by user

December 15, 2015

Google has data on everything it seems. The following is an excerpt from an article by Google earlier this year. Read the full article here.


Millennials aren’t the only ones using mobile. As the market heats up, more and more house hunters are relying on their smartphones to stay competitive. In June,  “You do see the need to act on listings quickly if you are looking to buy,” says Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Realtor.com. The immediacy of mobile helps people stay on top of the market in real time.

Man and woman on ph in front of house for sale

Mobile phones accounted for 27% of total searches related to buying a home—up 19% since last year.

  • Most people would use their mobile device to do at least one of the following: search for listings, find directions to a house, look for more information on a listing, call or e-mail an agent directly, or watch a video while out looking for a home (Google Consumer Survey, April 2014).
  • Searches related to home buying are highest over the weekend when people are likely out touring neighborhoods and visiting open houses (Google Data).
  • Mobile queries for open houses grew 36% in June YoY, while desktop searches remained the same (Google Data).
  • House hunters used their mobile device most to search for listings and find directions while out looking for a home (Google Consumer Survey, April 2014).

Smartphones and tablets are the tech of choice at home, too. Usage climbs steadily throughout the day and reaches its peak at night—mobile at 6:00 p.m. and tablet at 11:00 p.m (ET)—after the kids have gone to bed and parents have time to catch up.

Mobile searches increase at 6:00 p.m. and at 11:00 p.m (ET)

When potential buyers see a house they like, their first question is often “Can I afford it?” Increasingly, they’re using mobile to do the math. So far this year, one-quarter of Google searches for mortgages have been on mobile devices, and terms such as “mortgage calculator” make up half of those searches.


Find out about VoicePad’s  Lead Generation for Mortgage Pros


Clearly, the place to reach home buyers is on mobile. Marketers can help them find what they’re looking for through mobile ads, and extensions such as location and click-to-call take this a step further.

Video is also an important opportunity on mobile, with one in five future home buyers indicating they’d use a mobile device to watch a video (Google Consumer Survey, April 2014). On top of that, views of real estate videos are up 13% YoY on YouTube. Often, these are home tour videos that let prospective buyers get a room-by-room view of a listing.

One in five future home buyers indicating they’d use a mobile device to watch a video (Google Consumer Survey, April 2014).


VoicePad specializes in developing enterprise mobile real estate solutions to keep Brokerages/Teams/Agents at the forefront of mobile technology with the most effective lead generation and property marketing tools available.

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