Bay Area Homebuyers Would Click ‘n Buy a Home
So there you sit in your favorite pajamas, surfing the Internet and doing your weekly shopping.
Groceries? Check. Clothing? Check. Movies for next week? Check. A new home? Check.
Yes, a new home. According to the Prudential California Realty Online Homebuyers’ Survey 2006, 31 percent of Bay Area homebuyers would purchase a home via the Internet without actually visiting and walking through the physical property.
That statistic may surprise some, but it doesn’t surprise Sherry Chris, COO of Prudential California Realty. “We know for a fact that, right now, 80 percent of consumers start their home search online, before they contact an agent,” she explains, noting that pre-buying information is now more crucial than ever.
Thank a combination of factors for the trend, from a plethora of online real estate information to the entrance of more Internet-savvy Generation X into the homebuying market. Mix those factors in with California’s extensive disclosure laws, among the strictest in the nation and stipulating the seller confess everything from previous break-ins to termites to hearing the trains whistle in the distance.
“Now, really, the consumer is in control and choosing what they want to see online. The agent is acting more as a facilitator and negotiator,” Chris says. As a result, her company has adjusted the way agents are trained, preparing them for their constantly evolving roles in a real estate arena that is increasingly online.
That online pull has speeded up the homebuying process, too, beginning with the buyers’ first contact with a potential agent. “[The agent] needs to respond. They need to have a PDA or Blackberry. If the agent doesn’t respond within a pretty short window of time, they [the buyers] are on to another agent,” Chris explains.
That high-velocity way of doing business might deter some, but to Prudential agent Nicole Murray, it is the best way of doing business. “Most of my business is generated through the Internet,” she says.
While Murray says she receives a fair number of referrals from previous clients, the Internet allows her to eschew much of the time and expense of more traditional marketing efforts. “Personally, I prefer it, because I’m not spending time and money to market myself,” she explains.
Murray also says that buyers who use the Internet first, and come to her through that approach, often have the basics of home buying and selling down pretty well, so they can focus on more complex issues tailored to their personal situation. “You’re educating them instead on more complex aspects and adding your expertise to the knowledge you provide them,” she adds.
Murray says that makes her knowledge as a real estate agent all the more valuable, since Internet buyers want to know the things they may not have learned while conducting their online search for information. “They’ll ask for more of the touchy-feely side,” she says. “The fact that you can point out, ‘This neighborhood has a lot of children’.”
Murray says that, while more and more of her clients use and come to her through the Internet, “nine times out of ten they’re in high-tech, very tech-savvy, and know how to use the Internet.” Murray’s own former high-tech background works well in that regard. “They don’t want papers, for instance, they want a CD” with .pdf (portable document file) files of the documents in question.
While she has had only one client who was willing to buy a home sight unseen, she says, “It’s not too far-fetched.”
But one thing might be holding back many home buyers, particularly in the East Bay, and that is the extensive financing required to purchase a home. “It’s a little less likely only because buying a home is so expensive, and many people don’t have much cash,” Murray explains. “They have creative financing, maybe 100 percent financing, so they want to be really, really sure,” she says, before they take the plunge.
But a higher risk to some is everyday life to others. “One third of the population are 18 to 34 year olds, and their buying habits are very different,” Chris notes.
So when you buy your next home, sight unseen, in between shopping for coffee and shopping for new slippers online, remember you read it here first.
Groceries? Check. Clothing? Check. Movies for next week? Check. A new home? Check.
Yes, a new home. According to the Prudential California Realty Online Homebuyers’ Survey 2006, 31 percent of Bay Area homebuyers would purchase a home via the Internet without actually visiting and walking through the physical property.
That statistic may surprise some, but it doesn’t surprise Sherry Chris, COO of Prudential California Realty. “We know for a fact that, right now, 80 percent of consumers start their home search online, before they contact an agent,” she explains, noting that pre-buying information is now more crucial than ever.
Thank a combination of factors for the trend, from a plethora of online real estate information to the entrance of more Internet-savvy Generation X into the homebuying market. Mix those factors in with California’s extensive disclosure laws, among the strictest in the nation and stipulating the seller confess everything from previous break-ins to termites to hearing the trains whistle in the distance.
“Now, really, the consumer is in control and choosing what they want to see online. The agent is acting more as a facilitator and negotiator,” Chris says. As a result, her company has adjusted the way agents are trained, preparing them for their constantly evolving roles in a real estate arena that is increasingly online.
That online pull has speeded up the homebuying process, too, beginning with the buyers’ first contact with a potential agent. “[The agent] needs to respond. They need to have a PDA or Blackberry. If the agent doesn’t respond within a pretty short window of time, they [the buyers] are on to another agent,” Chris explains.
That high-velocity way of doing business might deter some, but to Prudential agent Nicole Murray, it is the best way of doing business. “Most of my business is generated through the Internet,” she says.
While Murray says she receives a fair number of referrals from previous clients, the Internet allows her to eschew much of the time and expense of more traditional marketing efforts. “Personally, I prefer it, because I’m not spending time and money to market myself,” she explains.
Murray also says that buyers who use the Internet first, and come to her through that approach, often have the basics of home buying and selling down pretty well, so they can focus on more complex issues tailored to their personal situation. “You’re educating them instead on more complex aspects and adding your expertise to the knowledge you provide them,” she adds.
Murray says that makes her knowledge as a real estate agent all the more valuable, since Internet buyers want to know the things they may not have learned while conducting their online search for information. “They’ll ask for more of the touchy-feely side,” she says. “The fact that you can point out, ‘This neighborhood has a lot of children’.”
Murray says that, while more and more of her clients use and come to her through the Internet, “nine times out of ten they’re in high-tech, very tech-savvy, and know how to use the Internet.” Murray’s own former high-tech background works well in that regard. “They don’t want papers, for instance, they want a CD” with .pdf (portable document file) files of the documents in question.
While she has had only one client who was willing to buy a home sight unseen, she says, “It’s not too far-fetched.”
But one thing might be holding back many home buyers, particularly in the East Bay, and that is the extensive financing required to purchase a home. “It’s a little less likely only because buying a home is so expensive, and many people don’t have much cash,” Murray explains. “They have creative financing, maybe 100 percent financing, so they want to be really, really sure,” she says, before they take the plunge.
But a higher risk to some is everyday life to others. “One third of the population are 18 to 34 year olds, and their buying habits are very different,” Chris notes.
So when you buy your next home, sight unseen, in between shopping for coffee and shopping for new slippers online, remember you read it here first.
