Technology has moved on leaps and bounds in the last 10 years and access to free information for buyers is overwhelming. As a result, many homebuyers are able to use the internet to do their homework on their target area and arm themselves with an abundance of information in the comfort of their own home (or from the office...I won't tell anyone).
The crux of this is that every search engine user is a buying adviser. But are they? Can you really replace the human element and real relationships with a database to achieve the same goal? Many would argue that you can. Look at HMV, Comet, Woolworths: all victims of shifting consumer buying habits towards purchasing products online (amongst other things).
But property is different. No one property is really exactly the same as the next. As a result we are not always comparing like with like. Therefore each comparable piece of sales information should be evaluated on its merits, something which is not a simple process and it can be argued, one that needs human input.
We live in an age where information is power, however, with so much information available, how do we understand which information is 'good' and which is 'bad'? Internet based search engines for property are only as good as the information put into them at a certain point in time, therefore a buying decision could be based on relevant or irrelevant information. It's a bit of a gamble. Information can also be selective. There is no obligation to disclose all positive and negative traits of a property on an internet listing, therefore are we truly comparing like with like?
How many hours do you think the average home buyer will spend on a property search engine before they purchase a property? Using conservative numbers: people will probably start looking 3 months before they buy and say they spend an hour a day (more like 2 hours), 4 days a week on a website (more like 7 days), and also continue this once they've found a property to make sure it's been removed and that nothing better comes on. Essentially you're talking about a minimum of 48 hours of your time (or your company's time) over a 3 month period before you've even done viewings, negotiations, sorted contracts and, even more importantly, sold your current house!
Some people just don't have this time to speculate and that is where a buying adviser provides value (shameless plug - sorry). Access to off market opportunities is also another element where internet databases won't give you an advantage in today's market. As a good historian will tell you with any research, it's always key to assess the credibility of sources and the relevance to your situation.
On another 'non-property note', one of the interesting elements of doing international business is always "the introduction". To kiss or not to kiss? After how many meetings is a handshake replaced with a kiss? Should it ever be replaced? If so, how many? In the UK, we have no real etiquette (ironically): it can be one or two. In Holland it's three, in Mauritius it's four. Then there's the dreaded awkwardness of the handshakekiss, one party goes for the handshake, the other for the cheek and you end up in some sort of Freemason like embrace. Needless to say, there is a lot more to learn when visiting other countries across the globe, so in this sense Google and Youtube can be your friend!
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