The power of positive real estate reviews

StreetAdvisor.com community members and bloggers reviewing StreetAdvisor sometimes query why we get more positive reviews of streets than negative ones.

There are many complex social behaviors occurring in online social networks, and every social network provider learns new things every day about how people behave online and what they expect from participating in online communities.

So while we have some ideas about why we get more positive reviews about streets than negative ones, there is still much to learn. These are some of our observations, backed up by research from a variety of sources.

Research into the power of customer reviews relates mostly to online purchases of everyday consumer items, but we think the ideas this research has uncovered are also relevant to the kind of online investigation people undertake  prior to buying real estate, even though the eventual real estate purchases happen in the real world.

User reviews are powerful

We know that reviews are an influential form of online content. Most online shoppers use reviews in making purchasing choices:

71% of online shoppers read reviews, making it the most widely read consumer-generated content (Forrester) and 77% of online shoppers read consumer product reviews and ratings (Jupiter) (bazaarblog.com)

Online consumers also prefer 'real' consumer reviews, not marketing spin, and most people trust the reviews they read online:

the majority of consumers we surveyed prefer sites with peer-written product reviews: 58% “strongly” or “somewhat” prefer sites that include reviews, while only 14% don’t trust them. (marketingsherpa.com)

The power of positive reviews

People respond more to positivity rather than negativity, so positive reviews are more powerful than negative ones:

users are influenced by positive reviews than negative reviews (27 percent versus 12 percent, respectively) (yahoolocalblog.com)

According to the research:

Four out of five online adults (80 percent) are likely to be influenced by a review, and seventy-one percent of respondents at least somewhat, if not strongly, find online reviews helpful in making purchasing decisions. (yahoolocalblog.com) 

User generated reviews encourage online sales:

Almost 50% of online shoppers find user reviews helpful. That 50% spends more online than the other 50%. (marketingpilgrim.com)

Why do people write reviews?

This is a subject of great debate. Are people generous or selfish? Do they act to help others or to further their own interests?

There is no simple answer to this question. Here are some of the reasons why people write online reviews.

People like writing about what they like

Research indicates that people are more interested in writing about things they like than things they don't like:

87 percent of the reviews are generally positive in tone... positive reviews outweighed negative reviews 8 to 1. (bazaarvoice.com)

People are also more willing to write about positive online shopping experiences:

Customers are about twice as likely to write user reviews about good shopping experiences than bad ones. Likewise they are twice as likely to write user reviews about products they like than products they do not like. (marketingpilgrim.com)

Sharing makes you feel good

People are willing to help others:

the majority of online adults feel compelled to offer their opinion in order to help others in their community through knowledge-sharing. (yahoolocalblog.com)

They are motivated by generousity:

reviewers are motivated by goodwill and positive sentiment. Fully 90 percent write reviews in order to help others make better buying decisions. (bazaarvoice.com)

Sharing makes you feel connected

Contributing to online communities makes people feel more connected to the community

One in three of those surveyed [by Yahoo] said they felt more connected to the online community when they contributed reviews. (smartcompany.com.au)

one in three adults (33 percent) feel more connected to their community by contributing to online review Web sites. (yahoolocalblog.com)

User generated content, reviews and real estate

How does all this relate to real estate and reviews of streets and neighborhoods - the kind of information published by StreetAdvisor?

Well, just as many people find reviews of shoes and MP3 players helpful in making purchasing decisions, they also like that information to be local, because that makes it more relvant and valuable:

three in four online adults (77 percent) agree that sites with online reviews of local businesses are valuable community tools. (yahoolocalblog.com)

Hyperlocal real estate reviews - StreetAdvisor.com

StreetAdvisor is unique in providing a platform for people to reviews the streets they live in and visit regularly. By writing reviews, community members can feel good about sharing their local knowledge and may feel more connected to their local community.

Their reviews provides valuable information to other community members, who can then make better decisions about the home they want to buy. This is a very difficult decision to make and every form of assistance is extremely useful.

Because people are motivated more to write about streets they like, more positive reviews are created than negative ones. Furthermore, these positive reviews have a more powerful effect on the decision making  processes of other community members than negative ones.

While you should be honest, finding something positive to say about your street and sharing your local real estate knowledge in an online community like StreetAdvisor is good for everyone in the community. It may even encourage some wonderful people to buy a property in your street and help improve the tone of the neighborhood.