at home
I am a numbers girl. I can’t help it- it has always been the way that things made sense. I know I have mentioned it before, but my dad was an engineer at Raytheon and I apparently inherited the mindset.
So I loved when the National Association of Realtors sent out all of its aggregated stats in one big post. These stats are useful to consumers, and also helpful to me no matter what hat I happen to be wearing when I read them.
Some numbers I want to drag out:
- First time home buyers comprised 47% of the buying market- median age 30
- Buyers searched 12 weeks and saw 12 homes, on average
- 42% of sellers offered incentives to buyers- such as home warranties or help with closing costs
- Trustworthiness and reputation were the biggest reasons that buyers and sellers chose their agents
- Less than one percent of sellers chose an agent based on commission
But this is my favorite, straight from the buyers’ mouths. No guessing or wondering- just the facts:
When asked where they first learned about the home purchased, 36 percent of buyers said a real estate agent; 36 percent the Internet; 12 percent from yard signs; 6 percent from a friend, neighbor or relative; 5 percent home builders; 2 percent a print or newspaper ad; 2 percent directly from the seller; and less than 1 percent a home book or magazine.
So yard signs were, on average, 12 times more effective than a home magazine, and 6 times more effective in finding a buyer than a print ad!! Something to consider when you are interviewing an agent to list your home.
I’m a numbers person too and I think most agents don’t seems to pay any attention to them and certainly do not mention them to their sellers because in my area, the agents continue to spend huge amounts of dollars on print ads, week after week!
The numbers are there for Open Houses too! Only 3% buy their house from an Open House.
Thanks for sharing.
In my area, too, agents spend money on print because uninformed sellers insist on it. Maybe with this data they can present to sellers their best plan for using advertising money and time.
My feeling about Open Houses is that they used to be done so that buyers could view homes without feeling pressure but the shift in purpose has changed. Around here, anyway, we aren’t even seeing too many unsigned buyers come through Open Houses. People considering listing DO come through, checking to see how agents are presenting and interacting with potential buyers, so it can turn into an impromptu “job interview.”
On a personal note, I DO like Open Houses. I have picked up buyers for REO property (lower end) from them, but even if no one shows up, I have two hours of time without interruption- usually on Sunday- where I can plan my week or write a post.