This headline is taken from the excellent book ‘What would Google do?‘ by Jeff Jarvis. It speaks to the danger lurking in industries that blindly continue to milk a cashcow of the old economy, without realising the oncoming possibility of failure driven by the game-changing impact of the web. As Jeff so eloquently puts it “They (those companies hell bent on protecting their cashcows) lost their destinies because they wanted to save their pasts. Protection is not a strategy for the future.”
It was clearly with this in mind that I read a somewhat surprising press release issued last week by the Property Press with the eyecatching headline
“Real estate survey – flawed, useless”!
The press release set out to discredit and challenge the Nielsen Online survey undertaken in May and June of this year (of which Realestate.co.nz was a major sponsor) which provided insight into the attitudes and behaviour of property searchers in NZ. The results of the survey have been shared on this blog under the title of “Newspapers big losers as property searchers stampede online” as well as being printed in the REINZ monthly journal RE Magazine.
The survey was undertaken by Nielsen Online as it has been in each of the past 3 years.
Being completely open and transparent about the survey I can confirm that it was what is called an intercept survey. This type of survey will probably be familiar to many of you reading this blog post. You go to a site and a pop up appears inviting you to participate in the survey, naturally being the web the targeting can be made with pin-point accuracy in regard to targeting those people on a certain page.
In this regard the survey was not as the press release from the Property Press seems to imply, simply a survey “asking people online if they use online for searching for real estate“. The survey was far more comprehensive and credible than that. The methodology, sample size and error rate are detailed here.
One key question which the Property Press seeks to establish as being ‘flawed’ is the question regarding the selection of media consulted for real estate research in the past week. The chart below represents these results.
The key fact here is that the question was not simply a yes/no – (did you use the web to search for real estate?) – rather, the question allowed for multiple answers reinforcing its value, as it allowed for greater insight into the mix of media used by property searchers.
The credibility of the research in general and this question specifically is not justified as the research methodology is sound.
In addition the fact that the research has been undertaken in each of the 3 preceding years utilising the same methodology only strengthens its inherent value. Presented below are the results of this same question in each of the prior surveys.
As can be clearly seen from the chart, that, although there are variances from year to year, the trends are patently clear.The usage of the web based options – specialist real estate websites / company website & search engines are growing
Print publications – specialist real estate magazines / community, local newspapers / metropolitan newspapers are declining. The one exception is company magazines.
I therefore stand by the assertion that “Newspapers are the big losers as property searchers stampede online” – to that I now add specialist real estate magazines. My view is that they are trapped as part of the cashcow in the coalmine syndrome!
I respect that this is how I interpret the findings of the Nielsen research, I also recognise that Property Press hold a different perspective and therefore I welcome them to engage in the debate here by posting a comment or response to which I am more than happy to debate and would naturally welcome others contribution and comments.
The survey is completely biased. You’re asking people who are surfing the net – of course the answers are going to skew in that direction. Just as they would if you put the survey inside the Property Press and only asked those respondents the same question. I never read the property press, or the newspaper, they are undoubtedly losers in this game but this survey is not the yardstick by which to measure it!
I will naturally defend (as Nielsen do) the appropriateness of carrying out a survey like this online.
As stated above – the trending data as time series analysis is the true measure of where people are going seeking property information.
The trending data is useful sure, but again it only shows that those who were searching online before now spend more time searching online while still completely ignoring the other demographic that can’t/won’t/don’t use the net. The trend only says that the demographic slice asked last year are using the net more this year, but it’s still the same group of people. It’s ignoring completely the readership of Property Press while sounding their death knell – the drama of the news story isn’t backed by its research. I completely agree that Property Press are on a hiding to nowhere, but I don’t think this is the data that says so. Newspapers, well – do people still read those.
