More consumers than ever use the Internet to shop for homes, but they still need real estate professionals to help them decipher their digital discoveries. The percentage of home buyers who used the Internet as an integral part of the home-buying process increased to 62 percent in 2005, compared with 56 percent the previous year.

However, approximately six of 10 Internet users said the information that they gathered from the Internet was less useful than that provided by their real estate agent.

None of them said the Internet information was more useful than that obtained from their agent, according to the California Association of Realtors (CAR) "2005 Internet Versus Traditional Buyers Survey," the sixth such annual study.

"You can get quite a deal of information from the Internet, but home buyers have relatively few real estate transactions so this presents an opportunity for the real estate professional to use that information to provide the consumer with insight," says Robert Kleinhenz, deputy chief economist at CAR.

In January and February, CAR surveyed by phone 1,000 California home buyers (500 Internet users and 500 traditional buyers who did not use the Web) who completed a transaction in the previous six months, Kleinhenz says. Kleinhenz notes that Internet buyers use Internet information as an adjunct to information they obtain from real estate agents, agents help buyers localize the information they obtain from the Internet by revealing how that information applies to the market where buyers are shopping.

"Internet buyers have a better appreciation of the services provided by the real estate agent," he says.

The study was not designed to create a digital divide between Internet home buyers and so-called traditional buyers, but to examine them as segments in the spectrum of the home buying population, each utilizing technology in varying degrees. The two types of buyers reveal significant differences in how they conducted their home buying research. Internet buyers conducted more research at the onset of the home buying process, while traditional buyers relied more on their agent as their source of information.

"The Internet has complemented, not diminished, the Realtor's role in the home buying transaction," says CAR President Jim Hamilton, a RE/MAX Associate. "Home buyers ultimately turned to their Realtor for both interpretation of information gleaned from the Internet, and for their Realtor's expertise and judgment throughout the home buying process. Home buyers clearly view the Internet as a tool to enhance their ability to research the real estate market, rather than a replacement for a Realtor's expertise in the field," Hamilton says. The survey also found:

• Internet buyers spent an average of 5.8 weeks considering buying a home before contacting a Realtor, nearly three times more than traditional buyers, who spent 2.1 weeks in this stage of the home-buying process.

• Internet buyers spent two weeks looking for the home they ultimately purchased, compared with seven weeks for traditional buyers.

• On average, all first-time buyers typically spent four weeks considering buying a home and four weeks investigating homes for sale before contacting a Realtor. They then spent three weeks previewing eight homes with their Realtor.

• All repeat buyers spent three weeks considering buying a home and only two weeks investigating homes for sale on their own. They spent five weeks previewing ten homes with their Realtor.

"Given the competitive nature of the current real estate market, consumers increasingly look to the Internet for information. As a result, home buyers are better informed and maintain a greater sense of control over the home-buying process," Hamilton says.

Demographically speaking, the median age of Internet buyers was 39 years compared with a median of 46 years for traditional buyers. More than nine out of ten Internet buyers were married, while eight of ten traditional buyers were married. 85 percent of Internet buyers had at least a four-year college degree and 11 percent completed post-graduate work. By comparison, 78 percent of traditional buyers held a college degree and 4 percent completed post-graduate work. Internet buyers had an annual income of $185,088, compared with $151,190 for traditional buyers.