While consumers may like the convenience that the Internet lends to certain tasks, going online isn’t always the best way to go. As such, a new Canadian study explores the complexities of buying a home—and whether it can be effectively accomplished in cyberspace.

The effectiveness of online real estate tools are examined in a March 2010 study published in The Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, led by Ryerson University professor of marketing Jane Saber and the University of Alberta’s Paul Messinger. The study, entitled “The impact of e-information on residential real estate services: Transaction costs, social embeddedness and market conditions,” surveyed 260 middle class Canadian households and found that, with the surge of online resources available, buyers and sellers will react differently to working with an agent based on whether or not the real estate market is hot. That is, when the market is hot and information can be . . . → Read More: Do-it-Yourself Real Estate: Ryerson University Researchers Explore Buying and Selling Online