Real estate Web sites saw an immediate increase in visitors last week after the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate a quarter of a percent, a Web analytics firm said Friday.
HomeGain, AOL Home & Real Estate and MSN House & Home experienced double-digit growth during the week ended July 4, according to Nielson//NetRatings.
HomeGain, which matches consumers to real estate agents, grew 83 percent to 678,000 unique visitors, while AOL Home & Real Estate rose 54 percent to 909,000 visitors. MSN House & Home saw a 28 percent increase to 499,000 unique visitors. The top page viewed on MSN House & Home provided an overview on real estate financing, attracting 21 percent of those who visited the site.
“Summer time is traditionally peak season for the residential real estate market,” said Greg Bloom, senior Internet analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. “Last week’s decline in interest rates appears to have spurred a wave of activity at real estate sites from folks who would like to buy or sell a home before the general trend towards high interest rates continues.”
Bradley Inman, founder and CEO of HomeGain, is also the founder and publisher of Inman News.
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