How Many Websites Does a Consumer Use?

An absolutely critical question, with no real answers

There are times when I wish I were simply an academic somewhere, with tenure, an endowed chair, a legion of slaves graduate student assistants, and all manner of research tools at my fingertips.

All of the debate and discussion around Zillow’s ascent to the Iron Throne, Compass and Howard Hanna raising the flag of rebellion, and the lurking machinations of House Florance of CoStar made this one of those times.

There is an absolutely critical question to determining where things go, and unfortunately, there is no really good solid research on it. That question is a simple one:

How many websites does a buyer use in searching for a house?

If the answer is one maybe two, then that suggests one set of outcomes and considerations for sellers, brokers and agents. If the answer is four or five, then that suggests an entirely different set of outcomes and considerations.

Nonetheless, as a commentator rather than an academic, I thought it might be useful to pull together what research is available out there, incomplete or inconclusive as they may be, rather than lamenting the lack of information. If you are an academic, an economist, an analyst and wish to do a real service to the industry—and to investors in the industry, who will pay you handsomely—consider researching this topic.

With that said, let me share what I’ve found so far.