While the RE.net rarely talks about Realtor.com, not very sexy compared to Trulia and Zillow, it is the 500 pound gorilla when it comes to consumers. So when they announced that search volume is up significantly in July, it makes me pay attention.
One of the points I have been pontificating about is that buyers are sitting on the sidelines and first time homebuyers are getting anxious to buy. So when I see search volume increase it tells me that these potential buyers are starting the process of vetting potential homes.
If these searchers start talking to agents and enter the buying process, we may see better times in the real estate world.
Consumer interest in real estate surged in July with significant month-over-month increases in both traffic (29%) and time spent on site (26%) on Realtor.com[1], the #1 homes-for-sale-site. In fact, year-over-year page views on Realtor.com and the Move Network increased by 22% and 11% respectively,[1] as consumers spent more time searching properties in popular and unexpected metro areas than this time last year. via MarketWatch
Top 10 Cities Largest Improvement in Searches at Realtor.com (Year Over Year)
Stockton-Lodi, CA 140.9% Las Vegas, NV 93.9% Riverside-San Bernardino, CA 86.3% Oakland, CA 73.6% San Jose, CA 71.4% Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL 69.5% Naples, FL 66.2% Sacramento, CA 65.0% Orange County, CA 62.8% Miami, FL 56.7%
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Great find Tom, and completely sensible.
This is excellent news although not a surprise. I've noticed on my Naples, Florida real estate website traffic is up this month considerably over July stats! Calls and email requests are starting to increase as well. This is even more interesting considering the fact that Naples is so high on the list during this time of year when our real selling season is between December and April. Great Post!
Now THIS is the way to present data instead of (and sorry for the link) – BW article
Thanks Tom..someone has finally found a way to make sure that the pig smells more palatable.
Ines, do the semantics really matter??? C'mon, this argument as to how BW stated and had an opinion on the same data is nuts. Now that Marketwatch has said the same thing in a different way (albeit as a press release from the actual pig farmers)..does it really matter? Does it make it easier to deal with?
Tom..this data has been around for a bit and we in these markets, like Shannon above are not at all suprised but thanks for the info…BTW..avid reader!
yes Barry, semantics do really matter – it's why we blog and why this medium is so important to many of us.
Ines..it's not why I blog. I blog on one of our blogs to educate and inform. On the other to capture prospective homebuyers. On neither would I ever get caught up on idle semantics.
I am in this solely to make a profit. No other reason. My clients are in it for the same reason. The BW article tells me what I have already come to know about this market.
From an educational perspective it's newsworthy because my readership and listenership can evaluate the numbers exclusive of opinion and don't need BS sugarcoating to see that if something walks and talks like a duck..it's probably a friggin duck.
Our readers and listeners know what the data in the BW article means to them economically, they don't need my "packaging of the data" to allow them to draw their own well founded conclusions.
I would hate to have to work with a clientele who did not understand the impact that those numbers mean and I bet that they as well would not want to work with a local "expert" who could not reasonably interpret and discuss the same.
I guess we serve a different readership than you.
I think it's a mistake to assume these searches are all being done by prospective buyers. I think a lot of people are searching their own area to see for themselves how much asking prices are falling. I know I have.
If you had your heloc canceled due to falling local prices reducing your assumed equity, wouldn't you look on Realtor.com to see for yourself? If you saw your neighbor's home for sale, wouldn't you check his listing price?
Excellent point Tex!
I agree with Tex. Also, seeing that Realtor.com is the official website for the NAR, which is over 1 million members strong, don't you think a lot of their traffic is from real estate agents and NAR members? I am a consumer and have NEVER gone to Realtor.com to look for a home. Just like I don't go to Carsalesman.com to look for a car.
I wouldn't read too much into that data. You'll know when the buyers are back.
Traffic is up on our site as well compared to previous months. I hope that the recent events don't harm that trend.