News 

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 7) – Homebuyers who use the Internet as an integral part of the homebuying process tend to be younger, wealthier and more ethnically diverse than traditional buyers, according to a new study released today by the California Association of REALTORS(R) (C.A.R.).
 
According to the "2002 Internet versus Traditional Buyer Study," Internet buyers also spent significantly less time looking at homes for sale prior to making a purchase and looked at far fewer homes prior to making a purchase than did traditional buyers.

Internet buyers also felt that they were more in control of the homebuying process than were traditional buyers, according to the C.A.R. study.

"The Internet is democratizing the homebuying process," said C.A.R. President Robert Bailey.
"Consumers using the Internet went online to preview homes, to get information on specific homes they wanted to look at with their REALTORS(R), and to get information on home financing.

"By going online before they actually started looking for a home to purchase, consumers using the Internet showed a higher degree of understanding of the homebuying process, knew what they wanted, and therefore, showed higher levels of satisfaction with their recent homebuying experience and with their REALTORS(R)," he said.

"The Internet also is leveling the playing field for consumers and more accurately reflects the ethnically diverse population of California," Bailey said. "While the largest ethnic group among Internet buyers was Caucasian (46 percent), they made up 60 percent of traditional buyers.

"Thirty percent of all Internet buyers were of Asian decent, compared to 19 percent of traditional buyers; 18 percent were of Hispanic/Latin American decent compared to 16 percent of traditional buyers; and African American and Indian ethnic groups made up the remaining 6 percent of Internet buyers compared to 5 percent of traditional buyers."

Overall, homebuyers using the Internet devoted more time to researching and investigating their homebuying options early in the homebuying process than traditional buyers, according to the report. Internet buyers spent an average of 5.8 weeks contemplating their home purchase before contacting a REALTOR(R), almost four weeks more than the traditional buyer's 2.1-week average. Internet buyers also spent 4.5 weeks investigating the market before contacting an agent, almost three weeks longer than the average of 1.8 weeks spent by traditional buyers.

"While Internet buyers spent more time researching and investigating their homebuying options  before contacting a REALTOR(R), after contacting a REALTOR(R), traditional buyers spent more than three times as much time looking for a home than Internet buyers," Bailey said.

"At the same time, Internet buyers saw significantly fewer homes in their home search than traditional buyers. While traditional buyers went to see an average of 15.2 homes, Internet buyers saw about half as many (7.5 homes)," he said.

Other key findings include:

· Seventy-three percent of Internet buyers went online in search of a real estate agent and more than three-quarters (79 percent) of Internet buyers found their real estate agent online. By comparison, most traditional buyers found their agent through such agent farming activities as brochures, flyers, and mailers (44 percent) and referrals (19 percent).

· The top three Websites visited by Internet buyers during the homebuying process were real estate companies’ Websites (82 percent), REALTOR.com (73 percent), and individual real estate agents’ Websites (67 percent).

· Most Internet buyers agreed strongly that using the Internet helped them better understand the homebuying process (65 percent) and put them in more control of the homebuying process (63 percent). More than half of all Internet buyers (51 percent) reported that the information they received from the Internet was less useful than the information provided by their REALTORS(R).

· Internet buyers were primarily contacted by their REALTORS(R) via e-mail (88 percent) and telephone calls (36 percent). The primary means of communication for traditional buyers was by telephone (100 percent), as well as “in-person” interaction (35 percent).

· A higher proportion of Internet buyers were first-time homebuyers (11 percent), compared to 6 percent of traditional buyers

· Married couples constituted the majority with both Internet and traditional buyers. Internet buyers were comprised of 85 percent married couples and 15 percent single buyers. Traditional buyers were made up 79 percent married couples and 21 percent single buyers. 

· Sixty-five percent of Internet buyers and 67 percent of traditional buyers received a four-year degree. However, 12 percent of Internet buyers received a postgraduate degree, which was significantly more than the proportion of traditional buyers with the same level of education (3 percent).

· Sixty-six percent of Internet buyers earned an annual salary of $150,000 or more, compared to 39 percent of traditional buyers.

· The median age of  buyers using the Internet was 37 years, 6 years younger than the median age of 43 years for traditional buyers.