Survey Results

RISMEDIA, June 23, 2006—The Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) and the University of Houston Center for Public Policy (CPP) today released the results of a landmark survey of Houston-area home buyers and sellers – the first and only local survey of its kind.

“We found high levels of client satisfaction among both sellers and buyers in our 2005 survey,” said Lorraine Abercrombie, HAR Chair of the Board. “Buyers and sellers are generally quite positive about their recent experiences, and both groups express high degrees of satisfaction with their Realtor’s performance.”

Houston’s strong housing market for new and existing homes contributed to consumers’ high satisfaction level. In the Houston area, a good resale market for sellers combined with abundant new construction and a large inventory of existing homes for buyers to create a beneficial market for both. Markedly low interest rates gave consumers the opportunity to set up mortgages with low down payments.

The survey found that Houston home sellers, as a group, are generally older and well educated – 76 percent are over 40 years of age, and nearly two thirds have at least a college degree. They also tend to be long-time residents of the Houston area, with more than half living here for more than 20 years.

Most sellers who were surveyed had sold a home before; only 39 percent were selling a home for the first time. Overall, 90 percent of the home sellers were satisfied that they received a fair price for the home they sold.

Sellers showed high satisfaction levels with their Realtors:

Nearly three-quarters of sellers sold their home using a Realtor.
36 percent of sellers who used a Realtor said knowing the Realtor personally, or having used them before, was the most important factor in choosing the Realtor who sold their home.

Nearly half of sellers most wanted their Realtor to help sell the home within a specific time frame.

Better than nine in 10 sellers were satisfied with their Realtor’s overall performance.

76 percent of sellers said they would benefit from accessing Realtor ratings by previous customers.

89 percent of sellers would use a Realtor again to sell another home.

Houston home buyers, in comparison to sellers, are a younger and less experienced group. Almost two-thirds are under the age of 50, and half were buying their very first home. Most have lived in Houston for less than 20 years. Houston’s group of home buyers is also more diverse than the national average – more than 40 percent of Houston home buyers were minorities.

Fewer home buyers than sellers used a Realtor but those who did were also satisfied with their Realtor’s performance:

57 percent of home buyers used a Realtor while 21 percent bought directly from the builder.

95 percent of buyers who used a Realtor were satisfied with the Realtor’s overall performance.

One-third of buyers who used a Realtor rated knowing the Realtor or having used them before as the most important reason for choosing them.

94 percent of buyers were satisfied that they paid a fair price for the home they bought.
Nearly seven in 10 would use the same agent to buy another home.

A large and likely growing number of buyers and sellers are now using the Internet, meaning that real estate professionals will be increasingly challenged to add value for an increasingly knowledgeable and sophisticated customer base. Among sellers who used the Internet, 40 percent rated HAR.com as the most important Web site in their home selling process. Sellers who used the Internet were much more likely to be satisfied with their Realtor’s performance.

Home buyers also found the Internet to be a useful tool, especially for their research needs; 81 percent used the Internet to learn more about area home prices. Three-quarters of the buyers expected to use the Internet during their next home purchase.

Buyers and sellers also ranked timely responses from their Realtor as a top priority. More than half of the buyers and sellers expected their Realtor to respond to communications within two hours.

The HAR 2005 survey is the first in a planned regular series of studies, designed to help Houston-area real estate professionals track consumer attitudes and experiences over time. HAR commissioned the CPP to develop two survey questionnaires, one for home buyers and one for home sellers, which were then given to consumers who bought or sold a home in Houston during 2004 and 2005.

To develop the survey pool, HAR provided the CPP a list of more than 60,000 individuals who had recorded residential property transactions at local courthouses during an 18-month period. The CPP drew a random sample from this list and matched telephone numbers with the names and addresses selected. The CPP then pre-tested the survey instruments and made final modifications before going into the field December 1, 2005, and completing interviews nine days later.

The CPP conducted interviews with 224 persons who had purchased homes. Another 181 persons were interviewed who said they had sold a home. These interviews were done by the Survey Research Center at the CPP, under the direction of Dr. Richard Murray. For samples of this size (224 and 181), the standard error was approximately +/- seven percent.

Founded in 1918, the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) is a 23,000-member organization of real estate professionals engaged in every aspect of the industry, including residential and commercial sales and leasing, appraisal, property management and counseling. It is the largest individual membership trade association in Houston, as well as the second largest local association/board of Realtors® in the United States.