REALTOR® Match: The Future of Real Estate Lead Generationcdn2.bcrea.bc.ca/BCREAJODREALTORMatchSurveyReport.pdf · Real Estate Agent Search - The People Vs Google - • Two-thirds

JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY

REALTOR® Match: The Future of Real Estate Lead Generation

QUANTITATIVE PRIMARY RESEARCH

June 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION SLIDE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

BACKGROUND 4

RESEARCH FINDINGS Previous Use of a REALTOR® + Likelihood to Use Again 5

Referrals Versus Online Search 6

Use and Credibility of Referral Sources 7

Online Information Sought 8

Value of Different Information Resources on REALTORS® 9-10

Value of Different REALTOR® Data Points 11-12

Online Search Terms 13-14

SECTION SLIDE RESEARCH FINDINGS (Cont’d) Appeal of Online Search Results 15-18

REALTOR.ca Profile of REALTOR® 19

Broker Profile of REALTOR® 20

Personal Website for REALTOR® 21

Alternate Profile Format 22

APPENDIX

Methodology 24

Respondent Profile 25-28

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY •  Background: An online survey was conducted with 250 BC Residents aged

18-34 to investigate the Millennial Generation’s view on searching and researching real estate Agents.

•  Rise of Online Research: Word of mouth referrals still play an important role in Millennials finding a REALTOR®, however, one-third would skip a personal referral and go directly online to search. REALTORS® lacking sophistication in their online presence and online marketing will be invisible to a significant slice of the market.

•  REALTOR® vs Agent: Millennials typically search under 'real estate agent', not REALTOR®, indicating low awareness of the brand and challenges to marketers who rely on REALTORS® positioning such as REALTOR.ca.

•  Low Loyalty: Just over half (55%) had previously used a REALTOR® (homeowners, older, married, children, higher education and income). Of these, just over half indicate they would use the REALTOR® again demonstrating relatively low loyalty compared to data for all demographics. REALTORS® will need to develop new strategies to not only find Millennials but to retain their business.

•  Family and Friends Rule: Close friends and family are the primary sources for referrals. REALTORS® should be aware that referrals from parents to the next generation has a shelf life at which point the influence shifts into the hands of close friends.

•  A Generation Trained by “Yelp”: Yelp and similar sites are providing Millennials with objectively based reviews and ratings for real estate Agent generated by their peers. Ratings/reviews are common search terms during their search and evaluation of an Agent. With a dearth of sources for REALTOR® reviews, Millenials turn to the usual sources (e.g., Yelp) even if the information is incomplete. REALTORS® would be wise to include their information on these sites and encourage their clients to rate their services.

•  What’s Your Rating: Agent specific data hold create value to Millennials, especially information related to their client’s perceptions of their performance – ratings, reviews, quotes, testimonials – as well as years of experience. Specific performance data (e.g., # sold, average days) is also valued as it speaks to specifics on their performance. REALTORS® would benefit from providing consumers with reliable customer ratings and reviews and detailed data on their performance.

•  BCREA as an Objective Source: Millennials distrust sources of information too close to the Agent such as their person website, the broker site and in particular social media accounts. They view industry organizations (e.g., REALTOR.ca, BCREA, Regional Boards, RECBC) as more credible, even though they most likely have low awareness of these entities. BCREA has an opportunity to provide consumers with a credible, objective venue for submitting and accessing REALTOR® reviews.

3

BACKGROUND

•  The BCREA Journey of Discovery is a multi-phased research project aimed at gathering fact based evidence on trends occurring in the industry. The goal is to provide REALTORS®, Brokers and member Boards with our research findings, while provoking discussion leading up to BCREA’s strategic planning process in September 2014.

•  REALTOR® Match was one of several themes emerging from the first two phases of research. REALTOR® Match explores the changing behaviour around referrals, and the implications and opportunities for REALTOR® practice in a new era of lead generation.

•  In keeping with the Journey of Discovery focus five years into the future, it was recognized that many new or recent entrants to the real estate market will be Millennials, a demographic segment exhibiting unique characteristics and behaviours compared to other segments of the population. The decision was made to focus on the Millennial generation for understanding the process for selecting a REALTOR®.

•  Additional research was required to gather information from the next generation (Millennial) of new home buyers to better understand their process for selecting a REALTOR®, specifically the search to find a REALTOR® and process of researching and learning about the skills and capabilities of a REALTOR®.

Previous Use of a REALTOR®

Just over half of respondents have used a real estate Agent in the past. Of those who are homeowners, 92% have used an Agent but 8% have not. Those more likely to have used a real estate Agent are at a more mature life stage: older 25-34 (63%), incomes $50K+ (64%), college/university degree (61%), employed (61%), and children (73%).

