Board Consumer Websites WAV Group February 5, 6, and 9, 2009 www.wavgroup.com 130
HAR.com Leading MLS Consumer Website 4.3 Million User Sessions per month 1 Million Unique Visitors per month 1 Billion Hits per month 38 million minutes 12.6 million Listings served 21 listings per visitor 566,000 leads www.wavgroup.com 131
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MLS Consumer Website Effectiveness Study Overview Study Subject - HAR.com 360 view of MLS Consumer Websites Compared Consumer perspectives to REALTOR perspectives Help provide balanced point of view to help MLSs evaluate opportunity www.wavgroup.com 139
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Study Results HAR.com Registered Users 143 www.wavgroup.com
REALTOR Concern #1 Not the role of the board to provide consumer information Want their site to be the first point of contact Believe it is the sole role of the REALTOR to provide consumer information Believe they are best equipped to provide consumer information www.wavgroup.com 144
HAR.com registered users do not agree! 145 www.wavgroup.com
Board websites play valuable role in real estate sales process Has all Houston listings Easier to use No salesperson will call me Information is up to date 59% 54% 51% 45% Can contact listing agent Other 13% 22% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% www.wavgroup.com 146
Houston consumers appreciate quality of information and REALTORS who provide it Best all-encompassing web site for the Houston area. I appreciate the REALTORS who share the most accurate(board) real estate information with me. www.wavgroup.com 147
Houston consumers appreciate objectivity HAR.com does not "feature" homes or try to make any one home more appealing than other. HAR.com just states the facts! www.wavgroup.com 148
Helps consumer narrow search 8% Yes No 92% It was very helpful to search the inventory myself before talking to my real estate agent--i felt better informed. www.wavgroup.com 149
Extremely valuable for Houston consumers www.wavgroup.com 150
Helped make the real estate process more efficient www.wavgroup.com 151
Steve Barnes Coldwell Banker United 30,000 agents, Southeastern U.S. Why should we expect a consumer to search multiple websites when we as REALTORS can provide them one comprehensive site to satisfy their needs? MLS Consumer Websites are especially critical for clients who are new to the area. They have not built a relationship with a real estate company and they need to become educated on the market. I strongly believe that if an MLS does not offer a public website they are doing their community a disservice. www.wavgroup.com 152
Lorraine Abercrombie Greenwood King Properties Well-Educated Consumers Benefit REALTORS By the time our clients get to us they are well-educated about the market. They know what neighborhoods they would like to focus us. Some have even attended open houses to get a better feel of their needs. We see a great advantage in providing every convenience we can for consumers. HAR.com is a great tool which helps us accomplish that goal. www.wavgroup.com 153
REALTOR Concern #2 Competitive with My Website Competing with the board for search engine rankings Takes away advantage for those who are strong online marketers Levels the playing field Can t outspend the board online www.wavgroup.com 154
Richard Smith, Coldwell- Banker United Generates Traffic Our company very much appreciates the benefit HAR.com provides REALTORS in the greater Houston Area. Nearly 100,000 consumers have been referred to our company website from HAR.com. It is one of the best (marketing) things out there. www.wavgroup.com 155
Chicago Real Estate Traffic 17% Yahoo Real Estate 15% REALTOR.com 8% AOL Real Estate 6% Trulia 5% C21 International 5% Homes.com 4% RE/MAX International 4% ZipRealty 3% Homegain -------- 67% Total 156
Dallas Real Estate Traffic 11% Yahoo Real Estate 14% REALTOR.com 10% Homes.com 9% Ebby.com 9% Trulia 5% RE/MAX International 5% Homegain --------------------------------- 63% Total 157
Houston Real Estate Traffic 57% HAR.com 12% Yahoo Real Estate 7% REALTOR.com -------- 76% Total 158
4.2.1 Sources of information consulted in searching for a property Comparison with 2006 and 2007 2006 2007 2008 All respondents All respondents All respondents Internet n.a. 62.7% 71.2%* Internet (other sites or did not specify) 15.6% 36.0% 38.9% Banner websites 30.8% 20.0% 25.0% Real estate websites other than banners (realtor.ca, Micasa) 37.0% 13.0% 13.1% Newspapers 45.0% 26.0% 24.4% Neighbourhood visits 0.0% 0.0% 2.2% Real Estate Agents 31.3% 22.0% 19.1% Magazines 11.4% 7.0% 5.6% Referrals from friends, parents and colleagues 13.7% 6.7% 9.0% Personal visits 18.5% 5.3% 7.1% Banks 3.3% 2.0% 1.5% Television 1.9% 0.0% 0.4% Builders 0.0% 0.0% 0.7% Other 4.3% 4.3% 1.5% None 3.8% 4.3% 3.0% Does not know 2.4% 7.3% 4.5% Q10) What are the main sources of information that you consulted in order to facilitate your search for a property? Q12) What will be the main sources of information that you will consult in order to facilitate your search for a property? * Statistically significant difference compared to the previous year 159
