Habits of Buyers and Sellers
SELLERS
The most important factors when choosing a real estate agent to sell a home is the reputation of the agent, and one who is perceived to be honest and trustworthy- What sellers most want from their real estate agent is to:
(1) market their home to potential buyers ;
(2) price home competitively;
(3) sell the home within a specific time frame;
(4) find a buyer; - The most important methods used to market home include:
(1) listing online – the Internet;
(2) Yard sign;
(3) Open House;
(4) print/newspaper advertisement;
(5) direct mail [flyers & postcards] - 92% of homes sold were listed with a Multiple Listing Service(s)
- 66% of home sellers contacted one agent and 16% of home sellers contacted two agents before selecting the agent to represent them
- 39% of home sellers used an agent referred to them
- 87% of home sellers sold their home with the assistance of a real estate agent
- Agent-Assisted homes sold for more than 27% higher price compared with unassisted sales.
- 80% of sellers work with an agent who provides a broad range of services versus limited service providers
- More homes sold for less than 95% of the listing price
- The median time on the market for unsold inventory in the West was 8-9 weeks.
- Time on the market and sales price compared with listing price are highly correlated; generally, the longer a home is on the market the greater the discount from the listing price upon sale. There was a range of 10% below asking price.
BUYERS
- The latest data show that nationally 55% of all buyers did consider a foreclosure, short-sale, or distressed property, but most ruled them out buying a foreclosure, distressed, or short-sale because the process was too difficult, they could not find the right home, or the property was in poor condition.
- 87% of buyers used an agent or broker for transactions of previously owned homes versus a new home from a builder or developer
- 60% of all buyers had either a verbal (18%) buyer representative agreement or a written (42%)buyer representative agreement with their agent
- What buyers most want from their agent is to
(1) help them find the right home;
(2) help with price negotiations;
(3) negotiate the terms. - 87% of Buyers rated honesty and trustworthiness among the most important factors when choosing an agent; 86% rated knowledge of the purchase process as important; 83% highly valued their agent’s people skills; 83% choose an agent for their knowledge of the real estate market; 82% was satisfied with their agent for responsiveness; 80% reported communication skills of the agent was an important factor in their satisfaction; 80% ranked knowledge of local area as very important; 74% felt technology skills were important and 71% counted negotiation skills as a desirable and important quality for their agent.
- 88% or nine out of ten home buyers used the Internet as one of the information sources in their home search process.
- A real estate agent was the second most frequently cited information source with 87% of home buyers talking to an agent.
- Regardless of the use of the Internet in the home search, home buyers continue to rely on the assistance of real estate professionals.
- In the West, the length of the typical home search rose to 12 weeks in 2009. Buyers in the West also visited the most homes [15] before buying, and spending 2 weeks searching for property before contacting a real estate agent.
- Websites most used in the home search process included:
(1) Multiple Listing Service (MLS) website;
(2) real estate company website;
(3) Realtor.com® ; and
(4) Real estate agent websites - 50% of all buyefrs found their agent by referral or were a past client of the agent; 9% found the agent online; 7% met agent at an Open House; 6% saw contact information for agent on For Sale/Open House sign; 3% found agent by personal contact (telephone, email, direct mail, etc).
*Source: National Association Of Realtors® 2011 “Profile Of Home Buyers and Sellers”
Rev. 09/26/12
Category: Our Real Estate Market