Of those who have used a real estate Agent, just over half say they would use them again indicating that REALTORS® will need to strategies to keep Millennial clients engaged in subsequent transactions.

55%

45%

Real Estate Agent Use

Yes No

56% 17%

27%

Use Real Estate Agent Again

Yes No Not Sure

Q1: Have you ever used a real estate Agent in the past (for searching, buying or selling)?

Q2: Would you use this real estate Agent again?

IF REAL ESTATE AGENT USED

Base: All Respondents n=257 Base: Those who have used a Real Estate Agent n=142

Real Estate Agent Search - The People Vs Google -

•  Two-thirds of respondents would first ask someone for a referral when looking for a real estate Agent. One-third would go directly online to find an Agent.

•  Those more likely to first leverage a word-of-mouth referral have previously used an Agent (75%), have incomes $50K+ (76%) and college/university degree (74%), and are homeowners (82%).

•  The majority of those who do not own their own homes would first choose the referral route (61%), but a sizable minority (39%) first choose an online search.

67%

33%

Searching for a Real Estate Agent

Ask someone I knew for a referral Go online and start searching

Q3: Out of the following two options, which ONE would you be more likely to do first to find a real estate Agent?

Base: All Respondents n=257

Referral Sources First Choice versus Credibility

2%

3%

5%

6%

23%

30%

32%

8%

20%

6%

16%

73%

61%

67%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Neighbour

Bank, Lawyer, Accountant

Casual friend

Coworker

Parents

Family member (sibling, etc)

Close friend

Very Credible First Choice

Q5: Sort the following sources of referrals based on how credible you perceive them to be.


•  Sources with higher perceived credibility (very credible) are the first choice for finding a referral: Close Friends, Family Members and Parents.

•  Sources with lower credibility are understandably used less. While professionals are deemed credible, their motive for providing a referral usually involving a financial benefit, causes them to be used less.

•  Those who are married and own their home are more likely to use a close friend which is more reflective of their lifestage with greater independence and separation from family.

•  Within BC, and especially Metro Vancouver, where a significant segment of the population are immigrants or provincial migrants, family referrals may not be feasible as they would not have knowledge of an Agent in the local market.

Q4: Thinking about geXng a referral from someone you know, who would be the first person you would go to for a referral?

Online Information Sought on Agents

•  Respondents were asked on an unaided basis to indicate what type of information they are seeking about an Agent during their online searchers. There open ended responses have been coded into the following categories.

•  When searching online, almost half (46%) of respondents are looking for reviews, ratings or objective testimonials about the Agent’s performance.

•  Secondarily, respondents are looking for sales data as evidence of the Agent’s performance.

•  The next level of information mentions the Agent’s specialty (region, type of property), reputation (which could be addressed by reviews), years of experience, number of listings, and commission fees.

•  Lastly, more general information like the Agent’s website, photo, contact information and brokerage come into play.

•  Knowledge of complaints was mentioned by 6% of respondents but never specifically related to RECBC. Complaints were more in relation to the Better Business Bureau, complaints through reviews or an unknown industry oversight body.

Q10: What type of information about a real estate Agent are you looking for online? (UNAIDED)


Online Information Wanted Count Percentage Reviews/Ratings/Testimonials 117 46% Sales Data 68 26% Specialty/Area 49 19% Reputation 47 18% Years of Experience 45 18% Listings 39 15% Commission Fees 36 14% Website/Photo 19 7% Contact info 16 6% Brokerage 15 6% Complaints 16 6%

Value of Information Sources

4%

2%

4%

6%

9%

12%

22%

25%

38%

45%

48%

50%

54%

15%

18%

24%

24%

35%

42%

59%

59%

46%

42%

41%

40%

38%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Agent Tumbler

Agent Instagram

Agent Twi[er

Agent YouTube

Agent Facebook

Agent LinkedIn

Brokerage

Brokerage Profile

Agent Website

RECBC

Regional Board

BCREA

REALTOR.CA

Very Valuable Somewhat Valuable

Q20: Sort the following sources of information on the Agent based on how valuable they would be to helping you decide on whether to use the Agent?


92%

90%

89% 87%

84%

84%

81%

54%

44%

30%

28%

20%

19%

Value of Information Sources

•  Respondents were asked for the perceived value of several types of information sources. These sources were provided on an aided basis to respondents with both their acronyms and full name (e.g., BC Real Estate Association – BCREA). This does not indicate their awareness of these organizations, which was not addressed in this research study, but does represent their perceived value.

