Realtors Finally "Get it" About Web Marketing

REALTORS® invest heavily in technology with more than half of brokers, sales agents, associate brokers, and managers saying they spent more than $1,000 last year, according to a new survey by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

The 2007 REALTOR® Technology Survey, conducted by NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Technology, also found that 25 percent of respondents spent more than $2,000 on technology in 2006.

In addition, approximately two-thirds of those surveyed have a real estate business Web site, and a quarter of those surveyed spend more than $1,000 annually to maintain their site. Nearly all of these sites — 93 percent — provide listing search capabilities. Other than their own Web site, the most popular sites for REALTORS® to display their listings include the local MLS, their broker’s Web site, and REALTOR.com.

80% of home buyers used the internet as a source. 81% of internet home buyers also used a real estate agent. 63% of non-internet buyers used a real estate agent. 74% of buyers who searched online drove by or looked at a home they first saw online.