Property Marketing

Internet vs Traditional Homebuyers

The very thing all UK Estate Agents want to know.

Is the Internet a viable place to find customers?

Internet home buyers go about the homebuying process differently from traditional homebuyers and more importantly, Internet home buyers are indeed buyers, and not time wasters..

The facts of the report seem to point to some clear implications that should not go unheeded by UK Estate Agents.

First, traditional homebuyers spend a nominal amount of time investigating the housing market before contacting an Estate Agent, while Internet homebuyers invest significant time investigating the housing market and financing options before contacting a UK Estate Agent.

This raises marketing and information delivery opportunities significantly for wired UK Estate Agents who can be instrumental in saving buyers time by helping them eliminate unsuitable homes as well as select homes to choose from.

Traditional homebuyers looked at 15.1 homes with a UK Estate Agent prior to making a purchase, nearly twice as many as Internet buyers, who looked at 7.9 homes.

Second, Internet-savvy Estate Agents have first-mover advantage over traditional Estate Agents to capture buyers. Internet buyers may not be as motivated to act quickly because they want to perform their own research.

Internet buyers also spend nearly three times as much time investigating the housing markets before contacting an Estate Agent than traditional home buyers do, 6.3 weeks for Internet buyers compared to 2.2 weeks for traditional homebuyers.

The good news is that by the time the Internet buyer contacts an estate agent, he or she has a "good understanding of what they want, where they want to live, and what they can afford, They've often chosen the neighborhoods they want to evaluate, narrowed their choice of homes, come up with a list of homes they want to see and understood what they can afford and what their mortgage options are.

Once they have made a choice Internet homebuyers act quickly. also purchase a home in less time than do traditional buyers, the survey reported.

Third, The study also found that most Internet homebuyers find their Estate Agent on the Internet, while most traditional buyers find their Estate Agent as a result of press advertising, direct mail, previous transactions, or referrals.

The lesson here is that the Internet is a communication tool. When Estate Agents market themselves on the Internet and use Internet technologies to be found and to engage with buyers, they are speaking the language of the buyer.

The upshot is that if Estate Agents aren't using the Internet already, they are missing some terrific opportunities to engage buyers, but that doesn't mean that they should approach bhome uyers in traditional ways.

Many of the things we are taught about interacting with consumers and how to take control of the transaction will actually work against Estate Agents online.

Any attempt to take that power or control away from the Internet-empowered consumer may backfire

	Internet Property Marketing
	» Overview » Who's doing it? » UK Property Portals » London Property Directories » Property browser profile » What makes a good estate agent web site? » Internet versus Traditional Homebuyers
	Identifying your online market
	» Which sites are they visiting? » Branding your estate agency on the Internet: UK Estate Agent Corporate Branding » Define your online audience » Position your website where people will search » Define the purpose of your advertising
	Making sense of a Web-Based Advertising Strategy
	» Monitoring tools and mechanisms » Adjusting an Interactive Marketing Strategy » Evaluating success » Stimulating Growth   » Translations » Spanish » Nationally » Locally