The market is pretty competitive here, and just starting out it will take a while to generate a solid referral base, so It would definitely be beneficial if I could generate some business from the site instead of just having the same broker in charge supplied site that 95% of all other agents have. Basically a do nothing page that has a short about me message and contact info.

Spending $5k on a site is doable, would sting a little dropping the money at first but wouldn't take long to recoup that investment if it brought it a couple of clients. $10-$15k not sure that's a hefty investment.