Download - Home Sellers & Their REALTORHome 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

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.

Ch

ap

ter

3

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

Houston Association of Realtors® | www.HAR.com 23

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



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®




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



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




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



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




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.



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




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



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





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


54%

54%

VeryBeneficial

VeryBeneficial

Beneficial

Beneficial

NotBeneficial

NotBeneficial

Not Sure/No Answer

Not Sure/No Answer

27%

25%

15%

19%

4%

2%



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®.


86%Yes

10%No

4%Not sure

79%Yes

3%Not sure

18%No




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


76%Yes

4%Not sure/

Now answer

20%No



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