2007 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Every year, at the end of November, NAR releases the previous years surveys of buyers and sellers. Great book, and I look for trends that tell me where to spend my advertising dollars. This years book has some jumps, nothing shocking, but very revealing as we follow trends. The book is available from NAR, around $50 for Realtors. Some numbers that I found really meaningful:
84% of all buyers used the internet in their search, same percentage (84%) used Realtors! Only 50% of buyers used the newspaper.
66% of buyers used the internet frequently, 64% used Real Estate agents frequently.
When looking online, what were buyers looking for? 96% looked for properties on the market, 21% wanted general info about the area, 4% were looking for an agent.
After finding a home on the net, 73% drove by home, 58% walked thru home, 23% contacted selling agent to see home, 22% wanted more information.
29% found THE home they purchased on the internet first.
Only 20% of buyers visited an FSBO site, and only 3% of all buyers purchased a FSBO.
My take? Web presence is vital (duh…), Home search should be the first and easiest thing to find on your site. If your site spends a lot of space talking about how wonderfull you are, I think you’re waisting the importance of your site.
These are my opinions based on a very limited view of tremendous data. I reccomend all Active Rain members buy the book, study it. Watch the trends. If you’re here, you already understand the importance of the ‘net, understanding what buyers are looking for on your site tells you the direction to design your site.