It’s that time of year when many of us prepare business plans for the upcoming year. Like most, I look at forecasts and my personal performance over the past 12 months then set goals for the coming year. I think it’s equally important to examine national trends and when it comes to real estate the National Association of Realtors Survey of Buyers and Sellers is a great place to start. Here are a few facts I pulled from the 2019 report that I thought you might find interesting.
1) 87% of buyers used an agent to assist them in their purchase and 52% of buyers responded with “To help find the right home” as the agents’ most important role in the process.
2) 86% of Sellers stated that they would “definitely or probably” list their home with the agent that sold it to them. However, in 2019, only 53% of sellers did ultimately list their home with the agent that sold it to them.
3) 49% of all Buyers & Sellers worked with an agent that was personally known or referred by friends, family or colleagues.
4) Top three skills Sellers want from their agent: #1 Marketing, #2 Selling within a specific time frame, #3 Pricing.
5) 26% of all buyers fell between the ages of 29 – 38 and over half of these buyers were first timers.
6) 86% of Buyers purchased a previously occupied home, 14% purchased “new”.
7) Top two reasons for selling were “home too big or small” & “to get closer to friends or family”. The average number of years sellers lived in the home prior to selling = 9.
8) Average time buyers spent actively looking for a home = 10 weeks. Surprisingly, the total number of homes they physically viewed over that period was also 10.
9) 2020 is expected to be the peak year for millennial home buying.
10) Thursday is the best day to list a house on MLS fetching an average of over $3,000 more than homes listed on Monday. (this one came from Redfin)
I’ve found that most people enjoy real estate trivia and if you got this far, you’re probably one of them. On the other hand, real estate itself is not trivial and you owe it to yourself to hire the best. When that time comes for you or someone you know, please keep me in mind. dan@nvhomeconnections.com