SEATTLE, July 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Home buyers and
sellers say they are more likely to make the purchase or sale of
their biggest financial asset entirely online.
Digital tools widely adopted during the coronavirus pandemic are
giving people the ability and the confidence to buy or sell a home
in a tight real estate market where homes are selling at their
fastest pace in two years. A new Zillow® survey finds
consumer demand will likely keep those tools in place and lead to
more online real estate transactions in the future.
Zillow's survey1 finds more than a third of Americans
(36%) say they are more likely to try to buy a home entirely online
during the coronavirus pandemic, and 30 percent say after the
current outbreak ends, they would do the same.
Even more Americans appear to be getting comfortable with the
idea of selling a home virtually. During the pandemic, 43
percent say they are more likely to try to sell a home entirely
online. When the current outbreak ends, 33 percent anticipate they
would still be more likely to try and sell a home entirely
online.
A majority of people still want to tour a home in person before
committing their down payment. However, when asked to choose
between taking an in-person or a virtual tour after the current
outbreak has ended, one out of three say they would choose the
virtual or video tour -- a meaningful departure from traditional
shopping behavior.
"The home shopping tradition of loading the family into the
minivan and touring open houses all weekend may be over," said
Zillow economist Jeff Tucker. "Now
shoppers are realizing they can use virtual tours to either skip
in-person shopping, or at least to winnow down their options and
visit fewer homes in person, making it easier and less
time-consuming to find their next home. That speed advantage can
give buyers a leg up in today's fast-moving market. "
In a survey of select Zillow Premier Agents2, 64
percent report fewer in-person showings at least most of the time
during the current coronavirus outbreak, and nearly a third (31%)
anticipate that trend will continue after the outbreak is
over.
Virtual and video tours are becoming the new standard. The
creation of Zillow 3D Home virtual tours skyrocketed when stay-home
orders went into effect, climbing more than 750 percent in one
month and remaining at least three times as high in the months that
followed. Of the surveyed3 Zillow Premier Agents,
86 percent said they started or continued to use virtual or video
home tours during the coronavirus outbreak, and 72 percent said
they are likely to continue providing those tours after the current
outbreak has ended. A Zillow survey4 finds three
out of four U.S. adults want the option to tour a home remotely
through virtual or video technology if they were home shopping
right now.
Home sellers also have high-tech options that allow them to sell
almost entirely online. Homeowners in certain markets can
request a cash offer with the click of a button from Zillow
Offers. They can avoid the parade of strangers traipsing
through their home during open houses or showings, and can opt for
an all-digital closing.
Renters can search, find, apply for and lease a home
digitally in a safer, end-to-end online transaction. Zillow Rental
Manager is a one-stop rental transaction platform that handles
tenant screening, lease signing and monthly payments
online.
The Schwartz family went under contract to buy a home
sight-unseen in the Nashville
suburbs after COVID-19 prompted them to move their family out of
New York City for more
space.
"We didn't feel safe getting on a plane so having these digital
tools on Zillow allowed us to narrow down our search and find the
right home for us and our 8-year-old son," said Jarrod Schwartz, a sales manager. "After our
real estate agent provided a video tour, we had the confidence to
make an offer."
Nashville-based Zillow Premier
Agent Erin Krueger said her team has
sold 10 homes sight-unseen during three months of shelter-at-home
orders, twice as many as in all of
2019.
"People are realizing they can make some very big purchases from
afar," said Krueger, with the Erin Krueger Team at Compass. "Now
we're equipped with the systems and processes to serve our clients
virtually when they can't be there in person, and that's absolutely
been accelerated by the pandemic. Our clients are very happy
with their new homes."
About Zillow
Zillow, the top real estate website in the U.S., is building an
on-demand real estate experience. Whether selling, buying, renting
or financing, customers can turn to Zillow's businesses to find and
get into their next home with speed, certainty and ease.
In addition to for-sale and rental listings, Zillow Offers buys
and sells homes directly in dozens of markets across the country,
allowing sellers control over their timeline. Zillow Home Loans,
our affiliate lender, provides our customers with an easy option to
get pre-approved and secure financing for their next home
purchase.
Millions of people visit Zillow Group sites every month to start
their home search, and now they can rely on Zillow to help them
finish it — with the same confidence, ease and empowerment they've
come to expect from real estate's most trusted brand.
Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group,
Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG) and headquartered in Seattle.
Zillow and Zillow Offers are registered trademarks of Zillow,
Inc.
1 Data was collected by ZillowGroup Population
Science from a survey of 2,600 U.S. adults recruited and
interviewed between May 11th, 2020
and May 15th, 2020. Respondents were
recruited from multiple general population internet respondent
panels of U.S. adults from the contiguous United States. To promote the
representativeness of the estimates, the sample data was weighted
to align with key U.S. Census demographic benchmarks observed in
the target population.
2 These results reflect the responses provided by a
random sample drawn from Zillow Group's Premier Agent Research
Panel. While selection from the existing panel was random,
membership in the panel is optional, and limited to current and
former Zillow Agents. These results may not accurately
reflect the entire population of Zillow agents nor real estate
professionals as a whole.
3 These results reflect the responses provided by a
random sample drawn from Zillow Group's Premier Agent Research
Panel. While selection from the existing panel was random,
membership in the panel is optional, and limited to current and
former Zillow Agents. These results may not accurately
reflect the entire population of Zillow agents nor real estate
professionals as a whole.
4 See footnote 1
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SOURCE Zillow