By: SUSANNAH PATTON

When Hans Koch started an internet real estate service five years ago, he got a lot of skeptical glances.

"People looked at us as if we were insane," said Koch, whose San Francisco company Owners.com now helps hundreds of home buyers and sellers nationwide. "At that time, people didn't think buying or selling a house on line would work."

Now, hundreds of on-line real estate sites have sprung up on the Web and an increasing number of buyers and sellers are educating themselves, taking virtual tours of homes and even completing entire transactions without changing out of their bathrobes.

"This is an e-commerce industry that has barely shown the tip of the iceberg in terms of growth," said Nick Karris, an analyst at Gomez Advisors, an Internet research firm based in Lincoln. "The Real Estate industry is undergoing enormous change now that consumers are grabbing the wheel and getting close to driving the transaction."

In 1999, 50 percent of prospective home buyers nationwide used the Internet to educate themselves on the homebuying process, according to a survey by the research company Weston Edwards Associates.

Karris and other industry players say the Internet is just starting to radically change an industry that has long lagged others when it comes to technology.

Gomez Advisors, which recently ranked what it considers the top 15 on-line real estate sites, predicts that out of 1 million real estate agents nationwide, less than 300,000 are likely to remain in business in five years as consumers learn to navigate the process on the Internet.

That prediction doesn't bother Mollie Wasserman, a Framingham real estate agent who did 70 percent of her business last year through her custom-designed Web page.

"I'm called the techie queen," said Wasserman, who works, with Keller Williams Realty and says she doesn't know of another Boston-area agent who does as much Internet business.

When Wasserman started out five years ago in the business, colleagues took her aside and explained that she should offer as little information as possible to clients. "I thought that was nuts," she said. "I thought that if you give people information, they will come to you and be loyal."

Wasserman's Web site, molliew.com, geared for buyers and sellers in the suburbs west of Boston, offers listings, information on specific neighborhoods, mortgages and other real estate services in what she calls a "one-stop site." Clients can send her e-mail and receive daily updates with listings.

Industry observers say the task for consumers now will be to surf through the hundreds of new real estate sites to find the one they feel comfortable with.

"There are hundreds and thousands of sites, but only a few that offer real value for consumers," said Owner.com's Koch.

Gomez Advisors gives Realtor.com the top overall score in its survey because it has the largest database of listings and the largest network of real estate agents. But the group notes that competition is growing quickly.

And while sites such as Realtor.com and Owner.com offer a greater national reach, Karris points out that regional Web sites like Wasserman's offer a more human element that some buyers and sellers may still want.

"Buying a home is the largest investment most people will ever make, Karris said. "With such a complex and emotional purchase, there will always be a need for an agent to hold hands.

Dina Raneri 508-371-4385 Email Dina

Mollie Wasserman 508-613-9101 Email Mollie

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