Online real estate searches surge 253pc in four years
Searches for real estate online through Google.com have surged 253 per cent over the past four years, according to a new study by the National Association of Realtors and Google.
The Digital House Hunt: Consumer and Market Trends in Real Estate report shows that buyers rely on search engines in the beginning stages of their property hunt, turn to maps in the middle stages and then use mobile applications towards the end of their search.
The figures also reveal that the most frequently searches terms are "FHA loan", "FHA", "home loan", "home grants" and "home buyer assistance" among first-time buyers.
"The fact that first-time buyers are looking for information about FHA loan programs and home buyer assistance underscores some of the challenges today's home buyers face in today's tight credit environment," said NAR President Gary Thomas.
According to the 2012 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, multiple listing service websites and Realtor.com were the top two websites used in recent home searches. Realtor.com, NAR's official property listing website, attracts an average of more than 20 million unique visitors per month. Mirroring the Google/NAR study, search activity on Realtor.com has picked up significantly in recent months - a 31 percent increase nationwide between March and October of this year.
"These results parallel the trends shown in NAR's economic research reports," he added. "As home sales and prices continue to trend up, more people are regaining confidence to invest in their future through homeownership."
According to Google internal data, the five states with the highest number of online queries from people who can be presumed to be first-time buyers were Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Queries related to retirement homes were highest in Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.
For vacation home searches, the top five states were Florida, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina and South Dakota.
According to data from Realtor.com, today's buyers search most frequently on numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms; square footage; garages; heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; and swimming pools. These home features represent 70 percent of all searched features on the site.
Mobile devices are significantly changing the way people search for homes, as well. According to results from Google's research into buyer conversions with Compete, 48 percent of people who used a mobile device in their home search used the device to get directions to homes for sale, and 45 percent used the device to request more information about specific home features or real estate services.
"Increasingly, online technologies are driving offline behaviors, and home buying is no exception," said Google Head of Real Estate Patrick Grandinetti. "With 90 percent of home buyers searching online during their home buying process, the real estate industry is smart to target these people where they look for and consume information - for example through paid search, relevant websites, video environments, and mobile applications."
"Rather than displacing real estate agents, the Internet is actually helping connect them with home buyers," added Steven Berkowitz, CEO of Move, Inc., which operates Realtor.com. "And Realtors are responding by leveraging resources like Realtor.com, Facebook and YouTube to engage buyers and sellers in ever-evolving ways."
For the full report, visit Realtor.org.
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