Consumers on broker sites already know the brand Consumers going to broker sites already know the company Less than 5% of traffic comes from listing syndication 20% comes from search (show chart here) www.wavgroup.com 160
Only 2% of total banner traffic comes from generic searches 2% Less than 2% of broker website traffic comes from generic searches like Phoenix real estate Show chart of keywords used20% comes from search (show chart here) www.wavgroup.com 161
4.2.1 Sources of information consulted in searching for a property Comparison with 2006 and 2007 2006 2007 2008 All respondents All respondents All respondents Internet n.a. 62.7% 71.2%* Internet (other sites or did not specify) 15.6% 36.0% 38.9% Banner websites 30.8% 20.0% 25.0% Real estate websites other than banners (realtor..ca, Micasa) 37.0% 13.0% 13.1% Newspapers 45.0% 26.0% 24.4% Neighbourhood visits 0.0% 0.0% 2.2% Real Estate Agents 31.3% 22.0% 19.1% Magazines 11.4% 7.0% 5.6% Referrals from friends, parents and colleagues 13.7% 6.7% 9.0% Personal visits 18.5% 5.3% 7.1% Banks 3.3% 2.0% 1.5% Television 1.9% 0.0% 0.4% Builders 0.0% 0.0% 0.7% Other 4.3% 4.3% 1.5% None 3.8% 4.3% 3.0% Does not know 2.4% 7.3% 4.5% Q10) What are the main sources of information that you consulted in order to facilitate your search for a property? Q12) What will be the main sources of information that you will consult in order to facilitate your search for a property? * Statistically significant difference compared to the previous year 162
4.2.3 Comparison with 2006 and 2007 for the Realtor.ca website Consultation of the MLS.CA/SIA.CA website to facilitate the search for a property 2008 2007 2006 Among respondents currently in the process Among respondents who plan to buy or sell in the coming years Among all respondents Q11) What are the main Internet sites that you consulted in order to facilitate your search for a property? Q13) What will be the main Internet sites that you will consult in order to facilitate your search for a property? 163
Realtor.ca could continue to get more powerful #86 search engine rank in Canada Could follow advertising model of REALTOR.com as times get tougher Traffic is decreasing while FSBO sites are increasing could lose traction with consumers over time www.wavgroup.com 164
4.2.1 Sources of information consulted in searching for a property Comparison with 2006 and 2007 2006 2007 2008 All respondents All respondents All respondents Internet n.a. 62.7% 71.2%* Internet (other sites or did not specify) 15.6% 36.0% 38.9% Banner websites 30.8% 20.0% 25.0% Real estate websites other than banners realtor.ca, Micasa) 37.0% 13.0% 13.1% Newspapers 45.0% 26.0% 24.4% Neighbourhood visits 0.0% 0.0% 2.2% Real Estate Agents 31.3% 22.0% 19.1% Magazines 11.4% 7.0% 5.6% Referrals from friends, parents and colleagues 13.7% 6.7% 9.0% Personal visits 18.5% 5.3% 7.1% Banks 3.3% 2.0% 1.5% Television 1.9% 0.0% 0.4% Builders 0.0% 0.0% 0.7% Other 4.3% 4.3% 1.5% None 3.8% 4.3% 3.0% Does not know 2.4% 7.3% 4.5% Q10) What are the main sources of information that you consulted in order to facilitate your search for a property? Q12) What will be the main sources of information that you will consult in order to facilitate your search for a property? * Statistically significant difference compared to the previous year 165
FSBO Sites will continue to get stronger Bytheowner.com 2266 rank in Canada and growing Propertysold.ca 3786 rank and growing www.wavgroup.com 166
Martha Turner, Luxury Broker Martha Turner Properties Frees Up Marketing Dollars Because of the foresight of HAR.com and the success we as REALTORS in the Houston have realized from it, we did not feel the need to spend thousands of dollars to upgrade our own website. We have realized great success in traffic and business from HAR.com without needing to invest on our own. It has freed up marketing dollars to support other local programs that are effective for us. www.wavgroup.com 167
REALTOR Concern #3 Limited leads from MLS Websites Some REALTORS believe MLS consumer websites attract looky loos Not interested in buying in the short term 67% of websites do not have lead generation capabilities www.wavgroup.com 168
HAR.com Generating Leads for REALTORS 566,000 leads to Houston REALTORS Comparable value of $1 to $10 per lead $566,000 to $5,660,000 in value Nearly 22 leads per REALTOR subscriber-member www.wavgroup.com 169
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Not just Looky Loos Consumers 16% REALTORS 59% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% www.wavgroup.com 172
Actively Engaged www.wavgroup.com 173
HAR.com users Active Buyers Consumers 32% REALTORS 2% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% www.wavgroup.com 174
Valuable tool for Relocators www.wavgroup.com 175
Vital role in community www.wavgroup.com 176
Active Sellers on HAR.com www.wavgroup.com 177
REALTOR Concern #4 Favors Listing Agents More exposure for listing agents than buyer s agents Encourages consumers to contact multiple listing agents, even when they may have a buyer s representative agreement in place www.wavgroup.com 178
Strong source of potential buyers www.wavgroup.com 179
Helping Houston consumers find their REALTOR 28% Yes No 72% www.wavgroup.com 180
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Questions and Survey? 184 www.wavgroup.com