The Yahoo Real Estate folks provided the real estate industry with some really interesting information last month when they released a white paper entitled Embracing the Online Real Estate Market. The document reflects research conducted by Yahoo seeking to create a current economic and demographic profile of the Internet empowered consumer. The project further undertook to identify just what these consumers were looking for.
But Yahoo went one step further. The white paper also provides, in great detail, information, tailored to the real estate professional, about how to work with each of the four consumer groups identified through the research. The information provided by the Yahoo research is important enough to dedicate this column to that work and those findings.
The industry has been tracking the growing influence of the Internet for a number of years. The California Association of REALTORS® has done some exemplary work over the past few years tracking the migration of real estate consumers on the Internet. Yahoo's work in this instance is historically relevant because it provides yet another example of the Internet's growing power and movement across the real estate space. In this case not only has Yahoo undertaken to conduct original research but it is also presuming to tell the real estate community how to use that information. One can only wonder how long it will take this very important information to become part of the industry's educational mainstream.
Yahoo's research determined that at the present time there are approximately 67 million people actively engaged in real estate activities online. Their basic rolls are identified as follows:
Buyers: Purchased property in the past six months or plan to purchase property in the next six months
Sellers: Sold property in the past six months or plan to sell property in the next six months
Renters: Rented property in the past six months or plan to rent property in the next six months
Financers: Applied for a new mortgage, refinanced an existing mortgage, or got a home equity loan or line of credit in past six months or plan to in next six months
Others active in real estate category: Worked with a real estate agent or used online sources to keep track of the real estate market.
The research went on to identify the typical online real estate consumer as being 45 years old (with almost one-half between the ages of 35-54). Women were found to make up 51percent of the online real estate market. Seventy-two percent (72%) of these in-market consumers currently own real estate property. A detached single-family house is the primary residence type for seventy-three percent (73%) of these owners.
Yahoo further reports that nearly one-half of real estate consumers have used online sites to view real estate listings, and over one-quarter keep track of the real estate market using online resources. Respondents typically use real estate sites to:
Browse homes for sale
View property photos, virtual tours and videos
Research schools and neighborhoods
Look-up home values
Use mortgage calculators
From its research Yahoo evolved four specific consumer profiles:
Passionates – Consumers who are highly engaged and very interested – comprising 6 percent of the total market
Conventionals – Traditional and Looking for Guidance - comprising 14 percent of the total market
Actives – The Online Engager – comprising 19 percent of the total market
Future Prospects – Just Looking Right Now – comprising of 61 percent of the total market
Yahoo used the following graph to demonstrate how these four groups were allocated across the various real estate functions. In many cases a person can fall in more than one of the rolls identified above, as shown in these percentages.
Passionates
Conventionals
Actives
Future
Prospects
Buyer
79%
53%
53%
8%
Seller
45%
27%
27%
3%
Financer
82%%
70%
71%
21%
Renter
29%
10%
12%
13%
None of
the Above
0%
0%
0%
62%
The white paper is rich with data regarding specific facts and insights on each of the four groups including what they are looking for and where they can be found. The following information regarding action steps for real estate professionals working with these groups was especially valuable.
Implementing a marketing campaign for the Passionates:
Since Passionates spend a lot of time online, develop and maintain your firm's blog
Firms must be present on mainstream social networks and industry-targeted communities
Participate in other consumer focused Q&A sites in order to reach Passionates
Since they use search engines, it goes without saying that brokerages should have their own agent or broker web sites and that those web sites should incorporate an ongoing search engine optimization effort as well as a sponsored search marketing programs
Marketing messaging should be targeted with specific references to domain knowledge, expertise, and depth of services offered
Passionates are action-oriented and need real estate professionals who can help them achieve their goals quickly and successfully
Firms may also find Passionates on local real estate blogs, finance related sites, large real estate search and portal sites, as well as web search engines.
Implementing a marketing campaign for the Conventionals
Conventionals rely on real estate agents as their most important source of information
Since they use off line sources of information before researching online, it is important to think of reaching Passionates online as an extension of your off line marketing efforts. Specifically, your marketing copy off line should reinforce your presence online, including your website URL, your blog URL, your email address, or your social network prole names.
Keep in mind that even though their name implies that they are working off line, Conventionals spend time researching online to supplement their off line activities. Marketing messaging can be more brand-oriented with the calls to action focused on driving offline interaction to online, as suggested previously
You may reach Conventionals on local newspaper web sites and large real estate search and portal sites
Implementing a marketing campaign for the Actives
Since Actives use multiple sites for information, you should have a presence on many real estate web sites. In particular, real estate firms should distribute their listings to as many real estate search and portal sites as appropriate
Actives are also busy fnancing, so partnering with mortgage brokers, both online and offline is a great way to reach them by sharing referrals
For this group, it's also important to be listed in the emerging category of online real estate agent directories, as Actives are more likely to use those sites as well
From a marketing perspective, repeated "impressions" in front of this constituency is critical as Actives are still contemplating what service providers to collaborate with
You can also find Actives on local MLS sites, newspaper web sites and large real estate search and portal sites
Implementing a marketing campaign for the Future Prospects
Future prospects are actively looking for information about the real estate market, tracking real estate activity, and trying to keep up to date
Although they may not be in the market to purchase in the next 6 months, their online activity in the real estate space suggests that it is on their mind for the future
Once this segment becomes more serious about home shopping and buying they will rely on a real estate agent to assist them, so investments that get you in front of their selection process are important
For this group, awareness is the most important marketing objective, and marketing investments should be geared toward consistently putting your brand front-and-center
Graphic media campaigns on newspaper and real estate sites that enable local targeting, search engine marketing in your local market, and listing your profele in the emerging category of online real agent directories should be considered in the marketing mix for this segment
Each of these action items should be familiar to you as things you are doing with all of your consumer segments. These are the terms and actions of a contemporary brokerage-marketing program. These are the directions that your consumer centric brokerage will be taking over the next few years.
Oh, by the way, did you notice, in late July of this year, that the Los Angeles Times announced the cancellation of their printed real estate section?
NWREporter October 2008
