Nora Ling Lane knows how to cast a lot of hooks in the water to catch a fish. But this time she lured a wide-mouthed bass. An early believer in Internet marketing, Lane was among the first agents in Dallas to put up a Web page to market her services. She quickly realized the power of linking her site to other major sites, such as Realty Locator, which just this week landed her an out-of-town executive looking to relocate in Dallas. And she is not alone in using the Internet to net buyers. Plenty of Realtors are starting to crowd the Internet waters.

Says Lane, "It isn't enough to just put out a Web page. You really have to make sure that buyers are going to see it. I like Realty Locator because consumers who are interested in particular cities can shop for all real estate-related services on the same site. That makes it easy. It is like a national Yellow Pages."

Clients who come via the Web tend to be more serious buyers, according to Lane. "They tend to be very educated, savvy consumers and enjoy doing a lot of the research themselves. That opens the door for me to provide them with other services they can't or don't have time to do." Lane's Internet customer chose her for her niche specialty, the luxurious and high-priced Highland Park/Park Cities area of Dallas.

Other Realtors agree. In a recent e-mail survey of 2,000 real estate agents with 250 respondents predominantly from California and Florida, Realtors were asked to measure gross sales figures as a result of direct or indirect Internet advertising or activity in 1997 and what agents expect from similar efforts in 1998. The survey was conducted by NewRealty.com with the following results:

Overall, agents expect a 286 percent increase in '98 gross sales attributable to the Internet over '97 levels.

Approximately 46.5 percent of respondents earned some business from Internet-related prospecting in '97.

For the agent with some Internet business last year, the average was $711,892, which according to respondents, is expected to increase 159 percent to $1,846,663 in '98.

Agents without any '97 Internet business are expecting '98 to be a good year. Seventy-two percent of this group report they project an average of $548,413 in gross sales will come off the Internet in '98.

In addition to the survey, many agents offered how the Internet helped them with increased business or exposure, often in unexpected ways. Tim Gwilt, Broker of AmStar Realty in Clearwater, Fla., recounts how a seller's attorney found their site via the Web. "The attorney sent me an e-mail. As a result we listed three properties for the seller and have sold two so far. The sellers are very pleased," Gwilt says.

The NewRealty survey echoes results from an informal poll of 400 Realtors taken at the National Association of Realtors convention in New Orleans last November. Conducted by John Tuccillo, economic advisor to NAR, the poll showed that 35 percent of respondents said they had taken part in one or more transactions via the Internet.

It is clear that the latest data shows a strong increase in the role the Internet plays between the consumer and real estate professional. But if you are a Realtor who is planning your marketing strategy and wondering how to best promote yourself and your listings, you are not likely to get much guidance from your own trade organization. NAR has no current information about the Internet and its importance to the industry today and in the future. The most recent information available is an outdated (certainly by Internet standards) survey conducted by NAR in 1995, which puts transactions obtained relative to the Internet at approximately 1 percent.

Incredibly, no plans exist for NAR to update the survey for the first half of 1998, which means that Realtors could be floundering with only outdated information that radically contradicts real and changing trends. The result? Realtors may continue to hide their heads in the sand hoping the Internet will pass them by, in the misguided belief that online communications really won't affect the industry or the consumer.

If consumers are present on the 'Net, shouldn't the industry be making more of a statement there, too? It's time to take the toe out of the water and jump in. The boat's waiting.

Published: February 13, 1998

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.