•  Objective information sources such as REALTOR.ca, BCREA, Regional Boards, and RECBC tend to be rated higher value sources than those controlled by the brokerage or the Agent which are perceived to have potential biases. Based on open ended responses, respondents perceive these information sources to be more biased requiring more scrutiny and judgement by the consumer. This represents a considerable opportunity for these types of organizations to provide value to the consumer when searching for a REALTOR® and can similarly provide considerable value to REALTORS® in credibly marketing their services.

•  Despite their high use of social media, Millennials generally do not view social media accounts as a good source of information for evaluating Agents. On a relative basis, LinkedIn is the social media channel with the most value with some commenting it can be useful to review their entire job history to evaluate how committed they are to the profession. Some comments also suggested that social media sources can potentially identify “red flags”. While social media may be a useful tool for marketing properties, REALTORS® should be aware that it is not as useful for marketing the REALTOR® at the evaluation stage.

11%

16%

16%

19%

19%

19%

19%

19%

21%

23%

23%

24%

26%

27%

31%

35%

35%

37%

39%

43%

56%

27% 33% 33%

32% 35% 35% 37% 40%

32% 37% 37%

39% 39% 37%

37% 32%

37% 36% 33%

32% 32%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Number of home tours conducted Awards

Brokerage Total number of homes closed over career

Years with brokerage Number of homes currently listed

Number of Deals -‐ homes purchased Homes Bought -‐ Median sale price

Number of mulcple offer deals closed Total Number of Homes Closed Past 2 yrs

Number of First Time Buyers Served Number of Deals -‐ Homes Sold

Homes Bought -‐ Range of sale prices Homes Sold -‐ Original List Price Median

Homes Sold -‐ Ave days Customer Quote/Tescmonials Number of Customer Reviews

Years of Experience Ability to talk to past clients

5 Star Racng by Clients Customer Sacsfaccon Racngs

Extremely Valuable

Very Valuable

Value of Agent Specific Data both

Q21: How valuable are the following types of information for selecting a real estate Agent? Base: All Respondents n=257

88% 75%

72%

73%

72% 67% 68%

64% 65%

63% 60%

60%

59% 56%

54% 54%

51% 49% 49%

38%

53%

Value of Agent Specific Data •  Respondents appreciate any evidence based data about a REALTOR® which should encourage them to provide quantitative data

about their track record as this information is largely not available on REALTOR.ca, brokerage sites or the personal websites of individual Agent. Since it is all valuable to some extent, we pay particular attention to the proportion stating the it is “extremely valuable.”

•  Millennials put considerable value on client reviews but they are savvy enough to recognize that customer ratings (e.g. rating out of five stars) require context to make it credible. Firstly, the number of customer reviews is important as it ensure that are a sufficient number of reviews on which to base a rating. Secondly, the customer quotes/testimonials provide the story behind the rating whether positive or negative. Since consumers have some healthy skepticism about online ratings, the ability to talk clients proves the ratings are based on real people. REALTORS® should embrace customer generated ratings to assist consumers evaluating their skills and track record.

•  The next group of data perceived to be extremely valuable largely relates to home sales: Homes Sold (Average Days, Original List Price Median, Number of Deals, Number of current listings), Homes Bought (Range of Sale Prices, Median Sale Price, Number of Deals), First Time Buyers Served, Number of Multiple Deals

•  The years of experience of the REALTOR® is the one single data point that provides an all encompassing view of their track record. Number of deals in the past two years is slightly more important than number of deals over a career. REALTORS® should emphasize their recent track record with consumers. Data related to the Broker - Brokerage, Years with the Brokerage and Awards – are less valued compared to other data indicating that the individual track record of the REALTOR® is what the consumer is seeking.

Google Search Terms to Find an Agent

Most Common Search Terms •  Real Estate Agent + Geography •  Geography can include the broad (e.g., BC, Region) to

the general (e.g., city or area of city) or very specific (e.g., Neighbourhood, Local)

•  REALTOR® is mentioned but to a considerably lesser degree than real estate Agent (16% versus 55%).

Less Common Search Terms •  These terms tended to be used in combination with the

more common terms. •  Reviews, Rated, Ratings, Top, Best, Experienced •  MLS®, MLS.ca •  Agency Related: General (e.g., realty, agency, firm) to

specific brokerages (e.g., RE/MAX, Century 21, Royal LePage)

Q6: Pretend that you didn’t get a personal referral. Instead you decided to first search online to find a Real Estate Agent. If you were to go to a search engine (e.g. Google, Firefox, Bing), what would you type in? What search words or phrases would you use?

