While nearly half of all buyers and sellers still find their real estate agents through referrals, I was amazed to see that the internet provided 28 percent of the engagements for agents. The JD Powers survey used 3,205  respondents who bought or sold a home in the past year so the numbers should be statistically accurate.

That is a powerful number, especially for a new agent or one who has some technical skills. Think about it, in the past the barrier to entry for an agent was much higher. You needed a huge network or had to be prepared to spend a fortune in time and marketing to get your name out.

Now with some technical skill and some good old sweat equity, you can leverage the internet to provide you leads and the ability to develop your real estate business. And I may be wrong, but the trend has to be aiming more towards the internet as time goes by.

So as the selling season slows down, spend some of this fall and winter really developing your web presence. It will pay off if done correctly!

* Nearly one-half of respondents (46%) report using recommendations from family or friends to find their real estate agent. Approximately 28 percent used the Internet, while 23 percent used an agent they had used previously and 11 percent used a printed real estate guide.
* On average, home buyers were shown approximately 13 homes before making a purchase.
* Home sellers report that, on average, their home was shown approximately 11 times and approximately five open houses were conducted before the sale occurred.

via J.D. Power and Associates.

Related posts:

1. Real Estate Agents Spending Most Marketing Money On The Internet
2. Internet Leads The Way For Real Estate Leads in 2009
3. 1 in 3 Buyers Now Come From The Internet
4. I Hate My Agent!
5. The Real Estate Agent Morphs From Salesperson to Consultant