The 2013 REALTOR® Nationwide Open House, the largest-ever international open house campaign, will be held on April 20 and 21. Below is some open house information from our annual profile of home buyers and sellers:
- Repeat buyers are more likely to find their home from an open house than first-time buyers and repeat buyers use open houses more frequently.
- Mid-income buyers, those with income between $55,000 and $75,000, are most likely to find their home through an open house compared to other incomes. However, as income increases the use of open houses actually increases as well. So higher income buyers are walking into open houses, but not finding their home through them.
- Older buyers, 65 years and older, are more likely to find their home through an open house than other age groups. As age increases the likelihood of using open houses as a search tool increases—45% of buyers aged 45 to 64 used open houses, compared to only 28% of buyers aged 18 to 24.
- Buyers in the South are most likely to find a home through an open house compared to other regions.
- Buyers of new homes use open houses much more frequently than buyers of previously-owned homes.
- Married couples and unmarried couples are more likely to walk through open houses than single buyers.
- Buyers whose primary language in the home is not English are more likely to use open houses—44% of buyers whose primary language is English use open houses, compared to 59% who use a language other than English in the home. Similarly, buyers who were not born in the U.S. are more likely to use open houses as a search tool—43% of those who were born in the U.S. use open houses compared to 57% of those who were not born in the U.S.
Tight inventory and multibidding have led to shorter days on the market. Based on information gathered from the December 2012 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey, about 31 percent of REALTORS® who sold a home reported that the property sold in less than a month, compared to 22 percent last year. About 57 percent were sold within 3 months, compared to 47 percent last year. The median days on the market was 73 days.
Demand continued to expand faster than supply. The Buyer Traffic Index rose to 56 from 36 in the same period last year, while the Seller Traffic Index barely moved, ending at 38 from 37 last year. REALTORS® reported numerous cases of multibidding resulting in “properties selling above the list/asking price” or “distressed sales selling close to market price.” The market has steadily moved towards a seller’s market with buyers more willing to bear closing costs, in some cases “paying for half or more of the closing cost.”
What this means for REALTORS®: The tight inventory of homes for sale has strengthened prices, with 79 percent of REALTORS® reporting constant or increasing prices compared to the same time a year ago, and 87 percent of REALTORS® expecting constant or rising prices in the next 12 months.
- Sellers are turning to agents to help sell their homes at higher rates than in the past – 88 percent of home sales were agent-assisted compared to 82 percent in 2004.
- Only nine percent of recent sellers reported selling their homes as a FSBO – sales have dropped rapidly from 2003 when they were at 14 percent.
- Understanding and performing the paperwork was the most difficult task reported by FSBO sellers, followed by getting the price right and preparing and fixing up the home for sale.
- For a limited time, you can download a free copy of the 2012 Profile through the MVP Program. Click here for more information.
- To view highlights from the Profile, click here.
More than they have in the past decade, two-income married couples are fueling today’s home buying and selling market, and they are turning to REALTORS® to help them.
Get more data about today’s buyers and sellers, including statistics about age, income, household composition of buyers and sellers, and valuable information about the sort of help they want from you in the buying and selling process–read the highlights from NAR’s 2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, and buy the full report in the Realtor.org store.
Full infographic below:
