A new study shows that home buyers who use the Internet are younger, wealthier and more ethnically diverse than traditional buyers, according to the California Association of Realtors. Internet buyers also spend significantly less time physically looking at homes for sale before making a purchase, and look at far fewer homes before making a purchase than traditional buyers
Despite this, Internet buyers feel they are in control of the home buying process than traditional buyers according to the study
So-called "Internet buyers." who comprised only 28 percent of the market in 2000, accounted for 45% of the market in 2002 and may now be in the majority, reports the California Association of Realtors in its 2003 "Internet Versus Traditional Buyers" report.
California's Association of Realtors study also quotes "Internet buyers shell out $100,000.00 more than those who are coy about the Net ---a median $426,200.00, compared to $350,000.00. At the going 6 percent commission rate, that's a $6000.00 bonus for the agent! ( Why are we FSBO???) thank you California Association of Realtors for clearing that up!
The National Association of Realtors recently reported that for the first time more home buyers nationwide used the internet instead of newspaper ads as a key information source. The research--- which included only newspaper ads and not magazines, direct marketing advertisement and other print media -- says 66 percent of the buyers surveyed reported using the internet, compared to 49 percent of buyers who say they used newspaper ads. In 1995 only 2 percent of home buyers browsed the web for housing. NAR. This is an important piece of information when we ( FSBO site owners / marketers ) ask that you continue to market in other media such as print. Include your listing URL address ( i.e.: view at www.canadianhomes4sale.com listing #123)
E MAIL ALERT
Phishing in Canada
Despite its growing popularity in the criminal world, only 16 per cent of Canadians with a personal e-mail account and Internet access were familiar with the term phishing.
When phishing was explained, 31 per cent of those surveyed had received at least one request for personal or financial information that they believed to be fraudulent.
One of the fastest growing online scams, phishing involves the use of fraudulent but authentic-looking, branded e-mails and websites to lure recipients into divulging personal information that can then be used to commit crimes like financial fraud.
Report Reveals Phishing Attacks are Growing at Alarming Rate Visa, RCMP and Competition Bureau partner to inform Canadians about phishing scams
Toronto, ON, November 3, 2004
According to the Visa Canada Phishing Survey the majority of Canadians with an e-mail address and Internet access have never heard of "phishing," despite a global, 50 per cent month-by-month increase in phishing incidents. Visa Canada, the RCMP, and the Competition Bureau, joined forces today to declare November 3rd "Anti-Phishing Day" and launched a consumer awareness campaign to help inform Canadians about phishing scams.
One of the fastest growing online scams, phishing involves the use of fraudulent but authentic-looking, branded e-mails and websites to lure recipients into divulging personal information that can then be used to commit crimes like financial fraud. According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a global organization that monitors and tracks phishing, the two most targeted industries for phishing scams are financial services and the retail sector. In July alone, the Group reported 1,974 global phishing attacks. And while most Canadians do not fall victim to phishing scams, the Visa survey suggests that four per cent of phishing e-mail recipients, or approximately 200,000 Canadians, divulge personal information.
Derek Fry, President of Visa Canada Peter German, Chief Superintendent of the RCMP and Sheridan Scott, Commissioner of Competition, the Competition Bureau, all made appearances at the Toronto Stock Exchange Gallery to speak about the dangers of phishing and brand spoofing scams. Through the theme 'Recognize It. Report It. Stop It.', the Anti-Phishing Awareness campaign is intended to help consumers protect themselves from this fraud.
"Phishing scams are growing at an alarming rate and that's driving other crimes that threaten the protection of cardholder information. Working with our Member financial institutions we are committed to cutting the line on phishing scams, but we need a collective effort to ensure we're successful," commented Derek Fry, President, Visa Canada.
To quantify the prevalence of phishing in Canada, Visa surveyed 1,200 Canadians last month. Highlights of the Visa Phishing Survey revealed that:
Despite its growing popularity in the criminal world, only 16 per cent of Canadians with a personal e-mail account and Internet access were familiar with the term phishing.
Nearly 60 per cent of those surveyed admitted that they would likely provide personal information if requested through an e-mail from their bank or credit card company. Thirty three percent of respondents would likely provide the information to the federal government, versus 8 percent to an online auction service.
When phishing was explained, 31 per cent of those surveyed had received at least one request for personal or financial information that they believed to be fraudulent.
Four per cent of those surveyed reported that they'd actually been a victim of phishing and had divulged personal information.
Only 51 per cent of respondents said they would report a future phishing attempt.
Concern about phishing scams was expressed by 66 per cent of respondents.
"What's troubling with these survey results is that even after phishing was explained to respondents, only half of them said they would report a phishing attack," noted Sheridan Scott, Commissioner of Competition, the Competition Bureau. "If we're going to stop fraud, the first step is getting Canadians to report it."
In response, the 'Recognize It. Report It. Stop It.' campaign was developed to educate and empower consumers to protect themselves.
In their public address, the panel of experts offered tips to protect Canadians, including the following:
Do not reply to unsolicited e-mails, even official-looking ones that ask for personal information, particularly those that have spelling or grammatical mistakes.
If you receive a suspicious e-mail appearing to be from Visa, immediately report it to Visa via email at phishing@visa.com. For other phishing scams, consumers can report them via email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org.
Protect your own computer by installing and updating anti-virus software, anti-spy-ware programs, e-mail filters, and firewall programs.
Colleen Alderliesten is the Webmaster of http://www.canadianhomes4sale.com and has bought and sold real estate in British Columbia , Canada, as a "FSBO" for over 20 years. She can be reached for comments or questions at info@canadianhomes4sale.com
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