Property ManagementE-commerce Is About Making It Simpler
According to the latest Internet research, more than 35 percent of on-line
surfers purchased something on the Internet. Over 4.5 million households bank
on-line. By the end of the year, over 18% of households will be hooked up to
the Internet, up 5 percent from last year. That"s over 17.7 million
households. By 2001, 38 percent of households will be on the Internet (40
million households.)
If those stats aren"t enough to make REALTORS® sit up and take notice, the
opinions of a few industry leaders as well as a look at the content of major
home search sites may make the desired impact. E-commerce is growing, and the
Realtor can no longer afford to be intimidated by its steep learning curve.
Instead, there is a very real opportunity to make things simpler for the
consumer. And when doesn"t that have real value?
The first thing Realtors must recognize is that other parts of the real
estate transaction are already being played out on the "Net - with, or without
them.
Bruce Cornelius, a representative with Fannie Mae, believes that the
progress in E-commerce in 1998 is just the tip of the iceberg. In this year,
loan applications have dropped from weeks to minutes and new loan products are
constantly being developed for delivery via the Internet.
"Leading lenders are already achieving huge cost reductions through the use
of the Internet," said Cornelius.
The Internet has achieved a previously unthinkable goal - it has become a
one-stop resource for consumers, an advertising medium for vendors and service
providers and an information library all rolled into one. Consumers can learn,
compare, and then transact all without leaving their keyboards.
But there may be another side to the mountain of convenience, entertainment
and information the Internet offers - data overload both for Realtors and their
consumers.
The content emphasis of the major real estate sites, Realtor.com, Microsoft HomeAdvisor, CyberHomes, and HomeSeekers clearly reveals that the
three most popular activities for home buyers on the Web are searching for
homes, exploring loans, and reading news and how-to information about the real
estate transaction.
This is the kind of information that the Realtor used to provide for the
buyer through personal interaction. Now the same data can be conveyed via Web
sites, hot links to pertinent sites, and E-mail. Clearly, the Realtor is needed
more than ever to distill and interpret increasingly complex information as
delivered on the Internet.
Electronic commerce is growing, according to Craig Rief of RealSelect. In
his speech at the November convention, Rief explained that for Realtors to be
successful getting into E-commerce they must build consumer confidence through
a clearly defined role in the marketplace.
"Consumers like to choose, but want help in doing so," says Rief. "We need
to bring parties to the transaction who are trusted, and trust can be acquired
through property listings that are representative of the whole marketplace,
listings that are up-to-date, and listings that are reliable, so that consumers
can feel they made the right decision in the end."
Customers must have trust in the tools (that the Internet environment is
secure,) that services are competitive, that the service provider will deliver,
and trust that the market will not fail, explained Rief.
Using the paperless loan as an example of why the Internet will become
increasingly important as a marketing and information conveyance medium for
Realtors, Scott Cooley of Contour Software, Inc. believes that the mortgage
loan business is already largely conducted through E-commerce. Other service
providers such as title companies, appraisers, wholesalers, home inspectors,
and real estate sales are also headed in the direction of E-commerce.
"Use of E-commerce can dramatically increase market share," said Cooley.
"Web-integrated transactions will drive E-commerce."
1998 has been a watershed year for E-commerce, according to a report by the
National Association of REALTORS® and many believe that it will continue to
grow exponentially. Those Realtors who can prove to consumers that they can
simplify the home buying experience using the Internet will be that much more
ahead of the game.