home sellers & their realtorhome sellers & their realtor ® nearly three-quarters of...
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Home Sellers &Their REALTOR®
Nearly three-quarters of Houston-area home sellers used a Realtor® to sell their home, and more than 90 percent were satisfied with their Realtor®’s overall performance. More than 80 percent of sellers said they would benefit from
accessing Realtor® ratings by previous customers.
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Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com22
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & BuyersHome Sellers & Their Realtor®
METHOD EXHIBIT 3.1 - METHOD USED TO SELL HOME
Three-quarters of Houston-area sellers used a Realtor® to sell their home, underscoring the importance of the real estate professional in today’s market.
REASONS EXHIBIT 3.2 - REASONS GIVEN BY SELLERS WHO DID NOT USE A REALTOR®
For those sellers who did not use a Realtor® to sell their home, the largest number did not use a Realtor® because they said they did not want to deal with a Realtor®.
Did not want to deal with a REALTOR® 22%
Have own real estate license 15%
Sold home to a relative, friend or neighbor 15%
Did not want to pay a commission fee 13%
Buyers contacted directly 13%
Sold it using a REALTOR® 73%
Sold it without using a REALTOR® 21%
First tried selling it yourself, but then used a REALTOR® 2%
First listed home with a REALTOR®, but then sold it yourself 1%
Other 3%
METHOD USED TO SELL HOME
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & Buyers
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Home Sellers & Their Realtor®
REALTOR® COMPENSATIONEXHIBIT 3.3 - HOW REALTOR® WAS COMPENSATED FOR HOME SALE
Sellers took responsibility for paying the cost of using a Realtor® to sell their home. Nearly 80% of sellers who used a Realtor® compensated the Realtor® themselves. The compensation tended to be based on a percentage of the sales price.
By home seller, based on a percentage of the price 77%
By home seller, based on a flat fee 5%
By combination of buyer and seller 7%
By home buyer 3%
By home seller, based on menu of services 0%
Other 1%
REALTOR® COMPENSATION
Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com24
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & BuyersHome Sellers & Their Realtor®
FINDING A REALTOR® EXHIBIT 3.4 - HOW SELLER FOUND REALTOR® WHO HELPED SELL THEIR HOME
Referrals were the dominant factor for sellers as they selected their Realtor®. The only other significant response was that nearly one-quarter of the sellers knew the Realtor® personally.
A referral from friends/neighbors/co-workers 52%
I knew the REALTOR® personally, had used before 24%
I identified the REALTOR® from a “For Sale” sign 3%
I was contacted by REALTOR® 4%
I was referred by my employer/relocation company 3%
I visited an open house 1%
Referred by another REALTOR® 2%
The newspaper 0%
Web sites 1%
Other 4%
Not Sure 4%
FINDING A REALTOR®
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & Buyers
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Home Sellers & Their Realtor®
IMPORTANT FACTOR
SEARCH
EXHIBIT 3.5 - MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR TO SELLERS IN CHOOSING A REALTOR®
EXHIBIT 3.6 - NUMBER OF REALTORS® CONTACTED BY SELLERS
The most important factor sellers relied upon in choos-ing their Realtor® was the Realtor®’s reputation, honesty and trustworthiness. More than one in five sellers said the Realtor®’s knowl-edge of the market area was their main reason for selecting the Realtor® to work with them.
Most sellers relied upon the Realtor® they knew. More than a quarter indicated that they did not seek out other Realtors®, while just over half contacted one other Realtor® prior to making a decision.
Reputation, honesty, and trustworthiness of REALTOR® 29%
The REALTOR® was the most knowledgeable in the market area 21%
A referral from family/friends/co-workers 20%
REALTOR® offered the lowest fee 6%
First REALTOR® to respond to my inquiry 3%
The REALTOR®’s affiliation with a particular firm 2%
The professional designations held by the REALTOR® 0%
REALTOR®’s community or charitable involvement 0%
Or other factors 14%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
CHOOSING A REALTOR®
58%
27%
11%7%
2%
I knew the REALTOR®
personally, had used before
Two Three FourFive or more
Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com26
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & BuyersHome Sellers & Their Realtor®
PURCHASE EXHIBIT 3.7 - SELLERS USED SAME REALTOR® TO PURCHASE ANOTHER HOME
More than half of sellers responded that they used the same Realtor® who helped them sell their home to pur-chase another home.
