According to the U.S. Home Buyers Study, a new study just released by Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, U.S. home buyers are twice as likely to go to the Internet for information than other consumers.

The U.S. Home Buyers Study conducted in the first quarter of 1999 includes data on key issues surrounding the purchase of a home from the viewpoint of both recent (within the past five years) and intended (within the next two years) home purchasers. The survey revealed that one-third of U.S. households reported using the Internet for information when considering buying a product or service. Almost 20 percent of recent or intended home buyers said that they had used the Internet to research a home purchase.

Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services was a sponsor of the survey, which was conducted by TeleNation, a survey research service of Market Facts, Inc. A total of 1,000 men and 1,000 women were interviewed.

"This survey's findings on Internet usage confirm our existing understanding of just how fast this phenomenon is growing relative to the home buying process," said Steve Ozonian, chairman and chief executive officer of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services. "In fact, over the last two years use of the Internet to find a new home has increased by more than 200 percent.

"Although consumers are going online more and more for real estate services, the Internet has not replaced home buyers' and sellers' needs for experienced real estate professionals to assist them with their transactions," Ozonian continued. "But this trend does mean that real estate professionals today need to be in tune with technology and incorporating it into their day-to-day businesses in order to be successful."

Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services is the parent company for Prudential's real estate and relocation companies and has been a technology innovator, with Prudential Real Estate Affiliates breaking ground as the first national real estate franchisor to establish a designation to certify its sales associates as technology-trained. Sales associates who become eCertified(sm) guarantee their customers that they are working with a professional who is Internet armed, e-mail capable and computer literate.

"Consumers want to have access to information because they are more sophisticated than they were just a few years ago," Ozonian adds. "They expect a higher level of service and they expect to be able to get online to do their real estate business."

Published: May 21, 1999

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