Real estate and the Internet surge

Never mind the fact that 99 percent of this Yahoo article is an advertisement for a Houston-based real estate developer.

After all, it was written by PR Newswire. That's what they do.

So, Northwest Ohioans, never mind that for a minute and instead note this little nugget:

The article cites research from the National Association of Realtors which reports that an estimated 77 percent of home buyers used the internet to search for a home in 2005, compared to only 2 percent just one decade ago.

This usage reflects a remarkable 3,750 percent increase in just 10 years.

While the association's 2006 report is specific to home buyers, it follows that prospective renters are also using the internet in large numbers to search for their next home.

The most recent research I have on renters' online search habits is from a May, 2005 Nielson NetRatings report which combined prospective renters and buyers into one sample group and concluded that in the six months prior to the study, 21.6 million web surfers visited a real estate or apartment search web site -- representing a 26-percent spike in just that short time period alone.

Interestingly, in that time period the greatest web traffic increase to real estate and apartment search web sites was at the keyboards of lower-income surfers earning not more than $25,000 a year. That group's internet-based home searching jumped 47 percent, according to the NetRatings report.

Whether you are selling or renting out property, the time has come to ask yourself: How many potential buyers or would-be tenants are you failing to reach if you're not advertising online?