CHOOSING A REALTOR®
46%No
52%Yes
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & Buyers
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Home Sellers & Their Realtor®
MOST IMPORTANTEXHIBIT 3.8 - WHAT SELLERS WANTED MOST FROM REALTOR®
Sellers interviewed most wanted help from their Real-tor® finding a buyer for and marketing their home. A large number also wanted help sell-ing the home within a specific time frame and pricing the home competitively.
All First TimeNot First
Time
Help in finding a buyer/marketing the home 28% 33% 26%
Help in selling home within specific time frame 17% 8% 21%
Help in pricing home competitively 16% 12% 18%
Help with paperwork, inspections, closing 9% 9% 9%
Help in negotiating, dealing with potential buyers
11% 13% 10%
Advice on how to fix up the home to sell it for more 2% 1% 2%
Help in finding other homes available to purchase 1% 3% 1%
SELLERS’ PREFERENCE
Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com28
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & BuyersHome Sellers & Their Realtor®
COMMUNICATION
OFFICE VISITS
EXHIBIT 3.9 - SELLERS’ MOST IMPORTANT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION WITH REALTOR®
EXHIBIT 3.10 - SELLER’S NUMBER OF VISITS TO REALTOR®’S OFFICE
Telephones are still the most prevalent means of commu-nication between sellers and their Realtor®. E-mail was also an important means of communication, particularly with experienced sellers, as was in-person communica-tion.
Nearly one-half of all sellers surveyed never visited their Realtor®’s office. Less than 15% of sellers visited the of-fice three or more times. This indicates that expansive (and expensive) office space may be an unneccessary overhead expense for real estate brokers.
AllFirst Time to
SellNot First Time
Telephone 71% 75% 69%
E-mail 15% 12% 17%
In Person 11% 11% 11%
Fax 0% 1% 0%
Text Messages 0% 0% 1%
Other Means 0% 0% 1%
Not Sure 2% 1% 2%
COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE REALTOR®
48%Never
35%Once or
twice
11%Several times
3%More than
several times
3%Not sure/
No answer
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & Buyers
Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com 29
Home Sellers & Their Realtor®
WEB SITES LISTEDEXHIBIT 3.11 - DID REALTOR® NOTIFY SELLER OF INTERNET SITES HOUSE WAS LISTED
COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE REALTOR®
50%Yes
38%No
11%Not sure/
No answer
Half of the sellers surveyed were told by their Realtor® on what Internet sites their home would be listed.
Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com30
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & BuyersHome Sellers & Their Realtor®
REALTOR® FOLLOW UP
REALTOR® FOLLOW UP
EXHIBIT 3.12 - REALTOR® CONTACTED SELLER AFTER CLOSING
EXHIBIT 3.13 - VALUE OF REALTOR® FOLLOW UP
FOLLOW-UP
More than two-thirds of the Realtors® used by the sellers surveyed had some form of follow-up after the closing.
Less than 40% of the sellers surveyed found the follow-up of their Realtor® to have been of value, while another quarter thought it was some-what valuable.
6%Not sure/
No answer
25%No
68%Yes
39%Very
valuable
25%Somewhat valuable
10%Not very valuable
5%Not at all valuable
19%Not sure/
No answer
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & Buyers
Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com 31
Home Sellers & Their Realtor®
OVERALL SATISFACTION
REASONS
EXHIBIT 3.14 - SELLERS’ OVERALL SATISFACTION WITH REALTOR®
EXHIBIT 3.15 - REASONS FOR SELLERS’ LEVEL OF SATISFACTION WITH REALTOR®
Overall, sellers who used a Realtor® were satisfied with their Realtor®’s performance, with more than three-quarters saying they were very satisfied.
Most sellers felt their Real-tor® did a good job and fol-lowed through on their com-mitments. A few respondents indicated their Realtor® did not get the job done, was not honest, or was not responsive to requests.
