Last week, the California Association of Realtors’ released results from its 9th Annual “Survey of California Home Buyers” (formerly the “Internet vs. Traditional Buyer” Survey). The survey looks at changes in buyers’ behaviors in the housing market, driven in part by the economy, increased usage of the Internet in the real estate industry, and changes in consumer psychology.
What should come as no surprise is that more consumers than ever before are using the Internet during their home purchase process. The survey revealed that 78 percent of buyers used the Internet “as an important part of (their) home buying and selection process,” compared to 72 percent in 2007.
Also worth noting, when it comes to the web sites that consumers are leveraging during the process, the survey found that the most-visited sites include Realtor.com, Zillow and Yahoo Real Estate among others. It is encouraging to know that so many people find Zillow to be a valuable resource.
For more on the survey, check out Sara Bonert’s post.