The recently released National Association of REALTORS Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2013 yielded a variety of interesting facts.
When polling consumers about their home-selling experience, the NAR learned that:
• Almost half of home sellers traded up to a larger size and higher priced home and 59 percent purchased a newer home.
• The typical seller lived in their home for nine years. The median tenure has increased in recent years. In 2007, the typical tenure in home was only six years.
• Eighty-eight percent of sellers were assisted by a real estate agent when selling their home.
• Recent sellers typically sold their homes for 97 percent of the listing price, and 47 percent reported they reduced the asking price at least once.
• Thirteen percent of recent sellers had to delay or stall selling their home because the value of their home was worth less than their mortgage.
• Thirty-six percent of sellers offered incentives to attract buyers, most often assistance with home warranty policies and closing costs
• The NAR’s feedback from For-Sale-by-Owner (FSBO) Sellers indicates that:
The share of home sellers who sold their home without the assistance of a real estate agent was nine percent. Forty percent knew the buyer prior to home purchase.
• The primary reason that sellers choose to sell their home without the assistance of a real estate agent to a buyer they did not know was that they did not want to pay a fee or commission (46 percent).
