Stream's Realtor, Debbie Burton of Fred Sands Platinum Properties in Irvine, said that she noticed more and more clients arriving at open houses with computer printouts of for-sale listings last year. The viewer uses a mouse to pan around rooms and the property's exterior. She offers the virtual tour option free to her home sellers. It's just the start. The sellers want it, the buyers want it.
People sit at their computers at midnight and they can look at properties.
Realtor Dawn Lynch with First Team in Tustin estimated that half of her clients are doing Internet research before they embark on real-life tours. These people are sophisticated and we E-mail back and forth. Nancy Martin, a Realtor with Seven Gables Real Estate in Tustin who has been selling property for 20 years, guessed that at least 25 percent of the buyers she sees are researching the market on the Internet and, as a result, are more educated. They have seen a lot of properties. I think they have more confidence.