How Home Buyers and Sellers Find a Real Estate Agent Online in 2026

Most home buyers and sellers still find their agent through a referral or a past relationship. But the home search starts online, and buyers want photos, property details and agent contact information when they get there. Your website and profiles are where referrals and searchers land before they call.

This guide walks through what the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) survey data says about how people find and choose agents. Then it turns that data into a short list of things to fix on your own site and profiles. It is part of our Real Estate & Property Management Marketing Guide, which covers both agents and property managers.

All numbers below come from NAR reports we opened on 29 October 2026. Where a figure is from an earlier survey year, we say so.

What the latest NAR data says about agent use

NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers surveyed people who bought a primary residence between July 2024 and June 2025. It found that 88 percent of buyers purchased through an agent or broker. It also found 91 percent of sellers sold with an agent, and for-sale-by-owner sales fell to five percent, an all-time low.

NAR's economists summarized the same report in their top 10 takeaways. The headline: first-time buyers fell to 21 percent of all buyers, and their median age rose to 40. Repeat buyers had a median age of 62.

That matters for marketing. Your typical client is older and more likely to be a repeat buyer than a decade ago. Many of them already know an agent, or know someone who does.

Referrals still lead, but they get checked

The more detailed breakdown sits in NAR's 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report, which covers buyers from July 2023 to June 2024. Here is how buyers found the agent they used:

Sellers lean even harder on relationships. In the same report, 38 percent of sellers found their agent through a friend, neighbor or relative, and 28 percent used an agent they had worked with before. Only four percent found their agent through a website without a referral.

So should you stop caring about your website? No. Think about what a referred buyer does next. They get your name from a friend, then they look you up. Your site, your Google profile and your reviews either confirm the referral or raise doubts.

The home search starts online

Referrals decide who gets hired. Online search decides where the buyer's attention goes first. In the Generational Trends report, the most common first step in buying a home was looking online for properties for sale, at 43 percent of buyers. Contacting an agent came second, at 21 percent.

The same report found that 51 percent of buyers found the home they bought on the internet, and 29 percent found it through an agent. Mobile and tablet search was used by 69 percent of buyers. Online video sites were used by 37 percent.

Older buyers behave differently. Buyers aged 70 to 78 were more likely to contact an agent first (28 percent) and more likely to find their home through an agent (40 percent). If your market skews older, your phone number and bio matter as much as your search tools.

What buyers find "very useful" on a real estate website

Among buyers who used the internet, NAR asked which website features were very useful:

1. Photos: 83 percent
2. Detailed information about properties for sale: 79 percent
3. Floor plans: 57 percent
4. Real estate agent contact information: 47 percent
5. Virtual tours: 41 percent
6. Detailed information about recently sold properties: 37 percent
7. Neighborhood information: 35 percent
8. Videos: 29 percent

Notice what is near the top: agent contact information. People want to know who to call. If your phone number is hidden behind a form, you are working against the data.

Most people talk to just one agent

This is the number that should change how you think about your online presence. In the Generational Trends report, 75 percent of buyers interviewed only one agent. Among sellers, 81 percent contacted only one agent before choosing who to list with.

There is rarely a second round. If a referred seller looks you up and finds an outdated site, a profile with three reviews, or no clear way to reach you, they may simply ask their friend for another name.

How buyers first reached the agent they hired is also telling. A phone call was the most common method (28 percent), followed by talking in person (22 percent) and asking a friend to connect them (18 percent). Only three percent made first contact through the agent's own website. Your site's job is usually to make the phone call happen, not to replace it.

Why buyers pick one agent over another

When NAR asked buyers the most important factor in choosing an agent, the top answers were:

• The agent's experience: 23 percent
• The agent is honest and trustworthy: 19 percent
• The agent's reputation: 15 percent
• The agent is a friend or family member: 12 percent
• The agent's knowledge of the neighborhood: 8 percent

Only two percent said the agent's association with a particular firm was the most important factor. Buyers hire a person, not a logo.

For sellers, the earlier 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found reputation was the most important factor in picking a listing agent, at 35 percent. Sellers' top priorities were help marketing the home (22 percent), pricing it competitively (20 percent) and selling within a set timeframe (18 percent).

What this means for your website and profiles

The data points to a few clear jobs for your online presence. None of them require you to beat Zillow at search.

Make your name easy to confirm

A referral starts with a name. Make sure that name leads somewhere solid.

• Search your own name plus your city. See what a stranger sees.
• Claim and complete your Google Business Profile. Our guide to Google Business Profile for real estate agents covers the rules.
• Keep your name, brokerage and phone number the same everywhere.

Show experience, honesty and reputation

These are the top three reasons buyers choose an agent. Show them with specifics, not adjectives.

• A real bio with years licensed, areas served and the kinds of clients you help.
• Recent sales or client stories you are allowed to share.
• Reviews from real clients, collected the way Google's review policy allows (no incentives, no asking only happy clients).

Give searchers what they rate as useful

If you show listings, lead with large photos, full property details and floor plans where you have them. Our explainer on how IDX puts MLS listings on your site covers the options. Add your contact details on every listing page.

Make contact simple

Put a tap-to-call phone number in the header on mobile. Offer a short form for people who prefer it. Answer quickly, because most people only reach out once.

For a full checklist, see Real Estate Agent Website Must-Haves. If you want to understand how AI tools now answer "who is a good agent near me," read how AI search recommends agents and property managers.

A quick self-audit

Run through these in 15 minutes:

1. Google your name and city. Is your site or profile on page one?
2. Open your site on your phone. Can you call in one tap?
3. Check your Google reviews. When was the latest one?
4. Read your bio. Does it say how long you have been licensed and where you work?
5. Open a listing page. Are the photos large and the details complete?
6. Look at your brokerage name. Is it shown clearly on every page?

On the last point, NAR's Code of Ethics Standard of Practice 12-5 says REALTORS® must disclose their firm's name in a reasonable and readily apparent manner in advertising. State rules vary, so confirm the details with your broker of record.

Next step

Once you know how clients find you, the next question is where to spend your time: portals, your own site or both. Our upcoming comparison of Zillow and portal leads vs your own website walks through it. Or get a free 20–30 page website audit within 24 hours.

Frequently asked questions