POSITIVE COMMENTS
They did a good job, did what they said they would 34%
Honest/had integrity 13%
They were knowledgeable/prepared 10%
Sold home quickly 10%
Communicative/responsive 5%
Got a good price 3%
NEGATIVE COMMENTS
Did not get the job done 3%
Not communicative or responsive 2%
Not honest or upfront 2%
OTHER COMMENTS 1%
SELLERS’ SATISFACTION WITH REALTOR®
79%Very Satisfied
13%SomewhatSatisfied
3%Not VerySatisfied
5%Not At AllSatisfied
Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com32
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & BuyersHome Sellers & Their Realtor®
REALTOR® PERFORMANCE
REALTOR® SERVICES
EXHIBIT 3.16 - SELLERS’ SATISFACTION WITH ASPECTS OF REALTOR® PERFORMANCE
EXHIBIT 3.17 - SELLERS’ DESCRIPTION OF LEVEL OF SERVICE PROVIDED BY REALTOR®
More than eight in 10 sellers were very satisfied with their Realtor®’s knowledge of the real estate market, honesty and integrity, knowledge of the sales process, communica-tion skills and responsiveness. Only people skills, negotiat-ing skills and technological skills fell slightly beneath that level.
Nearly seven in 10 sellers said their Realtor® provided a broad range of services and managed most aspects of the home sale.
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Not very satisfied
Not satisfied at all
Honesty and integrity 83% 10% 1% 4%
Knowledge of the real estate market
83% 9% 1% 4%
Knowledge of the sales process
81% 11% 3% 3%
Communication skills 80% 14% 1% 3%
Responsiveness 80% 14% 1% 4%
People skills 77% 14% 1% 4%
Technological skills 70% 17% 2% 4%
Negotiating skills 76% 14% 4% 4%
68%My REALTOR® provided a broad range of services and managed most aspects of my home sale
14%My REALTOR® provided a limited
set of services as I requested
12%My REALTOR® listed my home on the Multiple Listing Service and performed very few, if any,
additional services
SELLERS’ SATISFACTION WITH REALTOR®
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & Buyers
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Home Sellers & Their Realtor®
REALTOR® RATINGS
REALTOR® COMMENTS
EXHIBIT 3.18 - WOULD SELLERS BENEFIT FROM ACCESSING REALTOR® RATING BY PREVIOUS CUSTOMERS
EXHIBIT 3.19 - WOULD SELLERS BENEFIT FROM READING PREVIOUS CUSTOMER COMMENTS ABOUT REALTOR®
81% of sellers indicated they would consider it beneficial or very beneficial to access ratings on their Realtor® by previous customers.
An almost identical num-ber of sellers who thought Realtor® ratings would be beneficial also said it would have been beneficial or very beneficial to read actual comments about the Realtor® by previous customers.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
SELLERS’ SATISFACTION WITH REALTOR®
54%
54%
VeryBeneficial
VeryBeneficial
Beneficial
Beneficial
NotBeneficial
NotBeneficial
Not Sure/No Answer
Not Sure/No Answer
27%
25%
15%
19%
4%
2%
Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com34
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & BuyersHome Sellers & Their Realtor®
USE REALTOR® AGAIN
USE SAME REALTOR®
EXHIBIT 3.20 - WOULD SELLERS USE A REALTOR® AGAIN TO SELL ANOTHER HOME
EXHIBIT 3.21 - WOULD SELLERS WHO WOULD USE REALTOR® TO SELL ANOTHER HOME USE THE SAME REALTOR®
More than 80% of area sellers who used a Realtor® in their recent home sale would do so again, a testament to the value real estate professionals provide to the selling process.
Among those sellers who indicated they would use a Realtor® again for a home sale, nearly eight in 10 people surveyed said they would use the same Realtor®.
SELLERS’ SATISFACTION WITH REALTOR®
86%Yes
10%No
4%Not sure
79%Yes
3%Not sure
18%No
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & Buyers
Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com 35
Home Sellers & Their Realtor®
More than three-quarters of the sellers felt that services they received from the Real-tor® were worth the fees paid.
WORTH THE FEESEXHIBIT 3.22 - SERVICES FROM SELLER’S REALTOR® WORTH THE FEES PAID
SELLERS’ SATISFACTION WITH REALTOR®
76%Yes
4%Not sure/
Now answer
20%No
Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com36
2008 HAR Survey of Home Sellers & BuyersHome Sellers & Their Realtor®
REALTOR® SELECTION EXHIBIT 3.23 - WOULD SELLER SELECT REALTOR® BASED ON SERVICES PROVIDED OR FEES CHARGED
Nearly half of sellers would select their Realtor® based on a combination of services provided and fees charged. Less than 10 percent respond-ed that they would select their Realtor® based on the fees charged.
SELECTION OF REALTOR®
38%ServicesProvided
9%Fees Charged
46%Both
7%Not sure