The 2011 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers was released on Friday, November 11 at the 2011 Realtors® Conference & Expo in Anaheim, CA. The 2011 edition is the latest in a long-running series of large national NAR surveys evaluating demographics, preferences, marketing and experiences of recent home buyers and sellers. Some highlights from this year’s publication:

• Demographics of home buyers is the biggest change from 2010. The median age of buyers jumped to 45 years old from 39 years old.
• Only 10% of recent sellers sold via FSBO. 87% of recent sellers sold through a real estate agent or broker.
• The top reason among sellers to sell their home was a job relocation, at 17% of all sellers, up from 9% in 2006.
• The typical home seller lived in their home for 9 years – a number that has consistently increased in recent years.
• About 9 in 10 recent home buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker.
• Over one-third of home buyers look online at properties for sale as their first step in the home buying process.
• The 2011 report saw the highest share of married couple home buyers since 2001, and the lowest share of single females since 2004.
• The income of home buyers rose with tighter underwriting. The median income of buyers in 2011 was $80,900. This is up from $72,200 in 2010. For more information on the Profile, click here. To read the press release, click here. 

Financing the Home Purchase

• Eighty-seven percent of home buyers financed their recent home purchase. Among those who financed

their home purchase, the buyers typically financed 89 percent.

• The share of first-time buyers who financed their home purchase was 95 percent compared to 82 percent of

repeat buyers.

• Nearly half (46 percent) of home buyers reported they have made some sacrifices such as reducing spending

on luxury items, entertainment or clothing, in order to afford the home.

• Twenty-three percent of buyers reported the mortgage application and approval process was somewhat more

difficult than expected and 16 percent reported it was much more difficult than expected.

Home Sellers and Their Selling Experience

• About half of home sellers traded up to a larger sized and higher priced home and 60 percent purchased a

newer home.

• The typical seller lived in their home for nine years. The median tenure has increased in recent years. In 2007,

the typical tenure in a home was only six years.

• Eighty-seven percent of sellers were assisted by a real estate agent when selling their home.

• Recent sellers typically sold their homes for 95 percent of the listing price, and 61 percent reported they reduced

the asking price at least once.

• Forty-one percent of sellers offered incentives to attract buyers, most often assistance with home warranty

policies and closing costs.

Home Selling and Real Estate Professionals

• Thirty-nine percent of sellers who used a real estate agent found their agents through a referral by friends or

family, and 22 percent used the agent they worked with previously to buy or sell a home.

• Two-thirds of home sellers only contacted one agent before selecting the one to assist with their home sale.

• Ninety-two percent of sellers reported that their home was listed or advertised on the Internet.

• Among recent sellers who used an agent, 85 percent reported they would definitely (69 percent) or probably

(16 percent) use that real estate agent again or recommend to others.

For-Sale-by-Owner (FSBO) Sellers

• The share of home sellers who sold their home without the assistance of a real estate agent was 10 percent.

Forty percent of those sellers knew the buyer prior to home purchase.

• The primary reason that sellers choose to sell their home without the assistance of a real estate agent to a

buyer they did not know was that they did not want to pay a fee or commission (37 percent).

• More than one-third of FSBO sellers took no action to market their home, and 59 percent did not offer any

incentives to attract buyers.

• The typical FSBO home sold for $150,000 compared to $215,000 among agent-assisted home sales.

 www.carolinarealtors.com/files/National HBS 2011.pdf