Over the past few years, we at the Arkansas Realtors® Association (ARA) have heard an increasing number of stories from real estate agents who have represented buyers they’ve never met in person.

How is that possible? The National Association of Realtors® tells us that most buyers start searching for homes on the Internet. Let’s say a potential buyer in Florida is looking for a home in Fort Smith.

The buyer visits Realtor.com and starts searching for homes. She finds one in Fort Smith that she likes, looks up the name and phone number of the agent that has listed the property and gives him a call.

The agent visits with the buyer about the home. The buyer might not purchase the home about which she originally required, but there’s a chance she may ask the agent to represent her if they strike up a rapport. The agent will then search for homes in the area, let the buyer know what’s available and – hopefully – find a suitable property.

One might be inclined to say that such long distance transactions are made possible by the Internet. That’s only partially right.

Truth be told, Realtors® have been finding customers through various means for years. For example, a former real estate agent here in Little Rock went through a transaction that was almost identical to the one just mentioned – way on back in 1978.

Even back in the disco era, real estate agents and buyers were still managing to find each other over long distances. It all had to do with exposure. It still does.

What the Internet has done is provided agents another means through which they can reach people. It might be easier for people in other states to find properties listed by Arkansas agents than it was back in 1978, but the Internet has simply made it simpler to bring buyers and sellers together.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that reputation and customer service still count for a lot in the real estate industry. If a buyer simply isn’t comfortable with a Realtor® or has heard about some questionable practices from that particular agent, then it’s likely that individual will look for someone else for representation.

That, by the way, is true whether a buyer lives in the same town as a Realtor® or in another state.

In other words, the Internet has made it easier for Realtors® to reach the public, but the old rules apply. Regardless of how much technology has progressed, people who buy and sell real estate for a living are still in a business that thrives on customer service and reputation.

That will probably never change. And that’s why the Internet will never replace human beings who provide solid customer service and have great reputations.

House to House is distributed weekly by the ARA to about 20 publications in Arkansas.

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