RUNNING HEAD: INTERNET USE IN REAL ESTATE
Internet Use in Real Estate
Your University: (University)
Date: 3/18/2008
Executive summary
Sales and buying of real estate residential properties are among the most important financial
transactions which many of the people are involved in. For that reason these people have a concern
that the transactions made are effective and best to their advantage. However over the past ten years
or so, a significant change affecting the modern society has been growing; internet use by the
consumers. Studies have continued to predict that the internet use is poised to grow further in future.
This research paper is going to analysis the connection of these two crucial aspects, i.e. Using
internet in real estate marketing. For the years industry analyst had predicted a growth in internet
uses and fundamental changes in the real estate services, though the number of the internet users
continue to grow, changes in the real estate services have not been that fundamental.
Introduction
The increase in the use of internet, specifically the World Wide Web (www) in the past ten years or so
has been exceptional and has impacted almost every sector in developed nations. Among the most
significant aspect in individuals' lives, is their housing condition. In many western countries this is
normally a residential property which is owned by the person occupying it. Thus owner-occupiers
have a high interest in the way residential markets operate. Which the trend in the market changing
and many real estate firms adopting internet as a marketing tool, for selling, advertising and listing,
this paper will seek to find out how the use of world wide web and e-commence has impacted the real
estate industry and how a company can adopt the use of internet in its operations (Baen and Guttery,
1997)
To address this subject, the study paper will carry on, along the following field: internet will have to be
defined for reasons of theoretical clarity; e-commerce, definition and essentials, and functions will be
underscored; reasons for real estate using e-commerce will be discuses, and how to create an
effective website for real estate companies will be discussed at length; and lastly "a way forward" in
terms of a conclusion will be provided
How the characteristics of e-commerce make it a new force in business operations
What is e-commerce?
E-commerce is the trade of services and products by means of computer networks or the internet.
Chan, Lee, & Dillon, (2001) defines e-commerce as selling and buying of goods or services using
electronic media it follows the basic principles of traditional commerce but in this case, buyers and
sellers swap commodities through the internet for money. In e-commerce sellers and consumers of
products transact business over networked computerized processes. This has offered maximum
convenience to buyers and sellers alike. (Kroll, 2000) Buyers in this form of business get the
opportunity to compare prices, quality and other factors before deciding to undertake the transaction.
The buyer gets advantages of saving on physical transport costs and he/she can a product even from
far place on a click of the mouse.
Importance of e-commerce as a strategic component of real estates business
E-commerce serves as a vital strategic tool for companies. When e-commerce is well used in real
estate companies, it brings considerable opportunities to the companies. The importance of e-
commerce to real estate agents can be classified in two main classes; the tangible advantages and
the intangible advantages that are brought about by information technology. E-commerce is vital for
real estates companies today e-commerce can assist many real estates firm to revolutionize their
manners in which they operate and manage their operations. (Bivins, 1999)
Tangible benefits
The tangible benefits of e-commerce touches on the monetary aspect of a company, it touches on the
financial benefits that occur due to a company investing in e-commerce that can only be measured
using tangible metrics. For example it affects cost saving, market share, productivity and profitability
of Real estate companies. These benefits can enable real estates firms to make a lot of saving and
the money saved goes along way in improving other aspect of the firms. (Chan, Lee, & Dillon, 2001)
Intangible benefits
The intangible benefits that can be brought by the e-commerce to real estates firms includes,
improved customer care, advanced knowledge on customer needs, enhanced coordination with the
company partners, improved product quality thus giving real estate firm a competitive advantage.
Chan, Lee, & Dillon, (2001) states that, the competitive benefits of the company usually are seen in
the form of the cost position of the company or products differentiation. E-commerce impacts Real
estate companies advantages by having an effect on the way the Real estate companies operates, by
changing the products of the company and also changing the way of the competition itself. (Chan,
Lee, & Dillon, 2001)
Improved sales
Going online will definitely improve sales of the Real estate companies since it will open new markets.
