BY Rachel Cagle
Century 21 Real Estate released data from its new real estate industry survey that has uncovered significant insights into what the home buying / selling process is like for Americans, as well as trends that the company believes will influence the industry in 2020.
Of the homebuyers who were surveyed, 99% said their agent added value during their transaction, such as providing information about the market (23%) and navigating the overall process (22%). On the homeseller side, those who used an agent to help them complete their transaction rated knowledge of the market (73%), advice and counsel (72%) and navigating stress (53%) as the top benefits provided.
However, despite the significance placed on an agent's value and the importance of homeownership itself, the survey revealed that, on average, active buyers and sellers only interviewed two agents before deciding on who to ultimately hire.
"We're seeing a real disconnect within the real estate industry today where homebuyers and sellers are extremely invested in the outcome of their transaction, yet they seem to be shortchanging themselves on the front end by rushing the vetting process to find the right agent to help them navigate what for most is the biggest emotional and financial decision in their life," said Mike Miedler, president and CEO, Century 21 Real Estate LLC.
For those who do not invest time upfront in choosing a qualified agent, they run the risk of aligning themselves with an advisor that could leave them less than satisfied with the level of service provided. According to the survey, conducted by Wakefield Research that included responses from 500 U.S. homebuyers and 500 U.S. homesellers who completed a real estate transaction in 2018 or 2019, 34% of recent buyers are not very likely to rehire the real estate agent they just worked with.
Additional survey results include:
- Agree to disagree: Only 17% of couples in a relationship said the decision on which real estate agent to use was made perfectly evenly.
- Shoulda, coulda, woulda: When asked to indicate what could have helped them get a higher price for their home, 29% of recent sellers said a better negotiation strategy, 25% selected professional staging and 23% indicated that a knowledgeable real estate agent would have helped boost their home's sale price.
- Fear of abandonment: Since closing on a home, almost a quarter (23%) of people who used a real estate agent said that their agent had not reached out to make contact with them. When compared to how often an agent makes contact during the transaction process (3 times per week, on average), recent homebuyers may be feeling a bit abandoned after they get the keys to their new home.
- Agent selection is significant: Three-in‑5 buyers (60%) said their agent went above and beyond the normal call of duty, including taking them out for a meal or drink (31%), inviting them to a social event (29%), introducing a potential neighbor (20%) and even running errands (13%).
Buying a home is a big, complicated deal. As a result, according to AudienceSCAN, within the last month, 61.9% of First-Time Home Buyers used a search engine to research a product they were considering and they're 37% more likely than others to use a search engine to research the reputation of a businessperson.
AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. In addition, AdMall contains industry profiles on real estate agents/agencies and manufactured home dealers, as well as lead lists at the local level. Media companies, sales reps and agencies can access this data with a subscription to AdMall from SalesFuel.