Internet real estate

An electronic version of the real estate industry, internet real estate is the concept of publishing housing estates for sale or rent, and for consumers seeking to buy or rent a property. Often, internet real estates are operated by landlords themselves. However, there are few exceptions where an online real estate agent would exist, still dealing via the web and often stating a flat-fee and not a commission based on percentage of total sales. Internet real estate surfaced around 1999 when technology advanced and statistics prove that more than 1 million homes were sold by the owners themselves in just America, in 2000. Some of the prime internet real estate platforms include Zillow, Trulia, Yahoo! Real Estate, Redfin and Realtor.com.

According to Realtor, 90% of home buyers searched online during the process of seeking for a property and the percentage of consumers searching for information relating to real estate on Google has increased by 253% over the last 4 years. With an increase of 5.5% from just 0% of people using the internet to carry our house sales within the last decade in UK, figures show that there will be a huge increase to percentage of 50 by 2018. Figures will hit 70% by 2020, with only a third of the UK population seeking help through traditional methods of real estate agents.

The process of the concept of internet real estate usually begins with owners listing their homes with its quoted price on online platforms such as Trulia, Yahoo! Real Estate, cyberhomes, The New York Times and even eBay. The greater number of platforms owners list their properties, the greater the diffusion of information. As buyers who are seeking for a piece of property, search engines are usually their first pit-stop. "69% of home shoppers who take action on real estate brand website begin their research with a local term, i.e "Houston homes for sale" on a search engine", reports Realtor. Once a potential buyer contacts the seller, they would go through the details of the property – sizing, amenities, condition, and pricing, if not stated. After which, an appointment for the viewing of the property would usually be scheduled and in some cases, potential buyers may request for a refurnish of certain amenities or parts of the property. If terms and conditions are met between both parties, the buyer would usually negotiate for the best offer if interested and a deposit may be requested by the owner. Finally, both parties will agree on a date for full payment, signing on official payment, and the handover of keys to the property.

...
Wikipedia