Realtors Lag in Use of Internet Marketing

Despite widespread use of the Internet among potential home buyers, real estate agents lag in their use of online technology to generate business leads, according to a pair of recent surveys.

About 40% of agents and brokers surveyed by the National Assn. of Realtors said they do not use the Internet to generate leads, although 77% use e-mail for business.

However, about 70% of those who plan to buy a home within the next three years said they will begin their search online, according to a report by Gomez Advisors Inc., a Massachusetts-based Net research company.

Homestore.com spokesman Gary Gerdemann said the Westlake Village-based online real estate services firm and others like it have made the buying and selling process more efficient for agents and buyers.

Homestore.com announced Tuesday that its network of Web sites, including Realtor.com, NAR’s official site, was the most visited online real estate destination for the 21st consecutive month, with 8.66 million users recorded.