Where Do Home Buyers Get Information?
Homebuyers are big on information. Where did buyers find out about the homes they bought?
- Real Estate Agents
- Internet
- Newspaper classified advertising
Notice how the internet is becoming more and more important.
| Source | 1995 | 1997 | 1999 | 2003 | 2006 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Real Estate Agent | 86% | 82% | 80% | 86% | 85% | 85% | 87% |
| Newspaper Advertisement | 51% | 51% | 43% | 49% | 55% | 47% | 40% |
| Internet | 2% | 18% | 37% | 65% | 80% | 87% | 90% |
| Yard Sign | 37% | 38% | 36% | 69% | 63% | 62% | 59% |
| Homes & Land Magazine | 30% | 34% | 29% | 35% | * | * | 26% |
| Open House | 41% | 39% | 28% | 35% | 47% | 42% | 46% |
| Friends/Neighbors | 29% | 24% | 24% | 8% | 7% | ||
| Builders | 15% | 9% | 10% | 37% | 8% | 9% | 18% |
| Television | 8% | 6% | 5% | * | * | 8% | |
| Real Estate Phone Hotline | 4% | 4% | 3% | * | 7% | * | |
| Relocation Company | 4% | 4% | 2% | 14% | * | * | 4% |
| Yellow Pages | 1% | 1% | 1% | * | * | * | |
| Knew the Seller | 6% | 6% | 5% | 22% | * | * | * |
*undetermined
In July 2009, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® mailed an eight–page
questionnaire to 120,038 consumers who purchased a home between July 2008
and June 2009. The survey yielded 9,138 usable responses with a response rate,
after adjusting for undeliverable addresses, of 7.9 percent. Consumer names and
addresses were obtained from Experian, a firm that maintains an extensive database
of recent home buyers derived from county records. Information about sellers comes
from those buyers who also sold a home.
