Our New House, Found in the Middle of the Web

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An increasing number of people are using the Internet to research home purchases, eliminating aggravation from a stressful, time-consuming process. With home values rising, mortgage rates low and buyers aplenty, the Internet gives buyers an edge in a tight market, making them better informed and less likely to waste time looking at homes that don't interest them.

About half of all homebuyers used the Web to aid in purchasing a home in 2001, according to Kevin Roth, senior economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). By 2005, that figure will rise to 80%, according to Jupiter Media Metrix. But the Internet is mainly used as a research tool, rather than as a way to close a deal. "Only 4% of all homebuyers found the home they ultimately purchased through the Internet," Roth says. ...