Why The Internet Buyer Is The Preferred Client

The following data was gathered from the California Association of Realtors 2006 Internet v. Traditonal Buyers Survey

Since internet buyers do most of their home searching and researching before calling an agent, they are more efficient buyers who won’t take up a lot of your time and resources. Realtor studies show they are also more satisfied with their agents and overwhelming say they would use the same agent in the future.

The Efficient Buyer Saves Resources

Here are some interesting comparisons:

  • Internet buyers spend 2.2 weeks, on average, with their agent before buying, while the non-internet buyer (so called traditional buyer) spent 7.1 weeks with their agents.

  • Internet buyers previewed 6.7 homes while the traditional buyer previewed a whopping 15.4

  • 81% of Internet buyersstay with the first agent they choose to contact

In addition:

  • Traditional buyers interview about 3 agents, Internet buyers, only 1
  • The distance between old and new home: 25 miles for traditional, 242 for Internet buyers
  • Internet buyers have higher satisfaction rates with their agents: 4.3 v 3.3, on a scale where 5 is “surpassed expectations”
  • Most Internet buyers are first time home buyers and Gen-X vs. Boomers and repeat buyers

The Internet Buyer Will Come Back

We all know the story. You work your butt off for a client and never hear from them again. Well, according to the report, internet buyers WILL come back: 97% of internet buyers would use the same agent on their next transaction versus only 50% of traditional buyers.

So, it seems the internet buyer is the more resourceful, more efficient client, who likes working with their agent, holds that agent in high regard and will use them again. In short, the perfect client. But they are not pushovers. They expect you to be as efficient as they are. Time response to inquiries is critical to the internet buyer. So, use auto-responders for your email (some are better than others—we’ll give you a good one in a future post), return calls the same day and use the tech skills you’ve learned.

Where Internet Buyers Look For Agents

It comes as no surprise that a whopping 92% of internet buyers find their agents on the web, 63% via search engines. Therefore, you must be where the buyers are looking: online. You MUST market and promote YOURSELF and YOUR BRAND on the internet.