More Buyers-Sellers Using Professionals

December 20, 2007

A recently completed survey by the National Association of Realtors reveals that 79 percent of home buyers and sellers are using a real estate professional in their buying and selling transaction. That’s up from 77 percent over the past three years, and nearly nine out of 10 buyers were satisfied with their agent’s knowledge of the process.

About 41 percent of home sellers found their agent as a result of a referral, while 23 percent used the agent in a previous home purchase. The survey also noted that 43 percent of buyers relied on referrals to find an agent, while 17 percent of repeat buyers used an agent from a previous transaction. Another interesting finding from the study: About 81 percent of sellers use full-service brokerage, while nine percent chose limited services and another nine percent used minimal service (such as simply listing the property on a multiple listing service). These figures are about the same as reported last year.

About 34 percent of buyers said they first learned about the home they purchased from real estate agent, 29 percent said it was from searching the Internet, 14 percent from yard signs, eight percent from a friend or neighbor, eight percent from home builders, three percent from a newspaper ad, three percent from the seller, and one percent from a magazine. The typical home buyer today is 39 years old, two years younger than last year, according to the new survey. That typical buyer earns about $74,000 annually and purchased a home costing $215,000. Buyers searched for about eight weeks and visited 10 homes before making a decision. These national figures vary widely from region to region.

Posted in All Things San Diego, Helpful Hints, Lending, Local Business, Real Estate