Realty Reality: Homebuyer Survey Contains Valuable Information by Bob Hunt
As in the past, the 2005 version of the National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, released earlier this year, contains a wealth of information that can be useful both to Realtors and to their seller clients. The data contained therein can provide useful guidance as to where both time and money should and should not be spent. Of course this is useful information for Realtors formulating a business plan, but it is also useful information for their clients. One quick example: Local television advertising of property is one of the pricier venues competing for a finite amount of marketing dollars. And what seller wouldn't like to be able to see his home -- and tell his friends to see his home -- on a local television channel? Is it a useful expenditure of resources? The survey shows us that about 25 percent of buyers looked at television as a source of information in their home search. Yet, not even 1 percent of them identified that medium as the place where they first learned about the home they ultimately purchased. The survey has been going on for about a decade now, and it is particularly interesting because it shows trends. Of course it is no surprise by now to learn that the use of the internet as an information source for buyers increases every year. Still, it is interesting to see not only what that does imply, but also what it doesn't. The increased use of the net has not resulted in a decrease in the use of Realtors in the purchasing process. The 2005 Survey recorded a 3 percent uptick in internet use (from 74 to 77 percent), but the use of Realtors remained at 90 percent. Moreover, both sources were found to be almost equally useful. We are reminded again that using the internet, like the introduction of other technologies, doesn't so much free us from things we used to do as it simply gives us one more thing to do. People still look at newspaper ads, go to open houses, drive around looking for yard signs, etc. It is interesting to see what buyers use as sources of information, and what they say is useful. But, what the savvy Realtor wants to focus on -- and talk to his seller clients about -- are the data tables that suggest what works and what doesn't. What is the number one source of information from which buyers first learned about the home they purchased? A real estate agent. The lesson? You don't want to keep your property out of the MLS. You want it to be exposed to as many agents as possible, because agents are the source from which buyers are most likely to learn about their future home. The second most likely source of information about the home ultimately purchased is the internet. So sellers should want their homes to have internet exposure. Moreover, there is data in the survey that show which websites are the most used. Realtor.com is still the big gorilla, followed by MLS websites, company websites, and agent websites. Others are much less significant. The 2005 survey shows that yard signs are still a significant source of information to buyers. Fifteen percent said that a yard sign was the source of information from which they learned about the home they purchased. That is the only other source, after agents and the internet, that scores in double digits. Again, the lesson? Put up a sign. Are open houses useful for sellers? Well, although 51 percent of home buyers said that they used open houses as a source of information in the home-buying process, and 42 percent said they were useful sources of information, not even 1 percent named an open house as the source of information from which they first learned about the home that they ultimately purchased. Moral? An open house may be a useful way for buyers to gain information about the market place, and they may be wonderful ways for agents to meet people who are looking for homes, but they are of practically no value in attracting buyers for the home itself. The 2005 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. It's worth taking a look. | 