Google Search Terms for Specific Agent

Most Common Search Terms •  Agent Name + City/Province •  Those terms are also sometimes combined with “Real

Estate” or “Real Estate Agent” •  The term “REALTOR®” is used much less frequently

than the term “real estate Agent” •  “Reviews” is also a common search term

Q11: Here you are at a blank screen. What would you type in Google to learn more about the fictional real estate Agent Robert Jones in fictional Springfield BC?


Highlighter Questions

Several questions in the survey use a question type which allows respondents to virtually highlight sections of an image based on specific instructions (e.g., highlight what you like, don’t like, value, etc.). The following slides provide both the original image and the highlighted image with a heat map where red areas indicate sections of the image where greater numbers of respondents highlighted. The deeper the red, the greater the number of respondents highlighting that area. Please note that all of the images are fictional based on a fictional Agent.

Google Search Results – Finding an Agent “Real Estate Agent Burnaby”

•  People avoid advertising which is generally positioned as the first listings on the left column and the entire right-hand side of the search results. Advertisements can be identified by the following icon.

•  The top three search results (not ad related) which are surfaced on the left-hand side of the search are areas respondents are most likely to click on (Yelp, REW.ca and YellowPages.ca). The lower down the list the fewer people click on them which is very common online behaviour.

•  Getting high on the list of search results in important for getting noticed online, as many do not dig through subsequent pages of search results. Yelp, REW.ca and Yellowpages are clearly marketing their properties ensuring they land high on list of searches. Q8: Pretend that the image below was one of your search results. This is based on Burnaby but pretend it is

for whatever region you live in. Highlight the search categories that you would click on to find an Agent.


Google Search Results – Finding an Agent “Real Estate Agent Burnaby”

•  A quick review of Yelp indicates severely incomplete data: only some Agents are included (116), only 24 Agents have reviews, of those 12 have only one review, the highest number of reviews is four.

•  REW.ca has more Agents (500+) but does not contain customer ratings or other relevant data points consumers are seeking to evaluate Agents.

•  Clearly, the concept is there but the required number of data points needs to increase for more credibility.

•  An opportunity exists for ORE to provide objective, credible, standardized information for consumers to access when choosing a REALTOR®.

Google Search Results – Fictional Agent “Robert Jones Real Estate”

•  The top three areas most respondents would click on are: Agent’s LinkedIn profile, Agent’s personal website and REW.ca.

•  Open ended responses indicated that an Agent’s LinkedIn profile can provide informacon on their job history and be used as a proxy to years of experience and commitment to the profession.

•  Lesser clicked on areas include the top advercsement, and the two lower results.

Q12: Pretend that the image below was one of the search results for Robert Jones. Highlight the search categories that you would click on to learn more about this real estate Agent.


REALTOR.ca Agent Profile

•  Respondents were asked to highlight informacon they would click on given a fic:onal REALTOR.ca profile for a fic:onal Agent. •  Informacon of most interest includes Specialces and Designacons. However, a low proporcon of REALTORS® appear to have

these fields populated in REALTOR.ca. Furthermore, the definicons of many of the Specialices and Designacons would be unclear to consumers.

•  Secondary informacon of interest includes the Agent’s contact informacon such as their phone, email and website.

Q14: Now we would like you to view our fictional Agent’s profile on REALTOR.ca (previously MLS.ca). Highlight the information you find most interesting or valuable to help you in making a decision of whether to use this Agent or not.


Brokerage Agent Profile

•  Respondents were asked to highlight information they would click on given a fictional brokerage profile for a fictional Agent.

•  Information of most interest includes testimonials, awards and length of time living in “Springfield.”

•  My Current Listings is also of interest to respondents.

Q16: Now we would like you to view our fictional Agent’s profile on the website for the brokerage he works for. Highlight the information you find most interesting or valuable to help you in making a decision of whether to use this Agent or not.


Agent Personal Website

•  Respondents were asked to highlight informacon they would click on given a fic:onal personal website for a fic:onal Agent.

•  It is recognized that Agents have a myriad of styles and formats for their personal websites. This was a random example

•  Informacon of most interest includes the Agent’s biography, tescmonials and properces.

•  Also of interest is contact info, buying, selling, contact info, mortgage calculator, and buying/selling resources.

Q18: Now we would like you to view our fictional Agent’s personal website. Highlight the information you find most interesting or valuable to help you in making a decision of whether to use this Agent or not.


Alternate Profile Formats - Redfin Example -

The Redfin example below presents only a snapshot of the data provided on each of their Agents. It is challenging to show all of the data in one image. This format provides information sought by Millennials that is not available via the current sources (e.g., REALTOR.ca, Broker profiles and Agent website profiles).

Three quarters (76%) find this format valuable indicating interest in different and additional information on Agents to assist in the selection of an Agent.

