| 
Increasing Number of Homeowners Turning to
Internet Web Sites To Find Real Estate Agent; Referrals From Friends,
Neighbors Still No. 1
NEW SURVEY ASKS: WHAT METHOD DID YOU USE TO
FIND YOUR LAST AGENT?
Although personal referrals from a friend, neighbor or relative
still rank number one with 37% of the vote, an increasing number
of homeowners are turning to Internet web sites to find a real
estate agent, according to a recent consumer survey conducted
by HouseHunt, Inc.
“Agents who respond quickly to those
Internet contacts and offer solutions to meet consumer needs are
also converting those leads into closed business,” according
to Michael Bearden, president and CEO of HouseHunt, Inc. ”And,
because we sell exclusive territories, our member-agents are first
in line to get those on-line leads and the business!
“Our survey asked what method homeowners
used when selecting an agent to sell their last home,” he
explained. “Agents ‘responding to Internet marketing
contacts’ finished in a virtual three-way tie for second
place at 10% each with ‘personal marketing (prospecting)’
and ‘agent previously used to buy or sell a home.’
”
Eight percent said they sold their homes
without an agent; seven percent said they called or walked into
a real estate company office. Only six percent said they contacted
an agent from information on a For Sale sign.
The remaining nine percent gave a variety
of responses, including direct mail, newspaper advertising and
open houses.
HouseHunt, Inc., a consumer-based Internet
firm, provides valuable information to homeowners, home buyers
and home sellers in thousands of real estate markets in 47 states.
HouseHunt’s two primary websites, HouseHunt.com
and moveUp.com, makes the home buying and selling process easier
and less stressful of offering consumers free information on local
communities, on-line access to listings, on-line home sales data
in their neighborhoods, electronic property-matching (where available),
buying and selling information, and access to some of the nation’s
most knowledgeable Realtors regardless of brand affiliation or
geographic limitations.
MoveUp.com, an exclusive product of HouseHunt,
Inc., provides free, unbiased home sales information in specific
neighborhoods in each ZIP code area, based on count tax records.
Currently being marketed throughout Southern California and in
selected markets across the country, moveUp.com answers the number
one homeowner question: “What
is my home worth today?”
|
