The National Association of Realtors® recently released the results of their Buyer & Seller Profile Survey that was conducted in 2008. As agents, we like to know where buyers are shopping for homes (RESOURCE). It is also important to know how the buyers first learned about the home they actually bought (SOURCE).
No surprise, the Internet is growing in magnitude for its importance in the home search process at 87%. However, Realtors® are THE leading originator for the home the buyer actually purchased (34%). The Internet came in a close second at 32%. Here is a chart showing the NAR Survey’s findings. The yellow bars shows the various resources buyers used when they were in the exploratory stage. The dark brown bars show the source where the buyer FIRST learned about the home they actually bought.
Click to enlarge graph
You might be surprised that the Internet isn’t higher than Realtor® as a source for the home actually bought. What might be happening is that although buyers do so much web surfing for homes, those homes may no longer be on the market. That’s a major flaw to many of the web sites. Realtors® have access to the MLS which does show whether the home is an active listing or not. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the buyer’s Realtor® will continue to be a main source for ACCURATE info on homes.
The data also indicates why Realtors® no longer place ads in newspapers and why the home magazines have become thinner. Those media sell the agent, but don’t sell the home. The print quality of newspapers is so poor that it doesn’t compare well with the crisp photos on the Internet. The lead time on magazines is so long that the home may no longer be available. Although open houses are still conducted, they also are diminishing in favor due to security concerns and the known fact that they seldom sell the home held open.
If you are a home buyer, how do your habits compare to this National data?
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It is interesting to see that the internet has taken 1st possition. Realtors, yard sign, open house came next. Print media was way down. Long live the press.
The important numbers are ‘what was the source for the home bought’. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Realtors are still #1. Print was 7% in the last survey. Now it’s only 3%. None of the buyers in the survey found their home via an open house, even though they visited open houses during their search.