I have to agree with Chris, this data is useful, but while pointing out the bleeding obvious, does not necessarily reflect the true stats of readership. It not only is it biased towards online users, but also fails to be absolutely clear about meanings, eg “real estate brochures” for many users includes emailed brochures, hence the trend upwards rather than an endorsement of print.
The trend hints at the growth, but could potentially be due to the increasing use of the internet, but not an increasing use of internet data.
However against that, we are never able to trust stats fully, they only ever give a hint and the value of stats (especially this survey) is that they give a clear hint about the facts, interpretation is the key.
I can fully agree with Alistair’s interpretation, given other obvious hints from the market.
I must agree with the survey, a lot of property search are now done in the web.
I was interested to see that the survey recognises that having an office window in the local area in which you operate is still a vital component of the marketing mix. Almost 30% of respondents said they looked in a real estate office window in that survey.
A huge volume of people look at our own window display each day and we would never give it up. There is a huge advantage to a seller having their property displayed in the local office window. People researching areas drive around the area, stop outside, grab a copy of our weekly hotlist and without the window we may miss out on selling opportunities.
So although the internet has had a massive impact on print media for real estate the window display is something that the internet is unlikely to have an impact on. I am sure our window display will still be here long after print media for real estate has ceased to exist!
A huge advantage to a seller having a picture in an office window display??? Totally depends on the suburb and situation.
I work in a suburban centre, there are five offices in my area. Many agencies are paying prime retail rents for the space not so they can attract buyers, but so they can attract SELLERS! The buyer foot traffic is very average compared with the most basic listing on a corporate website or specialist RE site.
Buyers use the web primarily now days, thats a given survey accuracy or no survey accuracy but people with their seller hat on are still sticking to old values and believe it is important to hire an agent that is seen to have an active presence in their area. This notion is outmoded in my opinion. Buyers don’t care who is marketing the home as long as they are friendly, proactive, and honest. They will buy the house regardless of whether the listing agent is in area, out of area, has a window display, has fliers in the local supermarket etc.
Its important to differentiate between listing activities and selling acitivities… and most online activities currently are focused on buyers BUT those of us in real estate know that he who holds the listing holds the power…. A day will come and it is soon upon us, when the homeSELLERS will wake up and realise that it is not about the agents that sit in the local office, it is about the agents that are active WHERE THE BUYERS ARE. Those who hold the VIRTUAL real estate (google search rankings etc) will be the winners going forward, not the agents who sit in their local office drinking nescafe and waiting for the walk ins or phone to ring….
David – you are right. Potential sellers are most certainly attracted to the window as well. The profile of the window will always be an advantage until everyone goes virtual.
Buyers become sellers and in my area at least 70% of the sales are to people who already live in the area and more often than not will have a house to sell if they are not renting in the area.
We are lucky that there are only three offices in the area and it is certainly difficult for anyone without a strong local profile to get any traction.
For the time being we will do both virtual and physical. Sponsoring suburbs on realestate.co.nz, blogging for google profile but also supporting events like the Indulge Food Festival
at Pt Chevalier School.
Alistair,
I’m interested to know what your sample definition is and how an intercept survey captures your prime prospect and/or strategic target. Also, how about demographics? What do you know about the completes?
J.C.
Happy to source this information from Nielsen. A point I should make is that this research is not our research. It is a syndicated research undertaken by Nielsen Online – they have a number of customers in the real estate industry who subscribe to this annual survey. We just happen to be naming sponsor and the only ones to make the information public.
Ross & David
I believe that the complexties of day to day life come into it. I believe in Auckland people are more time poor that those down south, and the deeper south you go the more this is so.
I feel many folk in the South Island have that time to sit in front of the PC and conduct considerable research that way.
To them a home is definitely a home, larger cities tend to have a more transient aspect to them. Big Box Retail store sales will prove this. Look at Nelson, one of the few places in NZ, in fact probably one of the few places in Australiasia that still has an afternoon newspaper.
That urgency with the morning news that encapsulates modern big city living is still to drift our way, at least in an all encompassing manner anyway.
