More Americans
are using real estate agents to buy and sell their home than ever before, even
among the younger generations.
A new Harris Insights housing consumer
study, which was underwritten by the California
Association of Realtors, The CE
Shop and REAL Trends,
shows a full 90% of consumers use real estate agents to buy and sell their
homes. This is a survey high, and is up 5 percentage points from the last study
in 2014 and up 9 percentage points from the first study conducted in 2001. The
study asked the opinions of 1,000 people who had either bought or sold a home
in the last six months.
And despite
fears that Millennials are replacing real estate agents with technology, the
study found that is not the case, and 91% of those ages 18 to 34 used real
estate agents in their transaction. That number is slightly higher among Gen
Xers, or those ages 35 to 44 years old, at 94%.
Actually, it’s
the older generations that are cutting real estate agents out of the picture as
just 81% of those ages 55 and older reported using a real estate agent in their
transaction.
The study also
found that more educated consumers are more likely to use a real estate agent,
94% of those with a college degree used agents in their transaction. Those with
only a high school diploma used agents at a rate of 83%.
Higher income
earners were also more likely to use real estate agents. About 79% of those who
made $50,000 a year or less used an agent, while those who made between $75,000
and $100,000 used agents in 98% of the cases.
If the need for
real estate agents is increasing – what are consumers looking for when it comes
to selecting their agent? “Referrals from people I trust” garnered the highest
response from consumers on what was most important when selecting their real
estate agent. About 69% of consumers said this was either extremely important
or very important, while 92% said it was important.
Next in
importance was “findings agents who had listings like my home” at 64%, followed
by “looking at websites with ratings of agent’s performances” at 62%. In fourth
place was “having a personal relationship with the agent” at 57%.
The study also
found that consumers value agents who are members of a Realtor organization, as
this was the fifth most important factor at 52%.
But while
technology does not seem like it will replace real estate agents any time soon,
it is playing an increasingly important role in the home buying and selling
process. A full 92% of consumers reported looking at websites for information
about real estate agents, and this number was even higher for younger
generations. Millennials reported using websites 96% of the time.
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