The Real estate companies will be able to reach a wide market and at the same time maintain its
market segment. Another important aspect of online marketing is that the Real estate companies will
be able to receive customers' suggestions and views about the Real estate companies' service
directly and respond immediately or within a shorter period. Through this, it will be able to monitor
customers' requirements and any changes in market demand, and respond accordingly, this will
greatly improve the service delivery of the Real estate companies. (King, Lee and Vineland, 2004)
Lower costs
The aim of any business is to reduce production cost in order to improve its revenues e-commerce is
one of the cheapest ways of doing business. Business to business communication costs will be
reduced greatly when the Real estate companies adopt e-commerce marketing as a medium of
transaction. Costs such as; phone calls, purchasing costs, travelling costs, inventory costs, data entry
costs, faxing etc reduce the amount the transaction costs. The old day's ways of marketing was not
only time consuming but also costly especially to a wide range of clients. The current internet
technology is the best as it is currently the widely used distribution channel that is being used in the
market. (King, Lee and Vineland, 2004) Since many households and offices today have a computer
and most of them are currently connected to the internet, it makes an opportunity for the Real estate
companies' marketers to reach a high percentage of the population of consumers hence also saving
marketing cost which are normally very high. Thus this will translate to the Real estate companies
offering its customer affordable real estate property. (Bivins, 1999)
Online marketing as a communication vehicle
One of the good aspects of e-commerce is the internet, which is a bi-directional communication tool
which is ironically the least expensive way of advertising compared to other types of advertising such
as radio, television, magazines and news papers. E-commerce offers great benefits for businesses in
this century; increased effectiveness, wide range of audiences, reduced advertising, marketing, and
transportation costs, improved exposure, increased popularity, among others. The Real estate
companies will therefore, have a cheaper way of advertising and at the same time reach a wider
segment of its clients. In addition e-commerce will enhance communication between the Real estate
companies and the customers through email communication. (King, Lee and Vineland, 2004)
Client orientation
The client orientation involves the responsive of the Real estate companies. An email address for
example on a home page of the fast food store will create human connection between the Real estate
companies and the viewing audience. The clients of the Real estate companies will have to answer
promptly to an email they receive and if the same information request is received with some
frequency not normal to what is expected for example a complain about a certain recipe or service ,
then, Real estate companies will have to take necessary steps to rectify it. If the answer to an
information request can be found on the Real estate companies' pages, some kind of decision will
have to be made to create additional pathways or improved ones. When the information is not
received, then the motion will be set in order to add the requested information on the site as quickly
as possible.
Market trend
The internet emergence has witnessed the major changes in traditional trends of business. At
present, internet marketing has increasingly become the crucial phrase for many businesses. Among
them being Real Estate, in the recent past, Internet is becoming the first point for majority of potential
home-purchasers in their look for a residence.
Benefits Internet Marketing in Real Estate
As a result of the various benefits Internet marketing is providing to the real estate companies and to
the clients, Internet marketing has thus, become a much more popular platform for every competitive
real estate firm.
Internet real estate property Make Better customers. A common trend of e-commerce indicates that
these customers are richer and prepared to purchase more high-priced homes.
Cost effective
E-commerce reduces the hunt for potential clients. E-commerce when used it save much more time
and also energy which is normally used for looking for potential clients. Thus, it is often cost effective
compared to traditional methods of selling.
Fast transactions
Internet offers the potential clients a lot more feature in searching for their specific types of home,
since they can narrow down their search options to look for what they desire.
Goes with the trend in customer demographic changes
Present studies disclose that, the homebuyers have continued to be younger as younger people have
been becoming economical empowered earlier in their ages. This group of young people have been
using the internet for a long time and they prefer e-commerce transactions.
E-commerce customers are better informed
Homebuyers using services of e-commerce for their residence hunt are also better-informed
regarding the entire purchasing procedure, and express greater fondness with real estate agents they
use. Indeed, about 80% of online homebuyers employ a real estate agent, which is higher than the
conventional buyers at a 70% possibility.
Hence, a part from offering a chance for enormous viewers of exceptional potential buyers, the e-
commerce provides expediency as well as cost efficacy which conventional marketing medium
cannot offer. Today, Web sites have become more attractive and informative much more than top
promotional materials such as brochures. The Communication provided by emails has made it rather
cheaper and easier to communicate with your previous clients.
Chart 1, shows the trends in the real estate selling pattern used in the industry.
The ways in which the internet and WWW may be incorporated in a real estate business
Web designing
It is important that a website should be developed which will be used by the Real estate companies to
carry on its business with the customer the designing of the website can be tailor- made to suit the
needs of the Real estate companies.
Web site promotion
The Real estate companies will be required to advertise and promote its business, in order for the
customers to be aware of the Real estate companies to come to the company and get the services
offered.
