A new survey of Texas Association of REALTORS® members compiled by Texas A&M's Real Estate Center shows a sharp rise in business generated from the Internet, compared to the National Association of REALTOR®'s report released late last year.

According to the NAR report, REALTORS® and the Internet: The Impact of On-line Technologies on the Real Estate Industry, which was conducted during the summer of 1999, nearly nine out of ten REALTORS® who access the Internet reported that they generated at least one percent of their business on-line.

If the same report were generated this year would it show the improvements in online mastery that Texas Realtors are demonstrating? According to respondents to the Real Estate Center survey, 2.6 percent of Texas Realtors say more than 20 percent of their business comes from the Internet. Another 11.7 percent report six to 10 percent of business generated by the Internet, and 42.3 percent attribute one to five percent of their business to Internet-originated transactions.  

Ninety percent of respondents say they subscribe to an Internet service provider, and 92 percent have an e-mail address. Eighty-four percent check their e-mail at least once a day, and 25 percent use e-mail to send contracts.  

One-fourth of respondents have a company-sponsored Web site, and 40 percent of those list properties online. Twenty-six percent of respondents have a personal Web site.  

How do Texans use their Web sites?

• Advertising -- 38.4 percent
• Property listings -- 40.1 percent
• Solicitation of referrals -- 21.9 percent
• Community service -- 9.5 percent
• Links to other sites -- 22.7 percent
• Other ways -- 3.7 percent  

The NAR says that the vast majority of REALTORS® feel that the Internet represents a new opportunity for business. More than 75 percent say that they make Internet marketing an important feature of their listing presentations.

Published: September 8, 2000

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