Survey: Buyers Using Technology

Technology is dominating many aspects of the real estate transaction process, but the most important factors are purely human, according to a large survey of home buyers and sellers.

David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, says that for the first time the association is able to quantify the popularity of different kinds of brokerage services.

"What we find is that competition is alive and well, fueled by the growth in technology, and that consumers largely prefer more traditional methods of buying and selling homes," he says. "In finding a home, most home buyers begin the search process online, but most often learn about the home they buy from a real estate agent. Even though many other buyers are first learning about the home they buy online, they're still purchasing through an agent-they value the skills professionals bring to the table."

The 2006 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, based on more than 7,500 responses to a questionnaire mailed to a large national sample of consumers located through county deed records, is the latest in a series of surveys evaluating demographics, marketing and other characteristics of home buyers and sellers.

Most sellers prefer full-service brokerage, where professionals handle all aspects of the transaction process from listing to closing, including preparation of the home for sale, pricing, marketing, showing the home, contract negotiations and closing. Even so, limited services (which may include discount brokerage) and minimal services are important market segments that also are provided by NAR members, where sellers take a more active role in the process such as showing their homes themselves or preparing the contract.

The survey finds 83% of sellers use full-service brokerage, 9% limited services and 8% use minimal service, such as simply listing a property on a MLS.

Additional findings, to be further developed in a future report, show consumer satisfaction with the level of brokerage service varies, with 71% of sellers being very satisfied with their full-service experience and another 24% somewhat satisfied. Limited services also received high marks with 76% being generally satisfied; however, 50% of sellers using minimal service were dissatisfied with their experience.

To find a real estate agent, the survey shows the most important factor for both buyers and sellers is word-of-mouth recommendation. The most important criteria in choosing an agent are reputation and trustworthiness.

The typical home buyer is 41 years old, earned $71,800 and purchased a home costing $214,000 that was 1,815 square feet in size. They searched eight weeks and visited nine homes before making a decision.

Sixty-one percent of buyers are married couples, a record 22% are single women, 9% single men, 7% unmarried couples and 1% other. Eleven percent were born outside of the United States.

Three-quarters purchased a de-tached single-family home, 9% a townhouse or rowhouse, 11% a condo and 5% some other kind of housing; 78% of respondents purchased an existing home and 22% a new home. The median distance from the previous residence was 13 miles, and 55% of all homes purchased were located in a suburb or subdivision.

The biggest factors influencing neighborhood choice are quality of the neighborhood, convenience to job and convenience to family and friends. Other factors with high responses include neighborhood design, convenience to shopping and quality of the school district.

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