11/15

This year has certainly been an adventure for all of us in real estate, but we’re grateful for all of you who choose to take this ride with our team every day. 

As a thank you – or an early present – we wanted to alert you to new data from the National Association of REALTORS® and its 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. While the first half of 2022 was certainly different from the second half, it’s important to use all of the data you can to become even stronger in the future. 

Here are some of the most interesting findings in the report. 

• First-time buyers made up 26% of buyers so far in 2022, down from last year’s 34%. This is the lowest share of first-time buyers since the data collection began. Furthermore, first-time homebuyers were older this year. The typical first-time buyer was 36 years old this year, rising from 33 in 2021.
• Nearly all buyers (96%) used online tools during their search process, and for almost half of them (46%), looking for a home online was the very first step of their journey. 
• An overwhelming number of buyers are using a real estate agent – and reporting high satisfaction with the experience. A total of 86% of buyers recently purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker and 89% of buyers would use their agent again and/or recommend their agent to others. (86% of sellers also report using a seller’s agent.)
• Speaking of referrals, 12 percent of buyers used an agent they used before, and more than a third of buyers used someone who was referred to them by a family member or friend. That means half of buyers used an agent either they already knew or who knew someone they trusted. Another interesting stat? Two-thirds of buyers only interviewed one agent. 
• On the seller side, almost two thirds of people reported using a listing agent who they worked with before or who was personally referred to them. Most sellers also said they have given a referral for their agent since selling their home, and a whopping quarter of sellers surveyed said they recommended their agent four or more times since selling their home.

The main takeaway from all of this data? Almost all buyers or sellers benefit from working with a real estate agent. And two things for our agent friends to note:  Having a solid online presence and making sure your referral game stays strong will remain essential in 2023, no matter what the market has in store for us.  We know we work with some of the best real estate professionals around, and others should, too!