Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

NAR Insights about the Goals and Challenges of Today’s Consumers

Each year, the National Associations of REALTORS® (NAR) releases its annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers based on results from a survey of primary residence buyers and sellers between July 2013 and June 2014. The report contains valuable insights for real estate professionals and provides us with important information about the trends of today’s consumers. Many of these insights can be used to help your brokers and agents effectively market their business. The NAR report gives us a deep understanding of the wants and needs of home buyers and sellers as well as a look into the challenges they face today.

Below we share some of the highlights from this year’s report:

Home Buyers

  • 33 percent of recent home buyers were first-time buyers, which is still slightly lower than the historical norm of 40 percent among primary residence buyers
  • The typical first-time buyer was 31-years-old, while the typical repeat buyer was 53
  • Buyers expect to live in their home for 12 years after buying, up from 10 years in 2013

Home Buying Process

  • 92 percent of buyers used the Internet in some way in their home search process
  • 50 percent of buyers used a mobile website or application in their home search
  • For 43 percent of home buyers, the first step in the home-buying process was looking online for properties
  • 98 percent of buyers who used an agent viewed real estate agents as a useful information source while searching for a home, up from 87 percent in 2013
  • 40 percent of buyers found their agent through a referral from a friend or family member and 12 percent used an agent they had used before to buy or sell a home
  • 63 percent of buyers who purchased their home in the last year have recommended their agent to other buyers

Sellers

  • 40 percent of home sellers traded up to a larger sized home, 47 percent purchased a more expensive home, and 53 percent purchased a newer home
  • 88 percent of sellers were assisted by a real estate agent when selling their home

Home Selling Process

  • Recent sellers typically sold their homes for 97 percent of the listing price
  • 45 percent of sellers reported they reduced the initial asking price at least once
  • 38 percent of sellers who used a real estate agent found their agent through a referral by friends or family, and 22 percent used the agent they worked with previously to buy or sell a home
  • 70 percent of home sellers only contacted one agent before selecting the one to assist with their home sale

For more highlights from the report, visit the NAR website.

Published: November 2014