Real estate website visitor numbers are up nearly 20 percent compared to a year ago, but that could be because heightened fear about over-priced homes is driving a growing portion of the traffic.

 

"Increased traffic on real estate sites is reflective of the sector's growing adoption of Web-based technologies and databases, often used for digital storefronts, marketing, inventory listings and buyer financing," said Bill Tancer, Vice President of Research at Hitwise.

Visitors are searching for information on how the current housing situation is influencing them personally.