A recent Internet user survey has heralded some good news for real estate agents already on the information superhighway, while at the same time cautioning Web site owners that they need to do a better job meeting the needs of the consumer.

The good news for online real estate providers is that the new report shows the number of visitors to real estate sites is increasing at a significant rate. According to a new “e-Visory Report” released by marketing information provider The NPD Group and Media Metrix, the number of unique visitors to real estate sites increased by an astounding 75 percent this summer compared to the same period last summer.

By comparison, total Web traffic was up just 22 percent for the same period, the survey said.

The increase in traffic comes even as the proportion of consumers who are online and in the market for a new home has risen only slightly, showing that consumer awareness of real estate Web sites has increased.

About 30 percent of consumers who access the Internet are currently in the market to buy new property, or have been in the past six months, the study reported. That figure is up just slightly from a similar study last year that showed 28 percent in the market for a new home.

“Not only are we seeing increases in visits to real estate sites now, but we can expect this trend to continue,” said John M. Peckham III, executive director of the Real Estate CyberSpace Society. “This is not the end of the road.”

The news for real estate sites wasn’t completely stellar, however.

Although site visitation has increased within the past year, the survey showed consumers who searched for properties online reported not being as satisfied as they could be with some of the Web site features, with an average satisfaction rating of just 36 percent.

“The survey indicated there’s a pretty good differential between what’s important to people and what’s actually being delivered,” Peckham said.

Chief among the public’s desires, the report said, are photographs to accompany property descriptions. While 92 percent of those surveyed ranked property photos as extremely important or very important, only 40 percent were satisfied with that feature on real estate sites.

A recent informal search for Boston-area property on Realtor.com and HomeAdvisor.com turned up several listings with no photos available, for example.

“The public loves photos,” Peckham said. “It’s been a while since someone said it, but it’s still true: A picture is worth a thousand words, and our industry is only now trying to catch up.”

“They’re dead in the water,” said Mal Duane of Re/Max Realty Assoc. in Framingham, referring to listings that don’t have accompanying photographs. “Why even have the house listed there in the first place? They’re doing a disservice to the seller.”

Duane said every one of her listings on her Web site www.MalDuane.com features a showcase tour and that has been the case for the past two years.

“Consumers’ needs are getting more specific than they were even 12 months ago,” said Duane, who runs five other real estate sites and employs a full-time staff person to maintain the Internet side of the business. “You need to have features like showcase listings and virtual tours.”

Though the satisfaction rate with real estate sites is low, the industry is trying to play catch-up and meet the consumers’ demands.

“We’re trying to narrow the gap between what the public expects and what we’re providing,” Peckham said.

Firms like Lexington-based The DeWolfe Cos. are now stepping up to the task of gauging public opinion and responding to it.

“We’re getting feedback in a number of ways,” said John R. Penrose, president of DeWolfe.com.

“We get customer feedback directly through e-mail, and we receive feedback from our agents out in the field,” he said. “We also gather information from third-party sources such as surveys that are published.”

Additionally, Penrose said DeWolfe now conducts feedback sessions with its own focus groups to better learn about the consumer. “That’s a very important way to capture feedback,” he said.

Once the data is collected, however, real estate companies face another challenge: what to do with it.

“In one form or another, we collect this feedback every day,” Penrose said. “Then you have to decide, ‘When do I upgrade and how do I upgrade?’

“There are small tweaks, and there are major re-releases of Web sites,” he continued. “You have to use your own good judgment.”

‘Proliferation of Sites’
Penrose said the quality of content on a real estate company’s Web site is a critical part of a consumer’s overall experience with the company and could be the deciding factor concerning whether he or she will ultimately work with the office.

In addition to meeting consumer demand, Penrose said another challenge facing real estate companies is the lack of control they have over some of what customers see on their Web sites, such as general multiple listing service listings.

“That content is provided by different firms who are responsible for putting the information into the MLS,” he said.

“If they’re not putting in a photo with the listing, they’re not serving the best interest of their client the seller, but Realtor.com … would still have to show the listing and not have control over whether there is a photo.”

Penrose added that the notable increase in real estate Web site traffic may be directly linked with the low level of satisfaction found on the sites.

“First of all, there are a lot more sites out there to visit,” he said. “There’s a proliferation of sites, many of which don’t provide a lot of value. That leads to greater frustration on the part of the consumer and forces them to spend more time looking for information.

“If you’re not getting what you’re looking for, you’re going to continue search and spend more time on the Internet,” he said.

Peckham said the key to bringing more Realtors in line with current Internet trends is education. His organization provides Internet training for real estate agents and awards a Real Estate CyberSpace specialist designation, along with posting interviews with industry leaders about current trends on the group’s Web site www.REcyber.com, he said.

“Agents aren’t taking advantage of the tools that are available to them,” Duane said. “They need to learn what’s out there, and learn how to use it.”

The National Association of Realtors has also recognized the importance of the Internet and offers an e-Pro designation.

“It appears the early adapters are the people who have taken these courses already and understand what’s going on,” Peckham said. “There’s a second wave [of agents] now that have come along to help narrow the gap.”

To further train agents, the Real Estate CyberSpace Society is involved with a daylong conference taking place Oct. 27 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston that focuses on selling real estate using the Internet. The conference has been held annually for the past four years.

“People looking to list their house are noticing the increasing importance of marketing on the Internet,” Penrose said. “They’ll want to know what capabilities an office will provide before they list with you. Companies will start to lose listings because they don’t have the online capabilities. We know the reverse is true, because we’ve won listings because of the streaming video we provide on our site.

“I think we would all benefit if Realtors marketed their product more effectively on the Internet,” he said.

Real Estate Web Sites Draw Increased Traffic

by Banker & Tradesman time to read: 5 min
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