A recent study shows how buyers are using online technology during the home-buying process.
It’s safe to say we’re all a touch (well, maybe a little more than a touch!) addicted to our technology. Homebuyers are no different.
A recent independent poll commissioned by Discover Home Loans shows 89 percent of homebuyers use some form of online technology to help them with the home-buying process. In fact, 76 percent of buyers interviewed say technology makes them a smarter homebuyer and 69 percent said it makes them more confident.
A Better Buyer
Buyers who use technology during the home-buying process feel smarter, more confident and more satisfied.
• Almost half of all homebuyers (47 percent) report that using technology helped them save money.
• As many as 92 percent of those surveyed say that technology helped save time.
• A significant amount of buyers (90 percent) report an overall positive experience.
Technology Use is Addictive
While it’s no surprise that nine out of 10 buyers (89 percent) use online resources during the home-buying process, two-thirds say looking at online property listings has reached the point of becoming addictive.
The top three ways people use online resources in the home-buying process are:
• Eighty-three percent look at real estate listings.
• Seventy-two percent use online maps to explore neighborhoods
• Seventy-one percent use email, apps or websites to submit documents to lenders.
Among those who look at online listings, 78 percent say they spend time at work looking at properties. Nearly all (93 percent) of technology users surveyed say technology allows them to do things remotely that they otherwise would have to do in person.
“Buyers are clearly looking to play a larger role in the home-buying process and turning to the latest technologies to find the information they need,” says TJ Freeborn, senior manager of customer experience at Discover Home Loans.
“Technology is a great resource for buyers because it gives them access to online property listings and allows them to preview homes. They may also find reviews on real estate agents and mortgage lenders. It’s truly changing the home-buying process, and the result is a more confident, informed buyer.”
The Impact of Technology on Agents
While the real estate agent’s role remains critical, technology has become more important to buyers, and more integrated into the work of both real estate agents and buyers in the home-buying process. Understanding the more informed and confident homebuyer is essential for an effective real estate agent-buyer relationship.
• The real estate agent’s role is still critical, as 83 percent of respondents reported working with real estate agents to buy their homes.
• Seventy-four percent of homebuyers feel it’s important for their real estate agents to be tech savvy. In fact, most (82 percent) say that their agent is tech savvy.
• In communicating with agents, nearly all (98 percent) communicate via phone calls.
• Of buyers working with agents, 42 percent surveyed say that they did most of the work to find properties initially.
This article appeared in REAL Trends Newsletter and is being reprinted with permission of REAL Trends, Copyright 2014