NAR sent out an 8 page questionnaire to 150,000 consumers between July 06 and June 07.  They received just under 10,000 responses. All info in these profiles is characteristic of the market for the 12 month period ending June 2007.

 CHARACTERISTICS OF HOME BUYERS

• The median age of home buyers was 38 years old.
• The median income of first time buyers was $54,700.
• The 2006 median income was $73,900.
• 62% of buyers were married couples, 21% single females, 6% single males & 9% unmarried couples.
• 11% were born outside the US compared to 9% nationally.
• First time buyers accounted for 41% of homes purchased in 2007.
• 48% of first time buyers were between 25-34 years old.
• 36% of buyers reported using social networking Web sites, such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn & Friendster. Among home buyers aged 18-24, 65% reported using social networking sites.

 CHARACTERISTICS OF HOMES PURCHASED

• 25% of recent home buyers purchased newly-built homes.
• 72% of homes purchased were detached single family homes.
• The median price of homes purchased was $300,000 compared to $215,000 in the US.
• The typical buyer purchased a home that was 1790 square feet in size.
• Recent home buyers plan to live in their home a median of 10 years.

 THE HOME SEARCH PROCESS

• 33% of recent buyers reported that their first step in the home-buying process was looking online for properties for sale. 14% of first-time buyers & 22% of repeat buyers reported their first step was to contact a real estate agent.
• 91% of home buyers used the Internet to search for homes.
• The typical home buyer searched for a home for a median 8 weeks and saw a median 12 homes.
• 86% of home buyers used a real estate professional during their home search.
• 30% of home buyers first learned about the home they purchased from a real estate professional; 37% first learned about the home they purchased through the Internet.
• 80% of buyers viewed the Internet as a very useful tool in their home search.

HOME BUYING AND REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS

• 85% of home buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker.
• Buyers searched for a median of 2 weeks on their own before contacting an agent.
• 48% of first-time buyers were referred to their agent by a friend, family member, neighbor or relative.
• 68% of recent buyers will definitely use their agent again, and an additional 20% will probably use the agent again or recommend to others.

HOME SELLERS AND THEIR SELLING EXPERIENCE

• 48% of home sellers traded up to a larger home when purchasing their next home.
• They typical seller owned their home for 6 years. 88% of sellers used an agent or broker to sell their home.
• 62% of all sellers were very satisfied with the selling process.

HOME SELLERS AND REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS

• 72% of sellers contacted only one agent before selecting one to help assist in the sale of their home.
• When selecting a real estate professional, 49% of sellers received a recommendation from a friend, neighbor or relative.
• The reputation of the agent was the most important factor when choosing a real estate professional for 39% of recent sellers.
• 50% of sellers used the same agent for their home purchase.
• For 29% of sellers, their most important expectation is that the real estate agent will help sell the home within a specific time frame.
• 89% of seller reported that their home was listed or advertised on the Internet.
• 85% of sellers used an agent that provided a broad range of services and managed most aspects of the sales transaction.
• 64% of sellers reported they would definitely use the same real estate agent again.

FOR SALE BY OWNER SELLERS (FSBO)

• 10% of sellers sold their home without the assistance of an agent compared with 12% of sellers nationally.  Among all sellers, 3% were FSBO sellers who knew the buyer.
• 92% of FSBO sellers sold a detached single-family home.
• For 9% of FSBO sellers, the most difficult task in selling their home was understanding and performing the necessary paperwork to complete the transaction, for 27% it was preparing the home for sale and for 9% the most difficult task was getting the price right.

Consumers rely on our experience and expertise and this 2007 profile allows us real estate professionals to better understand our clients and how their needs are evolving.  I hope you find this information helpful.

Every year our company, John L. Scott, honors it's Top 1% Realtors with an awards breakfast.  Lucky for me that these elite agents also get to bring along their broker!  This year the keynote speaker was Dr. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

I must admint I was not that excited about going, be up at the crack of dawn on a wet, grey Seattle winter morning, fight traffic on 405 to Bellevue and then try to find a parking spot.  All this and then sit through an hour long powerpoint put on by an economist!  Didn't sound like alot of fun.

Wow, was I surprised.  Dr. Yun is an incredible speaker who kept everyone glued to their chairs during his presentation.  In one hour I understand more about what's really happening on a national scale than what I've learned over the last 12 months from the media.

One thing I learned that I would like to share is the money in the bond market has dried up.  Wall Street is always dreaming up ways to make money, so they created these subprime bonds that were paying investors 2-3 times more than other bonds and these bonds were rated triple A by Moody's and other companies ratings.   AAA rating for subprime loans?  Sounds kinda scary doesn't it?

It brought in billions from overseas investors like the Chinese government and a German pension plan to name a couple.  Needless to say that billions have been lost and foreign investors will no longer invest.

The good news, as part of President Bush's stimulus package, Jumbo loans are going to be raised from $411,000 up to $625,000.  That would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase these mortgages.  Because Fannie & Freddie are backed by the US governement it is hoped to fring back foreign investors, and make Jumobs' much more affordable.

As I mentioned earlier, listening to Dr. Yun was very fascinating.  I wish i could tell you more but as this is my first attempt at blogging I didn't want to go overboard.