Evaluating Real Estate e-Commerce Business Models

PikeNet and Gomez Team Up... An objective evaluation of real estate e-commerce web sites is the mission for a joint research effort between Gomez and PikeNet.  Gomez is the Internet quality measurement firm and a leading provider of e-commerce customer experience measurement, benchmarking, research and analysis.  It has evaluated over 6,000 companies in 75 industries, including the Internet residential real estate sector.  PikeNet and Gomez will create the first of several future studies on real estate business models. First up for evaluation will be the Property Listings and Transaction Management services.  During March, detailed questionnaires will be sent to dot-com companies in these areas.  A summary of this analysis will be presented at the PikeNet Forum in May.

PikeNet and Gomez will send an online survey to all Dispatch subscribers to capture the current state of affairs for adoption of technology within the industry.  PLEASE RESPOND.  This survey of practitioners will supplement the detailed research collected from the various online Property Listings and Transaction dot-coms. Our goal is to measure attitudes and usage regarding real estate tools on the Internet and compare the data with the information analyzed from the web-enabled business models.  We will report on how the industry views the value and functionality of both Property Listings and Transaction Management sites. 

Together, PikeNet and Gomez will provide a foundation of information to help the traditional real estate industry understand technology trends and navigate the dot-com world with confidence.  Our goal is to generate a methodology for comparing similar business models with consistent criteria.  And our conclusions should also help companies refine the scope of their Internet services.  Stay tuned for the survey next week.  In the meantime, please forward your comments or expressions of interest in the study to me at the address below.

--Eileen Circo