers consider detailed property information extremely valuable (NAR).
- Sixty-seven percent of homebuyers believe using the Internet saves them time in their home search (NAR).
- Buyers who use the Internet spend two weeks working with a realtor, one third the time it takes for traditional homebuyers (CAR Survey).
- Homebuyers using the Internet are more satisfied with the home buying process than traditional homebuyers(CAR Survey).
- Virtually all homebuyers who used the Internet in their home search found it to be valuable (NAR).
- According to the NPD Group, 92 percent of consumers consider property photos extremely or very important.
What Consumers Are Demanding
- In 2003, forty-three percent of home sellers demanded that their home be listed on at least two different Internet sites (2003 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers).
- Consumers require a better understanding and more control of the home buying process which the Internet provides (CAR Survey).
- Buyers want to view information freely without identifying themselves to agents.
