Internet is already part of our life. In most economically advanced countries more than two thirds of all citizens regularly visit web sites. From supplementary platform for information of all kinds, Internet is gradually becoming the main platform for exchange of ideas, goods, services, and personal information. Since 2003 we regularly check the way that Europe embraces this new platform for the purpose of real estate information dissemination. This time we must report that shifts are not only quantitative, the number of companies presented on the Net is increasing, but also qualitative, i.e. they are becoming more informative.

Since the early 2000s, real estate companies in Europe have done remarkable job of increasing their reach by embracing Internet as new information platform. Their number per capita is still below the rate we can find in the Untied States. The difference, however, is far smaller than it used to be. Particular markets, such as Paris and London, have so many real estate sites, that they can make envious most U.S. areas, from coast to coast. This significant quantitative increase is evenly spread among many countries in Europe. In general, there are still relatively more sites in countries with milder climate, such as France, Italy or Spain; this phenomenon is related to the fact that these countries try to attract retirees from Northern Europe.

Much more important changes, however, occur on qualitative level. The old picture of the European real estate on the Net looked like a textbook example of feudalism. Different agents were presenting different properties; potential buyers had to go over many different sites with different designs in order to get a broader view on a particular market. This isn't over, but alternative techniques are already present in some countries; it's just a matter of time before these new techniques make old practices obsolete. I have in mind here multiple listing services' (MLS) approach, merging databases from different companies into one comprehensive bloc. Another interesting and encouraging development is that many real estate companies are already offering extensive area information alongside property information. This is a really helpful development given that an increasing number of new buyers come from different countries with no previous comprehensive knowledge about their new country.

Mentioning at large positive development in Europe, we should also take a note of some problems that still need to find their solution. The good thing is that many sites offer information in more than one language, the second being widely used, such as English or French. Some sites, however, still offer information in only one language, which is usually not widely spoken outside a particular country. Other sites, presenting information in more than one language, actually present two different versions; one more informative for local population, and another for foreign visitors, cut to minimum. Besides the obvious inconvenience for those who don't speak the local language, this division indicates lack of interest in foreign buyers. Another weak point is the intolerably high diversity in the site designs that makes difficult finding necessary information, although this information may be present. Trying to show individuality, in this case, actually goes against the interests of the real estate companies.

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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Europe.