Seattle Housing Buzz

The Washington Realtor Association recently surveyed home buyers throughout the state and compiled some interesting results.

Home buyers typically purchased a home within 13 miles of their current residence, averaging 1,790 sq ft with a median price of $300,000.

• Of homes purchased, 72% were single family dwellings and 25% were new construction.
• First-time buyers accounted for 41% of all homes purchased in 2007. They had a median income of $54,700 and their median age was 31 years. Nearly half of first-time buyers were between 25 and 34 years old.
• Of all buyers, the median household income was $73,900 with a median age of 38 years.
• Demographically, 63% were married couples, 21% single females, 6% single males and 9% were unmarried couples. (Don’t know who the other 1% were, though.)
• Seventy-six percent of buyers between 18 and 24 purchased a home out of a desire to own and establish a household.

Technology-wise, 73% of buyers began their home search online while 14% of first-time buyers and 22% of repeat buyers began their search by contacting an agent.

• However, 91% of all buyers utilized the internet at some point to search for homes.
• Interestingly, 37% reported they first learned of the home they purchased through the internet while 30% said their Realtor located the property for them.
• The typical internet searcher was 38 years old and visited a median 12 homes. The typical buyer who did not utilize the internet was 49 years old and only saw a median 4 properties.

Real estate agents assisted 85% of buyers who purchased a home.

• Though, buyers tended to search for homes for two weeks before contacting an agent.
• During the home search process, 72% of buyers indicated their agent was a useful information source.
• Of qualities important in selecting an agent, 98% of buyers stated honesty and integrity were most important. When asked to rate their agent’s performance on those qualities, 87% indicated they were “very satisfied”.
• And, 68% of buyers stated they would use their agent again.

Tags: Home Buyer, Home Search, Seattle Real Estate