The typical Realtor only received 2% of their business directly from their website and 2% of business from social media, according to 2023 NAR Member Profile. In spite of this, 66% of Realtors reported having their own website — 43% of which are provided by the member’s firm. Websites turned out to be the most useful to broker-owners and managers, the survey found.
Among residential brokerage specialists with websites, 86% listed their own property listings. Other popular information presented on residential websites: home buying and selling information, links to their firm’s website, links to social media, and mortgage or financial calculators.
When working with clients, text messages, telephone and email remain the preferred options to communicate with clients. The NAR reported that 94% of surveyed members text with their current clients and 92% said they call them on the phone. Interestingly, more Realtors reported using postal mail to communicate with clients (25%) than those who used video chats (20%).
On the other hand, the top social media outlets used by Realtors for professional purposes are Facebook (67%), LinkedIn (49%), Instagram (38%), YouTube (23%) and Twitter (13%). Just 5% reported using TikTok and 32% said they don’t use any social media. Realtors typically spent $40 on social media advertising, with broker-owners who sell spending $70 and managers who sell spending $60.
Nearly all, 93% of NAR members use email on a daily basis, 48% use GPS features, and 46% use social media apps daily.
Real estate agents use a variety of software, including multiple listings software, which is the most used: 60% of Realtors use them. Other popular software includes electronic contact and forms, e-signature, document preparation, contact management and social media management tools.
The survey noted that agents have been toying with are drones. Among Realtors, 7% reported that they personally use drones while 43% hire a professional for their business activities, up from 37% last year. Almost 10% of members say they plan to use them in the future.