NAR 2010 Homebuyer Survey Results

NAR conducted their annual Homebuyer survey and the results for 2010 were just released. If you haven’t had a chance yet to review, below is an overview of some of the key findings.

- In 2010, first-time homebuyers constituted 50% of the market. There are a number of factors to explain this significant increase, one of which is that first-time buyers don’t have to sell a home before they can buy. Moreover, prices have been dropping while interest rates remain low by historical standards. Especially, government policies such as tax credits have played a major role.

- Only 4% of buyers purchased a home that had been foreclosed or that was in the process of foreclosure. That is actually lower than a couple of years ago. In 2010 a full 39 % of buyers did not even consider buying a home in foreclosure. Of those who did consider making such a purchase, but did not ultimately do so, the primary reason (26%) was that they simply could not find a home that was right for them. Nineteen percent did not purchase a foreclosure home because the process was too difficult or complex. Another 17% did not buy because the house was in poor condition.

- This year 74% of buyers said that they used the internet frequently during the search process, about the same as 76% last year. In 2003 that number was 42%.

- 36% of buyers went to the internet as the first step in the home search process. 19% contacted a real estate agent first, and 7% began by driving through neighborhoods looking for homes for sale.

- Buyers use multiple sources of information in the process of looking for a home. Far and away the most used sources are the internet (89%), real estate agents (88%) and yard signs (57%).

- Multiple Listing Service (MLS) websites were the primary source of information for buyers who used the internet in their search process. 59% of those buyers went to MLS sites. 45% used Realtor®.com, 43% went to real estate company websites, and 42% went to sites hosted by individual agents. Aggregators such as Zillow, Homegain, and Yahoo were visited by 41% of buyers.

- In 2001 only 8% of buyers found their home on the internet. In 2010 37% of buyers learned about their home through the internet.

- In 2001, a yard sign was the third most likely source of information leading to the home that was purchased (15%). This year it is still the third leading source at 11%. Print media may not be dead, but it has shrunk to insignificance in this arena. In 2001, 7% found the home they purchased through a newspaper ad; in 2010 it was 2%. Fewer than 1% found their home through a home book or magazine.

Top 10 Real Estate Marketing Tools

1. Relationships- Go The Extra Mile!
2. 95% of your time should be spent getting the listing and 5% finding a buyer; Telemarketing, Mail, Door Knocking and GET THE PHONE NUMBER!
3. Keep in touch with People
4. Internet leads-track where your leads come from
5. Get more by saying less on your marketing materials
6. Quality of service and office consistency
7. Know your business and the business will find you
8. Investors...Do you know anyone that wants to make a 30% return on their investment? To learn more about this, go to www.cias.com
9. Deal of the week- Offer a deal of the week, let one of your listings stand out for the week.
10. The Million Dollar Real Estate Agent-READ IT!

Top Panel of Real Estate Agents (Kenny Klaus, Russell Shaw, Shavani Dallas and Brett Tanner).

Greening Your REO and Short Sale Properties

Cheryl King, Associate Broker, Keller Williams Realty East Valley/KW Commercial
www.hybridhomeliving.com

It is that time of year when we prepare our business plans for the coming year. We plan out how many transactions we need to close to reach our financial goals, set our budgets for online services and marketing and plan our 33 and 8x8 touch campaigns.

With the growing number of listed properties being REO and short sales, many of us will be focused on buyers or adding buyer’s specialists to our teams. These can be challenging transactions, however the distressed inventory is actually an advantage if you know how to “Green” the properties. Over the next few months, I will share with you how integrating Green into your business (residential and commercial) will grow your business and your bottom line. First, since “Green” has many different meanings, we need a common definition. When I refer to “Green” I am referring to a high performance home – one that saves energy, lowers monthly utility costs and increases the value of a home.

Tip #1: Rebates and tax incentives: A lender recently told me that 25% of the REO homes in the Arizona market fail to close because the homes do not have an AC unit or the existing one needs to be replaced and the buyer doesn’t have the funds to purchase a new AC. If the home is in an APS service area, APS will subsidize the cost of the new AC (www.aps.com) and there are federal tax credits as well (SRP will have a program similar to the APS program). Truly win/win: the buyer gets their home, a utility company rebate check after closing (some contractors will even advance the rebate), lower monthly electric bills and a federal tax credit. You close a sale and make a client for life. Next month, I will provide more information about how your buyer can benefit from energy efficient loans in addition to the utility company rebates and federal tax credits. Many tax credits expire on 12/31 so suggest that your clients contact their tax accountant today!

If you have a question you would like answered, please send me an email at cking@hybridhomeliving.com or call me at 480.747.8339. Also, watch our events page for the next Greening Your REO and Short Sale class.

As you brush up on your buyer mastery skills for 2001, add a touch of Green!