Although data like this does generalise whats happening,
all I’m saying is that different geographical locations, in combo with their age demographic make-up do also need to be taken into account, and there will be geographical differences.
I think there is also an important demographic aspect that is missing from the discussion. In Wellington we certainly find the majority of our buyers come from internet advertising, but a surprising number still come from print media, specifically Property Press.
In Wellington we have an A4 magazine format for Property Press that is very easy to carry and read.
Not to generalise too grossly (my grandmother is on facebook!), but I do think that older generations are more likely to use printed media to find a home, and are more comfortable seeing their home advertised in print.
The second aspect is that agents still strongly hold on to the idea that a strong print presence is good for their personal brand. They are probably more responsible for the continuing use of print media than sellers are.
J.C.
Let me be very clear on the methodology of this survey so as to ensure that all readers are clear as to the process, I appreciate you requesting such details.
The survey was undertaken by Nielsen Online using an intercept invitation. The screening questions for eligibility excluded the following groups:
* People under 20 years
* All real estate agents
* All people who did not indicate that they looking to buy or planning on selling a property – or both
A total of 1,206 surveys were completed which represented a 25% completion rate
Hearing about the intercept survey over and over makes me want to give you guys some tips, so here you go.
1) Never use an intercept survey again if you have desire to not alienate your visitors
2) Make your thumbnails at least 1.5 times bigger, and give me a gallery option.
3) When I do a search, show me the results and don’t hide them below the fold. I’ve already chosen my suburb/property type so I don’t need to see it again (and I can’t be bothered collapsing them or scrolling down).
4) I don’t want to sign up to the site, I have no need. You shouldn’t need me to sign up in order to remember my searches.. I do the same search all the time. Use a cookie, prefill the form for me, it would make life so much easier and make me want to come back.
5) On listing pages get rid of column 3 – don’t care about any of it. I’m interested in the property and the photos.
Such easy fixes and it would make a world of difference.
Chris
Thanks for this valuable feedback. I am very pleased to be able to share with you the fact that in the coming weeks we will be re-launching the realestate.co.nz website. I am pleased to say that all of these issues you highlight are aware to us and are addressed in the new site.
That having been said it is very much appreciated to receive this feedback.
As to the statement about intercept surveys – we participate in the annual survey undertaken by Nielsen. There is no obligation for anyone to participate in such a survey. To be effective in operating a website as with any business there is a need to undertake research and therefore we will use the opportunity when we feel it is appropriate (certainly not all the time) to undertake surveys online and offline.
Looking forward to the relaunch!
We are a specialist low volume agency and as such we are easily able to monitor where our buyer enquiry comes from. By far the majority is Internet based enquiry.
Recently we sold a top-end Fendalton property via tender to a Perth based buyer who had been researching the market on the Internet for some time. The same property had only just gone through a failed auction programme with a national firm and had been heavily promoted via print. The key media in effecting this sale in my view was high quality video streamed from our website. The buyer admitted watching it 30+ times.
The trend away from print is highlighted in my book Truth Lies & Real Estate (and in many other books and by leading property futurists). There is nothing new here – it is a global trend that started some years ago and it is escalating rapidly.
The print based media firms know this and most are (belatedly) scrambling to re-position. The enlightened print firms are starting their own on-line publications and some like the Wentworth Courier in Sydney do this quite well. The key to any property listing website is functionality and visibility. The print firms that respond to the challenge and do this well may survive. Those that do not respond and switch their emphasis to the Internet will ultimately fail in my view (or will certainly become a bit player in the property advertising landscape).
In a nutshell – print media still has a place but its relevance is fast diminishing. Print is very expensive and poorly targeted compared to Internet marketing and we struggle to justify it to our clients based on buyer response and effectiveness.
Unfortunately too many real estate agency models are still wedded heavily to print and this needs to change if agents really want to properly service their client’s best interests.