OUGD504 - Studio Brief 2 - Secondary Quantitive Online Research & Analysis

Buyer Statistics

• First-Time vs. Repeat Buyers:
  • First-time buyers: 32%
  • Median age of first-time buyers: 31
  • Median age of repeat buyers: 53
  • Median household income of first-time buyers: $69,400
  • Median household income of repeat buyers: $98,700
• The typical home purchased in 2014 was 1,900 square feet in size, was built in 1991, and had three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
• Among those who financed their home purchase, buyers typically financed 90% of the home price.
• 87% of buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker
• Buyers who definitely would use same agent again: 72%
• Where buyer found the home they purchased:
  • Internet: 44%
  • Real estate agent: 33%
  • Yard sign/open house sign: 9%
  • Friend, relative or neighbor: 6%
  • Home builder or their agent: 6%
  • Directly from sellers/Knew the sellers: 2%
  • Print newspaper advertisement: 1%

Source: 2015 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

• 78% of home buyers surveyed in NAR’s 2013 Community Preference Surveyresponded that neighborhood quality is more important than the size of the home.  57% would forego a home with a larger yard in favor of a shorter commute.
• NAR’s 2013 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences found that the feature that had the highest dollar value buyers were willing to pay more for was a waterfront property.  53% of home buyers undertook a home improvement project within 3 months of buying, typically spending $4,550 in improvement projects.

Seller Statistics

• The typical home seller in 2013 was 54 years of age, had a median household income of $104,100, and lived in their home for 9 years.
• 89% of sellers were assisted by a real estate agent when selling their home.
• Recent sellers typically sold their homes for 98% of the listing price, and 43% reported reducing the asking price at least once.
• The typical home sold was on the market for 4 weeks.
• 42% of sellers who used a real estate agent found their agents through a referral by friends or family, and 24% used the agent they previously worked with to buy or sell a home.
• Sellers who definitely would use same agent again: 67%

Source: 2015 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

Comparisons & Analysis

It is noticeable that 5% more of sellers would not use the same estate agent again, this indicates that estate agents are more interested in helping the buyers, this could be due to staff commissions and to increase the amount of houses bought through their estate agents. Attempting to sway sellers to use my platform instead of estate agents would be a crucial component to the success of the project, after all, without houses up for sale on my platform, there is no reason for buyers to use my platform instead of using estate agents.

It is also notable that 44% of houses sold came through the internet which signifies the strength of online presence within the property market. This statistic is only increasing which suggests that the face to face process of finding a house is slowly dying out within society and things are moving more user independent.

One other statistic which stood out is the fact that 89% of sellers used an estate agent to assist with the selling process along with 87% of buyers using an estate agent or broker when buying a house. This demonstrates the reliance which society has on using estate agents within the buying and selling process. There is no reason that the process couldn't be streamlined into a simplified process which puts house buyers directly in contact with house sellers.