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Where do you go to find real estate listings?

By Justin Hunter

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent advertising real estate properties every day by various agencies. Even independent sellers or FSBOs spend their hard-earned cash advertising their property for sale. With so many vehicles to advertise through, which one will give you the best opportunity to display your listing?

The article, “Survey reveals buyers turn equally to newspapers, Web” posted on Inman News provides interesting information on where potential buyers go to find their next dream home.

“Real estate buyers turn equally to newspapers and the Internet when shopping for property, according to a report by The Kelsey Group, a research company that focuses on advertising and online media.”

According to the study, 24 percent of sellers first advertise in newspapers while another 19 percent go straight to the signs. On the other side of the spectrum, 30 percent of buyers begin their home search with newspaper, which is equal to the percentage that starts by surfing the Internet.

“And the most active real estate-buying age group, 18-34, turns to online sources first, according to the study, which is based on 1,000 random telephone interviews in June.”

“Among buyers who said they go online, 79 percent were 18-34. Of those respondents who have participated in a real estate transaction, 51 percent were 18-34, according to the report.”

The study also found that participants used real estate agents in more than half of all real estate transactions. The majority of responded home buyers found their real estate agents through personal referrals, while six percent used the telephone book.

“Neal Polachek, Kelsey Group senior vice president of advisory services, research and consulting, said the study reveals that there appears to be a lag between where buyers are looking and where the ad dollars are being spent.”

“‘Eyeballs move more quickly than ad dollars, and this is just another clear example,’ he said. ‘The question is, ‘How fast will ad dollars catch up with the shift in eyeballs?’”

Billions of dollars are spent on real estate advertising every year, with an increasing amount going towards the Internet. But is the money being spent in the right place?

According to a National Association of Realtors survey, potential buyers using the Internet to start their home search has experienced an overwhelming increase from 2 percent in 1995 to 77 percent in 2005.
“‘Clearly, the underlying buyer and seller trends suggest we are reaching a tipping point regarding the transition of ad dollars from offline media to online media,’ said Matt Booth, Kelsey Group senior vice president and program director for interactive local media and marketplaces, in a statement.”

The Internet has been revolutionizing just about every business industry and the real estate one is no different.

The statistics may be a little misleading though, as many people now read the newspaper online and that is where some of the listings are found.
Internet is taking over, but the newspaper advertising industry is not dead, especially among the older, baby boomer generation.

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