Internet home searching is up!

If you have ever used the Internet to search for homes, you are definitely not alone.
A new survey finds that 88% of public rely on Web sites as their primary source for the latest real state news and information, with newspapers coming in a distant second at 12%. The poll reinforces the results of a study earlier this month by the National Association of REALTORS(R) concerning the use of the Internet to buy or sell homes.
The latest survey was commissioned by Edward Segal, author of Profit by Publicity (iUniverse, 2007), a how-to PR guide for the real estate industry.

A study released on Nov. 13 by the National Association of REALTORS(R) (NAR) shows a similar reliance on Web sites by people looking to buy or sell residential real estate. According to the 2007 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 84 percent of recent home buyers used the Internet in their search, up from 80 percent in 2006.
Segal observed that, "Web sites represent the new level playing fields for real estate agents and brokers who want to promote themselves or their properties. Although real estate professionals know how to promote listings, this latest poll shows that it is essential they also know how to promote themselves to the media."
The telephone poll of 1,000 adults was conducted Nov. 9-11, 2007 by Synovate, and has a margin of error of plus or minus four percent.