NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- How Does the Web Affect Home Buying? According to the experts on Realtypin.com, you've got to look for a realtor who's web-savvy. A "dinosaur" that does things the old-fashioned way isn't going to cut it. But why? How exactly does the web affect home buying?

That's exactly what one recent study set out to uncover! After all, people use the world wide web for everything else these days – from paying bills, to connecting with old friends, to watching old TV shows – so it only makes sense that people would also use it to buy and sell homes.

RealtyPin.com's Top 5 Cities To Sell a Home in This Year

But if you think the web is simply a real estate accessory, think again! According to a joint study done by Google and the National Association of Home Buyers, the web has actually become at the front and center of the real estate market. Between 2008 and 2012, the number of real estate-related searches performed on Google rose 253%. And, a whopping 90% of house-hunters searched for a home online. In fact, the web is often the first place people turn when they decide it's time to buy a home. According to the study, more than half of homeowners start their search by going online. That's a drastic change from just a few years ago – when people headed to the classified ads in the newspaper or called realtors as their first steps! But people aren't just searching for homes on their desktop computers. They're also searching for homes on the go. Out of all the web searchers we just talked about, about 20% of them were looking for homes on their smartphones or other mobile devices. In fact, according to the survey, the number of mobile home searchers goes up 120% every year!

Realtypin.com home selling tips: YouTube For Real Estate

So, what do these numbers mean if you're getting ready to sell your home?
You've got to make sure that your efforts focus on the web! After all, it's obvious that's where the buyers are. If your home isn't there, buyers may not even know it exists! Simply getting your home onto the MLS listings isn't good enough anymore. And that's where your realtor comes in. Since you probably don't know which websites are going to fetch your home the most exposure (and since you probably don't have the time to learn!), you need to make sure that your realtor does.  

RealtyPin.com's Top 5 Cities To Buy a Home in This Year

There are even websites that you use on a daily basis that a good realtor can use to your home-selling advantage. For example, you probably log onto Facebook and YouTube every day, but your realtor can maximize them.
Bottom line – this is the 21st century. Your home sale needs to act like it!
 

Media Contact: James Paffrath, RealtyPin.com, 1-(866) 960-8649, james@realtypin.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

SOURCE RealtyPin.com