By Avis Gunther-Rosenberg

In response to an increasing demand for online real estate services, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors (RIAR) recently revamped their Web site, www.riliving.com. The new, interactive site was launched March 1, and received 15,000 hits in its first week alone, says RIAR chief information officer Mike Letendre. During its first three days, 1,100 people registered with the home-finder system, and another 1,900 logged on by the end of the second week of operation. The home-finder system allows subscribers to build a portfolio of properties that fit their specific search criteria. It's updated three times a day, and new listings are added to each subscriber's personal profile as they become available. Buyers can search for single, multi-family, condominium, rental, commercial or business listings, and look for open houses and view virtual tours. Preference choices include house style (Victorian, bungalow, mobile home, log cabin, etc.), numbers of bedrooms, bathrooms and fireplaces, in-law possibilities, lot size, and "water amenities" (salt- or freshwater view or frontage, river access, dock, mooring, beach, even flood insurance). The Internet is an increasingly important tool in the real estate market. The 2000 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers says over a third of homebuyers use the Internet as a source and that close to three quarters of those who did found it to be at valuable. Fast to act Internet research produces better-prepared buyers who act more quickly and decisively, saving their agents time, trouble and expense, according to an article in the Feb. 7 issue of Realty Times. Internet buyers spend an average of 5.8 weeks contemplating their purchase before contacting an agent, almost four weeks more than the traditional buyers, Realty Times reported, citing a recent survey by the California Association of Realtors. But traditional buyers spend more than three times as much time actually looking for a new home than Internet buyers, and view over twice as many properties in person (15.2 versus 7.5). "It looks like the Realtors are getting the best from the Internet," says Jody Lane, CEO of Realty Times. "Listing and selling agents are showing fewer homes and making quicker deals with Internet buyers. This is great for everyone. The Internet buyer may feel more in control as a more informed consumer, but the Realtor is still in control of the transaction. How can this be bad?" The RIAR has had a public Web site since 1997. This third version was 15 months in the making. The savvy e-generation "Almost everything you see is based on consumer feedback," Letendre says. "Things are easier to find, there's more information, it's more up to date, and a better interface between the Realtor and the consumer, designed to fit the e-generation." "The new Web site is a wonderful enhancement for the consumers," RIAR president Sharon Steele says. "It gives them a leg up in a market where frankly there isn't a lot of inventory." These changes affect how real estate agents do their jobs, Steele says. "We're going from a technology where we had the lock on information, to one where we have the lock on knowledge. The average consumer desperately needs our help to interpret data. The more information that's out there, the greater the probability of confusion, and consumers find they need our help even more." A decade ago, most real estate agents lugged around the big, thick Multiple Listing Service (MLS) book, published every two weeks. That kind of sloth-like updating just doesn't cut it anymore. "MLS books are still out there, but they're weaning away," Letendre says. "The Internet is so fast that by the time the book is printed, it's already old." Changing technology means that more and more of the real estate transaction will occur online, dramatically speeding up the sale and lowering the days a property is on the market. Steele says: "We already send out purchase-and-sales agreements via e-mailing. We're fast approaching a time when more and more paperwork will be transacted on the Internet. Banks do soft approvals of mortgages online almost instantly, literally at the snap of a finger using Social Security numbers. With digital pictures, a homebuyer can give authorization to their agent for a home inspection."

Published 4/14/2002