Is Search An Early Market Indicator

[Your Property Path]

Real Estate Porn
The search bunny keeps on going

Its interesting that online search for real estate is as strong as ever. Sales are miserable, people are afraid to buy. They no longer know what value and they have no job security. So, why is search so strong. Realtor.com President, Errol Samuelson notes that Online search is a critical measure of interest in real estate, especially now that more than 90 percent of buyers search for their homes online. So what can we glean from data mining search. Well, it turns out quite a lot.

Search As An Economic Indicator

Studys that indicate that the answer is yes, search can indicate future interest. The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) recently published a study and concluded that predictive power of search can predict activity several weeks in advance.

Where Are The Top Ten
Sun Belt Still Strong

The top 10 most searched real estate markets in 2010 were established based on the number of visitors that viewed properties in each Metro Service Area (MSA) in the United States from January 2010 to December 2010 on Realtor.com. Despite changing market conditions in 2010, the nation’s top search destinations remained remarkably stable and focused on the sunshine states of California, Nevada, Florida, Texas and Arizona.

Bottom Fishing?
Or Just Entertainment?

Despite changing market conditions in 2010, the nation’s most searched destinations remained remarkably consistent, focusing on the sunshine states of California, Nevada, Florida, Texas and Arizona. Whether the strong interest in Real Estate is just window shopping or whether these states will seriously pop first when the buying public feels this is the bottom remains to be seen. Be interesting to see if the heavy search points to an early opportunity.

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