A record number of consumers are using the Internet when shopping for a home or mortgage. Back in 1995, only two percent of homebuyers used the Internet. By year 2004, that proportion had risen to 74 percent. The most recent survey shows 77 percent of consumers use the Internet for finding homes or related information. This information was reported by the National Association of Realtors in their new Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers study and report.

When persons who had recently purchased a home were asked where they first learned about the home they bought, 24 percent indicated it was the Internet. That percentage is up from 15 percent in 2004 and only 2 percent in 1997, according to the NAR survey. Many consumers check home listings in communities that interest them, then contact a local broker to arrange an inspection on one or more homes, and possibly handle the sales transaction. Others go to one of the for sale by owner Websites, then contact the owners direct to seek more information and pursue a purchase.

Still other use the Internet to obtain up-to-date information on the real estate and mortgage market, in preparation for purchasing and financing a home or selling their home. The Internet has become the consumers primary resource for real estate and mortgage information.