Real Estate e-commerce marketing tips
Despite the vast sway of homebuyers opting for e-commerce, many realtors grumble that their
websites are not productive as they would like and that they do not get new business. Though the
majority of real estate agents acknowledge the importance of e-commerce and willingly pay for
hosting web site, in most cases they generally don't put in systematic attempts and time in achieving
their objectives. For e real estate Company, it can achieve its objects through making its site really
effective.
This might occur owing to overstated promises put in their websites designers, a mix-up of running of
the e-commerce site, or an absence of bearing or direction, a lot of web sites fall far behind of their
true potential. For that, it is important to make sure that that the real estate company is actively
participating in the conception of stronger website. The company technical staff ha to understand well
the search engine optimization techniques, to know how to raise the web traffic as well as translate
leads into buyers. Here are some of the important tips. (Kroll, 2000)
Make the Website much appealing: When individuals visit the company's website, the company has
very limited time to arrest their interest before they strike the back key. Thus, the home page should
be more attractive with minimum distraction. The home page should also be more informative to
prospective home-buyers. Shun misusing the pop-up windows and flash introduction. Employ simply
fast-loading images or graphics and any other aspects. The site web pages should be of light weight
for easy downloading.
Enlist the Website: hunt for hottest Website Directories on the internet and enlist the company site on
those hot directories. This is among the most effective and easiest methods of free website
promotion. The company also should ensure that their site is rich in its contents and appearance to
easily be accepted by the directory chosen. (Benjamin and Chinloy, 2000)
Search Engine Optimization: it is good to Respect the available Search Engines, in addition employ
the practice to use web pages which don't integrate large volumes of code unconnected to the
content. Limit the frame in the webpage to enhance traffic of the web pages. (Benjamin and Chinloy,
2000)
Generate a Blog: Blogging could be much more than just a communications instrument and a
networking stage for the real estate experts. Blogging can express personality, create leads and
enhance business. Following creation of the Blog, do not forget to get enlisted within Blog directories;
it will assist the marketing processes. (Benjamin and Chinloy, 2000)
Publish online articles: through publishing of Articles, the real estate will increase its presence on the
online platform. These articles support the company's marketing programs in a number of ways,
which ranges from page ranking to search engine visibility. Many studies support this aspect.
Show email id: a lot of internet users abhor being compelled to fill forms in order to collect
information. A number of users might accept the online form as convenience; however several users
might desire using their personal email address to get in touch with the agent, in order to keep a
confirmation of the email communication. (Benjamin and Chinloy, 2000)
Minimize Attrition: Attrition trails you in each stage of the company's real estate internet marketing
activities. Attrition is used to refer to individuals who "drop out" along the marketing course
somewhere amid first contact making and the client acquisition phase.
Create lead generation: keep in mind that, website traffic is merely fruitless traffic until when acted
upon. To get the website visitors acting in one way or another to become clients of the company, the
company needs to craft a lead-generation system founded on value and enticements. (Benjamin and
Chinloy, 2000)
Conclusion
In today's business world, e-commerce continues to be very relevant to companies as they struggle to
invent cheaper and more efficient ways to market their products and services. The internet and the
web have become major marketing tools for commercial and industrial brokers, providing detailed
information about the companies and services offered and also providing ongoing means of
communications with regular customers through features such as e-mail and newsletters on the Web.
While the internet has greatly widened the opportunities for distributing and sharing information, there
are no signs that this is diminishing the need for brokers. Instead, those brokers who are
knowledgeable about Web resources are using it to expand their market.
Reference:
Baen, J.S. And Guttery R.S (1997): The Coming Downsizing of Real Estate- Implicatons of
Technology, Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management, Boston 1997 Vol. 3
Benjamin J. D. And Chinloy P.T (2000): Technological Innovation in Real Estate Brokerage, Journal
of Real Estate Research, Vol. 10 No.1
Bivins R (1999): New Houston Realty Firm Has Success Melding Internet, Standard Approach,
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Businesss News, November,
Chan, H., Lee, R. & Dillon, T., (2001): E-Commerce in Practice; Fundamentals and Applications,
England: John Wiley & Sons, LTD. P 120-138
King, D., Lee, J., and Vineland, D. (2004): Electronic Commerce; A Managerial Perspective, New
Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Kroll, C A (2000): Expanding Economic Development Resources with the World Wide Web.
Real Estate Canada: "For Sale by Owner" - http://www.propertysold.ca/
Appendix
An example of website of ZIP REALTY real estate Company,
Source, www.ziprealty.com
Another example of website from Canada real estate Company,
Source: http://www.propertysold.ca/
website content
Source: http://pdfcast.org/pdf/internet-use-in-real-estate-1
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