The online consumer is very important to home sellers, averaging higher incomes than their offline peers and spending more on the homes they purchase. Below are key statistics that demonstrate the importance of this audience in marketing a home.
Where buyer first learned about home purchased
| 1997 | 1999 | 2001 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2007 | |
| Real estate agent | 50% | 49% | 48% | 41% | 38% | 36% | 34% |
| Internet | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 24 | 29 |
| Yard sign | 17 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 |
| Friend, neighbor or relative | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Home builder or their agent | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Print newspaper advertisement | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Knew the seller | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Home book or magazine | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | * |
| Other | * | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | * | * |
2007 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
* Less than one percent
Usefulness of information sources among those buyers that used each source
| Very Useful | Somewhat Useful | Not Useful | |
| Internet | 78% | 21% | 1% |
| Real Estate Agent | 70 | 18 | 12 |
| Yard Sign | 29 | 39 | 33 |
| Open House | 24 | 30 | 46 |
| Newspaper Advertisement | 17 | 35 | 48 |
| Home Builder | 12 | 16 | 71 |
| Home Book or Magazine | 11 | 23 | 66 |
| Billboard | 2 | 8 | 90 |
| Television | 2 | 11 | 87 |
| Relocation Company | 2 | 6 | 93 |
2007 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Value of online features
| Very Useful | Somewhat Useful | Not Useful | Did Not Use | |
| Photos | 84% | 14% | 1% | 1% |
| Detailed Property Information | 82 | 16 | 1 | 1 |
| Virtual Tours | 60 | 30 | 5 | 6 |
| Interactive Maps | 39 | 39 | 10 | 11 |
| Neighborhood/Community Information | 37 | 44 | 9 | 10 |
| Real Estate Agent Contact | 31 | 40 | 14 | 14 |
| Recently Sold info | 24 | 38 | 17 | 20 |
2007 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Actions taken as a result of internet home search
| All Buyers | First-time Buyers | Repeat Buyers | |
| Drove by/viewed a home | 73% | 73% | 73% |
| Walked through a home viewed online | 57 | 56 | 58 |
| Found agent used to search/buy a home | 23 | 24 | 22 |
| Requested more information | 22 | 26 | 19 |
| Contacted builder/developer | 10 | 6 | 13 |
| Pre-qualified for a mortgage online | 8 | 10 | 7 |
| Applied for a mortgage | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Found a mortgage lender online | 4 | 6 | 4 |
2007 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
What homebuyers were looking for online
| All Buyers | First-time Buyers | Repeat Buyers | |
| Properties for sale | 95% | 95% | 95% |
| Information about an area | 22 | 21 | 22 |
| A real estate agent | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| A real estate company | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Info about price or affordability | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Builders | 1 | * | * |
| Virtual Tour | * | * | * |
| Other | 4 | 3 | 4 |
2007 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
