Real Estate and the Web
Another major theme at the Inman real estate conference was the trend of real estate advertisements going paperless and the relationship between the web and the consumer.
The President of Century 21 Canada said that as of 2008, 95% of their advertisements will be paperless (i.e. no print media) and most of their advertising dollars are going towards the web.
That is amazing. A rep. of the National Association of Realtors said that 95% of all buyers’ searches begin on the web and that number is steadily closing the gap on the remaining 5%-another amazing stat.
The web is bringing transparency to the consumer. The transparency helps the broker do a better job for his client because if the client trusts the broker, she will tell him exactly what she is looking for and she will rely on the his local knowledge to guide her in the right direction (i.e. even with the transparency, the broker’s services are still invaluable).
