استفاده از اینترنت و واسطه گری بازار دارایی واقعی

This paper examines the factors that influence the use of the Internet as part of the home buying process and the resulting effect on the efficacy of buyer search. Cross section data acquired from NAR’s 2000 Home Buying and Selling Survey is used to conduct the analysis. This study finds that the use of the Internet as a search tool does not reduces buyer search time. Instead, by reducing within-period search costs, it encourages buyers to search more intensively. By making it possible to learn more about the availability of properties on the market, the Internet allows buyers to visit more properties without a commensurate increase in search duration. The implications of these finding with respect to the future role of brokers as market intermediaries are also examined.

As with firms in many other industries, residential real estate firms have been incorporating Internet use into their day-to-day business operations. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) On-line Technology survey, conducted in 1999, indicated that nearly two thirds of NAR members (Realtors) access the Internet for real estate business purposes. In addition, the survey also found that 23% of all potential homebuyers searched, to some extent, for a home on-line. Technological innovations have resulted in new on-line applications that allow homebuyers to take virtual tours of listed properties, obtain neighborhood and quality of life data, determine affordable price ranges, and comparison shop for loans. Recent approval of the use of electronic signatures will also make it more likely that much of the work associated with a home purchase will become paperless and completed on-line in the near future. Just what are the implications of these changes for the operation of the residential real estate market? Will the availability of on-line listing information speed the search process and result in homes selling sooner, or will selling time increase because potential buyers have access to a larger universe of available homes? Will the use of the Internet to market residential properties reduce transaction and information costs associated with a home purchase? Is it possible that the advent of the Internet will restructure the demand for residential brokerage services in such a manner as to alter commission rates? To what degree could on-line listings work to replace real estate brokers and salespeople? Although this paper will touch on many of these issues, our primary interest here is to determine the effect, if any, of Internet use by buyers on their search time. This study uses data from a large nationwide survey of recent homebuyers and sellers that was conducted by the National Association of Realtors in 2000. A two-stage procedure is employed to model the decision by homebuyers to use the Internet as a search tool and its impact on the effectiveness of the buyer’s search process. The paper is composed of five sections. In the following section, the relevant literature is reviewed. In Section 3, the data and methodology are described. Section 4 presents the empirical results, and Section 5 presents conclusions.

This study empirically examines the effects of Internet use on buyer search. The results suggests that the use of the Internet as a search tool does, if fact, reduce search costs. This is true even when broker intermediation is involved in finalizing the sale. The Web allows buyers to quickly and cheaply locate and learn about homes on the market. This information can then be used to identify those properties that are most likely to meet their needs. Prescreening properties could allow buyers to visit fewer properties and thereby shorten search time, or, alternatively, discover and visit more properties. The findings of this study suggest that the latter is the case. Because the Internet increases search intensity, buyers are able to inspect more homes without extending search duration. The results also seem to suggest that the way brokers perform their role as market intermediaries is changing. In fact, marketing properties via the Internet may increase agent productivity. Once likely purchase prospects have been identified, Internet users seek out brokers so they can visit and physically inspect these properties. This and prior research indicate that broker intermediation, without benefit of the Web, increases buyer search intensity and reduces search duration. Now, the Internet can be used to eliminate some of the actual legwork involved in showing properties to buyers, allowing brokers to concentrate on showing homes which have the highest probability of meeting their buyers’ needs. As long as brokers remain in the search loop, they will continue to earn commissions. If, however, brokers lose control of the listings that appear on the Web or if the number of for-sale-by-owner sites increases, the situation could change. Specifically, brokers need to maintain and, perhaps, expand their presence on the Web if they wish to remain a part of the home purchase transaction, especially as more and more consumers become Internet-savvy. If the Internet leads to more competition in the residential home market, both buyers and sellers could be the ultimate beneficiaries. This would be the case if growing Internet use leads to reduced commissions and less costly search.