By Andy Warren, president of Maracay Homes | East Valley Tribune
Remember what home shopping was like before computers? A newspaper ad, a good real estate agent and a car to drive from open house to open house were just about all you needed. These days, those tools are still helpful, however, the Internet is where most home shoppers turn to get the lion’s share of their information prior to making a buying decision.
According to data from the 2012 National Association of Realtors (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, nine of every 10 homebuyers last year searched online for homes, up from seven in 10 a decade earlier.
What’s more, 80 percent of home buyers who used the Internet in their search reported that online photos and detailed property information were very useful and 41 percent liked interactive maps and neighborhood information.
