thegenius1
14th May 2006, 05:01 PM
It's always 'OPEN HOUSE' as real estate goes online The Internet has become a powerful tool for people looking to buy or sell a home. Traffic on real estate websites jumped 8% in the past year - double the growth rate of Internet traffic overall. Here are the most popular sites and the number of visitors:
March 2006 (in millions) Pct. change from 2005
Homestore.com Network 9.6 -7%
HomeGain.com 4.8 NA
AOL Real Estate 4.0 17%
MSN Real Estate 3.7 NA
Rent.com 2.9 -13%
RealtyTrac 2.9 38%
Apartments.com 2.4 16%
Zillow.com 2.3 NA
ServiceMagic 2.1 40%
Yahoo Real Estate 1.8 -4%
HouseValues sites 1.8 11%
HPCInteractive (ApartmentGuide) 1.8 NA
Century 21 1.8 25%
ForRent.com sites 1.7 3%
Re/Max International 1.6 NA
All real estate sites 38.0 8%
Total Internet audience 171.4 4%
Source: ComScore Media Metrix
By Noelle Knox, USA TODAY
For six months, Nancy Teer-Sims tried selling her parents' home in Durham, N.C., with a real estate agent. The results: few showings, no bids. So when the agent's contract expired in December, Teer-Sims dumped the agent, cut the asking price and listed the home on five websites, including eBay, Craigslist and ForSaleByOwner.com.
"By selling it ourselves, we could lower the price by $50,000," she says, because she wouldn't have to pay the standard 6% commission. In four months, she's shown the house 10 times and had three offers.
Though the offers so far were too low, she's amazed by the flood of responses: 1,400 visitors to her website (www.43beverly.com) and dozens of e-mail inquiries from people interested in the property.
"It's been remarkable, the feedback," says Teer-Sims, 49, a manager of small online companies.
Her story illustrates how the breadth of information now available on the Internet is shifting the balance of power in the real estate industry, giving home buyers and sellers more control over the deal than ever before and fueling competition among agents.
Check out the full Article Here http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2006-05-07-real-estate-online_x.htm
March 2006 (in millions) Pct. change from 2005
Homestore.com Network 9.6 -7%
HomeGain.com 4.8 NA
AOL Real Estate 4.0 17%
MSN Real Estate 3.7 NA
Rent.com 2.9 -13%
RealtyTrac 2.9 38%
Apartments.com 2.4 16%
Zillow.com 2.3 NA
ServiceMagic 2.1 40%
Yahoo Real Estate 1.8 -4%
HouseValues sites 1.8 11%
HPCInteractive (ApartmentGuide) 1.8 NA
Century 21 1.8 25%
ForRent.com sites 1.7 3%
Re/Max International 1.6 NA
All real estate sites 38.0 8%
Total Internet audience 171.4 4%
Source: ComScore Media Metrix
By Noelle Knox, USA TODAY
For six months, Nancy Teer-Sims tried selling her parents' home in Durham, N.C., with a real estate agent. The results: few showings, no bids. So when the agent's contract expired in December, Teer-Sims dumped the agent, cut the asking price and listed the home on five websites, including eBay, Craigslist and ForSaleByOwner.com.
"By selling it ourselves, we could lower the price by $50,000," she says, because she wouldn't have to pay the standard 6% commission. In four months, she's shown the house 10 times and had three offers.
Though the offers so far were too low, she's amazed by the flood of responses: 1,400 visitors to her website (www.43beverly.com) and dozens of e-mail inquiries from people interested in the property.
"It's been remarkable, the feedback," says Teer-Sims, 49, a manager of small online companies.
Her story illustrates how the breadth of information now available on the Internet is shifting the balance of power in the real estate industry, giving home buyers and sellers more control over the deal than ever before and fueling competition among agents.
Check out the full Article Here http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2006-05-07-real-estate-online_x.htm