28%

58%

14%

14%

Searching for a Real Estate Agent

Very Valuable Somewhat Valuable

Not Very Valuable Not at all Valuable

Q22. The image below provides different information about a real estate Agent. How valuable is this type of information in selecting an Agent?


76% Very + Somewhat valuable

APPENDIX Methodology Respondent Profile

June 2014

METHODOLOGY

•  Overview: An online survey was conducted with 257 BC Residents aged 18-34 representing the Millennial Generation’s view on searching and researching a REALTOR®.

•  Sample Size: A sample size of 257 results in a margin of error of ±6.1% at the 95% confidence interval. The margin of error for subsamples (e.g., home owners versus renters) will be larger as they are based on smaller sample sizes.

•  Survey Length: The survey ranged from 10-15 minutes in length.

•  Sample Source: The online sample was provided through the Angus Reid Forum, a Canadian online sample provider.

•  Sample Design: A balanced representative sample was drawn based on Statistics Canada data for age, gender, region, and income with in the province of British Columbia.

•  Qualifications: Respondents were screened to ensure they were BC Residents aged 18-34.

•  Analysis: The data is analyzed based on the entire sample as well as by subsamples such as gender, age, income, etc. The data tables have been significance tested which identifies statistical differences among sub-segments of Millennials.

Respondent Profile - Overview -

Several characteristics were collected on respondents for two main purposes:

1.  Analysis: Profiling variables allow us to examine results by subgroups. For example, it is possible to examine whether there are differences in attitudes and/or behaviours between male and female Millennial respondents.

2.  Representativeness: The profiling variables also allow us to examine whether the sample is balanced as per the BC population of residents aged 18-34. The demographic characteristics contained within BC Stats and Canada Census data are within the margin of error.

List of Demographic Variables: •  Gender

•  Age

•  Region

•  Marital Status

•  Children

•  Income

•  Education

•  Home Ownership

•  Employment Status

•  Technological Savviness

Respondent Profile - Employment Status, Income, Education -

42%

27%

13%

18%

Income

<$50K $50K to <$100K $100K+ Refused/DK

12%

14%

20% 17%

29%

9%

Education

HS or less Some College/Tech

Some University Completed College/Tech

University Degree Post Grad

< Uni/College Degree Uni/College

Degree + 53%

13%

21%

9%

5%

Employment Status

Full-‐cme Part-‐cme Student

Unemployed Homemaker

For the purposes of analyzing results by subgroups, Employment Status was categorized into two categories: •  Employed 66%: Full-time (53%), Part-time

(13%) •  Unemployed 34%: Student (21%), Homemaker

(5%), Unemployed (9%),

For the purposes of analyzing results by subgroups, Income was categorized into two categories excluding the refused/DK: •  <$50K 42% •  $50K+ 40%: $50,000-$99,999 (27%), $100,000+

(13%) •  Rebased excluding those not stating their

income the split is <$50K (51%), $50K+ (49%)

For the purposes of analyzing results by subgroups, Education was categorized into two categories: •  <University/College Degree 46%: HS or less

(12%), Some College/Technical (14%), Some University (20%)

•  University/College Degree+ 54%: Completed College/Technical (17%), University Undergrad degree (29%), Post Graduate degree (9%)


Unemployed 34%

Employed 34%

Respondent Profile - Region -

The sample was drawn to be representative of BC Millennials. The regional proportions in the table on the left are equal to population statistics for 18-34 year old BC residents as per BC Stats. For the purposes of analyzing results by subgroups, Region was collapsed into two categories in order to ensure sufficient base sizes for analysis: •  Vancouver & Metro Area 65% •  Other 35%


REGION Percentage Vancouver & Metropolitan Area 65% Vancouver Island & Coast / Victoria 12% Thompson / Okanagan 12% Cariboo 3% Kootenay 2% Nechako 2% Other 4%

QS3: Which one of the following regions best represents where you live?

Respondent Profile - Gender, Tech Savviness, Marital Status, Age, Living Arrangements, Children -

47%

53%

Gender

Male Female

21%

79%

Age

18-‐24 25-‐34

53% 45%

2%

Marital Status

Single Married Other

30%

46%

25%

Living Arrangements

Homeowner Rencng Living with Parents

24%

79%

Children

Yes No

54%

27%

7%

Tech Savviness

High (10-‐8) Medium (7-‐5) Low (1-‐4)


REALTOR® Match: The Future of Real Estate Lead Generationcdn2.bcrea.bc.ca/BCREAJODREALTORMatchSurveyReport.pdf · Real Estate Agent Search - The People Vs Google - • Two-thirds

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