Every year, Properties Online compiles a report compiling highly relevant real estate statistical information from a variety of sources, including the National Association of REALTORS®, the California Association of REALTORS®, RealEstateSites.com and 15,000 single property websites. The report provides a comprehensive look at real estate tech trends – invaluable information for today's real estate professional.

The internet and agents – together they're the magic mix

Ninety percent of home buyers use the internet to search for homes, with 52% using it as a first step. Eighty-seven percent of home buyers used an agent to search, with 89 percent using an agent to actually purchase a home once they found one. This figure has risen from 69 percent since 2001.

Home buyers are relying heavily on online sources and their agents to provide information, with decreasing use of some sources, such as newspapers and open houses. Agents found purchased homes for 34 percent of respondents, while 42 percent found the home they ultimately purchased on the internet. For Sale By Owner, beware. Only 2 percent of respondents bought their house this way.

An internet presence is crucial to success in today's real estate market. Sixty percent of buyers Googled their agent before hiring. And both buyers (70 percent) and sellers (75 percent) are looking primarily to the internet to find an agent.

Great expectations

For the typical home buyer, expectations are not being met. Seventy-seven percent of sellers expect a response from their agent within 30 minutes; however, only 24 percent of agents meet their expectations. A massive 45 percent of sellers expect an instant reply!

Buyers are no less demanding in their expectations. In fact, 88 percent of buyers expect a response from their agent within one hour, but only 30 percent of agents live up to this expectation. A similar 42 percent of buyers expect an instant response from their agent. Ninety-four percent of buyers say that agent response time is very important to their selection process. In other words, you'd better be available!

Technology gives agents an advantage by helping them to stay competitive (49 percent); respond to clients faster (49 percent); give an appearance of being up-to-date (22 percent); and save time (15 percent).

Here are some more tidbits from the report. To read the entire thing, click here.

• 84% of home buyers considered online photos to be very useful in helping to make a decision.
• 21% felt the same about video.
• 79% appreciated detailed property information.
• Only 10% of buyers actually used an agent they'd used previously.
• Agents who spend $1,000 or more to maintain their website generate on average 17% of their business from their website.
• While 27% of agents still list their homes for sale in the newspaper, only 1% of buyers find their homes that way.
• Mobile Traffic now accounts for 30% of the total traffic to real estate websites.

To view the original article, visit the Properties Online blog.