【正文】 Lowering of Commissions of Comparison Shopping and Direct Sales to MBS Secondary Market How to Find the Real Estate Sector on the Web There are a few key sites that can be used to access the broad range of realestate related Web sites. These include: sponsored by the National Association of Realtors, linking users to realtor, home sales and market information. sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, providing a wide range of market information. to mercial real estate sites, including brokers, developers, investors and analysts. and , two sites that provide users with information about mortgage rates, mortgage brokers and with the opportunity to submit an application online. (National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts) and (Real Estate Investment Advisory Council), two associations related to real estate investment trusts. California Association of Realtors site. － the site for the Urban Land Institute, with information on the anization, programs, conferences, and publications related to real estate and land use. has three online magazines including National Real Estate Investor, Shopping Center World, and Midwest Real Estate News. An additional real estate online magazine, can available at . Ashok Deo Bardhan RESEARCH FELLOW Cynthia A. Kroll REGIONAL ECONOMIST 。s range of services or activities. Links allow the customer or client to learn much more detail about the selected items of most interest, while ignoring less relevant pieces of information. A number of sites take advantage of the ability to link to resources beyond the pany39。s Insider in early 1998 confirmed that nearly 95% of the respondents/brokers had a Web site, and more than 90% of the housing stock on sale at a given time is now listed on the Web. Indeed, because of the dispersed, localized nature of the role of information in real estate, the prospective gains from information dissemination, parability, and Web links were particularly significant in real estate. For much of the real estate sector, the Inter generates not so much the actual transactions themselves, but creates initial leads that are later followed by transactions, purchases and sales. Web sites frequently lead to contacts that are then nurtured through telephone and persontoperson meetings. For residential real estate, Web activity includes residential searches, housing details, and pricing information (both on houses and mortgages), with followup contact with brokers. Real estaterelated transactions are seen in the hospitality industry (making reservations for hotels and vacation homes and in online mortgage applications). Mortgage and home loan finance panies report both inquiries from mortgage shoppers who obtained initial information from their Web sites, as well as closing of loans through the Web, lead to great savings in time and overhead costs. It is not just the real estate professionals who are enthusiastic about their Inter presence, judging it to be as effective as print and radio advertising. Mortgage shoppers, homebuyers and vacation rental seekers as well applaud, in particular, the convenience it brings to the entire process of searching, researching, paring, municating and transacting business. Beyond these sectors, many other types of realestate related firms are using the Web to broaden their market areas, increase the depth of their marketing, and to provide a range of services to existing customers. Commercial brokers provide not only information on available sites but also on market conditions for different locations and sometimes more indepth economic analysis of a region. REITs and other investment firms provide detailed information on their products as well as background market or economic information. Public panies provide uptodate stock quotes and quarterly and annual reports on the Web. Web Peration and Use: The Experience of Leading Real Estate Firms We conducted a limited survey of a sample of leading realestate related firms in the US and California. Responses from approximately 60 of these firms showed that over fourfifths had Web Sites by March 1999. 2 Of those with Web sites, onethird had inaugurated their sites by the end of 1996. Among the earliest with a Web presence were brokers, investment firms, lenders, business and financial services firms, law firms, residential developers, and a trade anization. Another third of the group were newers, with sites inaugurated in 1998 or early 1999. Commercial developers were prominent among this group, with residential developers, consultants and advisors, lenders, REITs and investment firms also among this group. Those without sites were more likely to be privately held firm