Some Internet surfers buy houses sight unseen on real estate sites.
Web changes way homes are bought
Some Internet surfers buy houses sight unseen on real estate sites.
By Sanford Nax / The Fresno Bee
12/29/07 17:43:07
It's not often that someone buys a new house sight unseen, but that happened recently at Lennar Homes in Fresno. It was an unexpected consequence of the Internet age.
A Visalia native now living in Phoenix was eager to return to the central San Joaquin Valley. He clicked onto Lennar's Web site at 11:26 a.m. Nov. 10 and engaged in a live chat with Shelly Slaven, the builder's Internet sales coordinator.
"I'm interested in the home on homesite 202," the Phoenix man said. "I was wondering what the price is on that home at this time?"
Slaven responded, "The price listed is $269,025. It will be ready this month."
The duo chatted online for 22 minutes, with Slaven noting that models were available for viewing. "I don't need to see the models," the would-be buyer said. "Everything I need to know was on the Web site. ... It has the floor plan and pictures online, so that's good enough for me."
He bought the house within a week.
Buying a house without seeing it is rare, but is more common in this age of virtual tours and interactive Web sites. And developers are relying on the Internet much more to showcase their neighborhoods, communicate with buyers, follow up on service calls and reach out to more prospective customers.
By some estimates, more than 80% of all new-home buyers use the Internet for research and comparisons, said Jeanae DuBois, director of client services at ASTONE, a Fresno marketing and public relations firm.
"Home buyers have a lot of options right now, and they use the Internet to sift through those options," she said. Lennar, like other builders, is beefing up its Internet capabilities.
"It's critical we focus on the purchasing habits of the current consumer trend, which is clearly moving toward the Internet," said Les Lifter, regional vice president of marketing. "After just two months, we're seeing the significant impact that our focused Internet efforts are having on our sales process."
Last month, Lennar's Fresno office had 80 e-mail inquiries, 53 live chat sessions and 28 800-number telephone calls (the number is listed on the Web site). The Internet contributed significantly to at least 20% of the office's sales in November, company officials said.
Lifter said the Internet enables customers to shop when they want to without interference or high-pressure tactics.
"Traditional marketing efforts such as telemarketing tend to be viewed as intrusive," he said. "We're simply making our team available to potential home buyers when they want it."
Lennar staffs the live chat from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Most of the chats occur during the lunch hour and after the dinner hour, Slaven said. "I can almost set my watch to it."
The McCaffrey Group, a builder in Fresno, includes its Web site address in all its marketing and advertising, including billboards, signs and newspaper and radio ads.
Wathen-Castanos, a builder in Fresno, has found that people, some of whom are considering a transfer to the Valley, like to search its site at night.
"If they are considering a move to Fresno, they can do much of the research before they land," said Laura Mather, director of sales and marketing.
About 1,000 people a week click onto the Wathen-Castanos Web site. Some of those browsers come in from a link on another site, such as one devoted to high school football.
"We sponsored the Clovis East High School football Web site and get people who come in through that," Mather said. "Sometimes it's the little things that bring you traffic."
The reporter can be reached at snax@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6495.
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We are building one of the most comprehensive websites for condos in Myrtle Beach and many other detailed sites on our favorite resorts such as Westgate Resort in Myrtle Beach and Prince Resort in Cherry Grove. We hope to soon have everything you need to view and choose any Myrtle Beach property!
Some Internet surfers buy houses sight unseen on real estate sites.
By Sanford Nax / The Fresno Bee
12/29/07 17:43:07
It's not often that someone buys a new house sight unseen, but that happened recently at Lennar Homes in Fresno. It was an unexpected consequence of the Internet age.
A Visalia native now living in Phoenix was eager to return to the central San Joaquin Valley. He clicked onto Lennar's Web site at 11:26 a.m. Nov. 10 and engaged in a live chat with Shelly Slaven, the builder's Internet sales coordinator.
"I'm interested in the home on homesite 202," the Phoenix man said. "I was wondering what the price is on that home at this time?"
Slaven responded, "The price listed is $269,025. It will be ready this month."
The duo chatted online for 22 minutes, with Slaven noting that models were available for viewing. "I don't need to see the models," the would-be buyer said. "Everything I need to know was on the Web site. ... It has the floor plan and pictures online, so that's good enough for me."
He bought the house within a week.
Buying a house without seeing it is rare, but is more common in this age of virtual tours and interactive Web sites. And developers are relying on the Internet much more to showcase their neighborhoods, communicate with buyers, follow up on service calls and reach out to more prospective customers.
By some estimates, more than 80% of all new-home buyers use the Internet for research and comparisons, said Jeanae DuBois, director of client services at ASTONE, a Fresno marketing and public relations firm.
"Home buyers have a lot of options right now, and they use the Internet to sift through those options," she said. Lennar, like other builders, is beefing up its Internet capabilities.
"It's critical we focus on the purchasing habits of the current consumer trend, which is clearly moving toward the Internet," said Les Lifter, regional vice president of marketing. "After just two months, we're seeing the significant impact that our focused Internet efforts are having on our sales process."
Last month, Lennar's Fresno office had 80 e-mail inquiries, 53 live chat sessions and 28 800-number telephone calls (the number is listed on the Web site). The Internet contributed significantly to at least 20% of the office's sales in November, company officials said.
Lifter said the Internet enables customers to shop when they want to without interference or high-pressure tactics.
"Traditional marketing efforts such as telemarketing tend to be viewed as intrusive," he said. "We're simply making our team available to potential home buyers when they want it."
Lennar staffs the live chat from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Most of the chats occur during the lunch hour and after the dinner hour, Slaven said. "I can almost set my watch to it."
The McCaffrey Group, a builder in Fresno, includes its Web site address in all its marketing and advertising, including billboards, signs and newspaper and radio ads.
Wathen-Castanos, a builder in Fresno, has found that people, some of whom are considering a transfer to the Valley, like to search its site at night.
"If they are considering a move to Fresno, they can do much of the research before they land," said Laura Mather, director of sales and marketing.
About 1,000 people a week click onto the Wathen-Castanos Web site. Some of those browsers come in from a link on another site, such as one devoted to high school football.
"We sponsored the Clovis East High School football Web site and get people who come in through that," Mather said. "Sometimes it's the little things that bring you traffic."
The reporter can be reached at snax@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6495.
###
We are building one of the most comprehensive websites for condos in Myrtle Beach and many other detailed sites on our favorite resorts such as Westgate Resort in Myrtle Beach and Prince Resort in Cherry Grove. We hope to soon have everything you need to view and choose any Myrtle Beach property!
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