More than two-thirds of prospective buyers who use a mobile device in their home search reported contacting a real estate professional for a showing as a result of their mobile search, according to a survey from property search site The Real Estate Book.
The site conducted the survey between Jan. 26, 2012 and Feb. 3, 2012. Consumers who had shopped for either a home or an apartment in the last 90 days on any of more than 55 real estate-related websites were sent invitations to participate in the survey via email; The Real Estate Book received 4,051 responses.
Over half of the respondents, 52 percent, reported using a mobile device to hunt for a home, while the remaining 48 percent said they had not. Of the latter group, 85 percent said they would consider using a mobile device to search for a home in the future.
Of the respondents who did use a mobile device to shop, 46 percent considered the device an "essential" tool in their search and 52 percent considered it "helpful."
Most, 68 percent, of those respondents said they had contacted a real estate professional to view a home based on their mobile search, the site said.
"Our research supports that homebuyers are turning to their smartphones and tablets in their search and taking action to reach real estate professionals," said Scott Dixon, president of the real estate division for Network Communications Inc. (NCI), The Real Estate Book’s parent company, in a statement.
Other frequent activities for mobile house hunters included viewing photos and videos of homes (reported by 78 percent), asking for more information about a listing (66 percent), finding listing details, including contact information (60 percent), locating a listing via GPS (57 percent), searching for listings by city (55 percent), downloading a for-sale property search application (42 percent), and sharing listing information with family and friends (30 percent).
