About a month ago, I read an article on the boston.com website. The news-story basically outlined how technology is being used in the process of buying and selling homes in the US. I would like to highlight some of the key points from the article:

1. A recent National Association of Realtors survey showed that 80 percent of home buyers used the Internet to search for a home in 2006
2. Web sites are replacing paper listings
3. Making transactions smoother and quicker is important in a slow real estate market
4. The majority of clients come from the Internet

The article also gave an example of a home buyer who found his condominium on the Internet, financed the sale over the phone and spent only three hours on the walkthrough, inspection and closing. The new home owner never even met the listing agent or the mortgage broker. Essentially, the article highlights how the real estate industry is undergoing a radical change. The traditional methods of prospecting for new clients are changing as well. Technology is offering an opportunity to generate more business for those with an understanding of how to capitalize on these trends.