Any industry pros out there that may be nervous about soon becoming obsolete can sleep easier tonight. Results from a recent Harris Insights housing consumer study shows a massive 90 percent of consumers surveyed use real estate agents to buy and sell their homes.
The study was last done in 2014 and these results are up 5 percent from then, and 9 percent from a 2001 study.
Underwritten by the California Association of REALTORS®, The CE Shop and REAL Trends, the study surveyed 1,000 people who had either bought or sold a home in the last six months.
Major findings include:
Millennials rely on agents. Rumor has it that millennials rely so heavily on technology that they consider real estate agents unnecessary. Well, this study disproved that gossip; 91 percent of respondents aged 18 to 34 used agents in their real estate transaction. That number is comparable to the habits of Gen Xers, aged 35 to 44 years old, who weighed in at 94 percent.
Baby boomers rank lowest. Surprisingly, it's the older generations that abstaining from hiring agents. Just 81 percent of baby boomers aged 55 and older reported using a real estate agent—still a respectable number overall, but lower than their younger peers.
Smarty pants pick agents. Consumers that have attained higher levels of education prefer working with agents. The survey revealed that 94 percent of those with a college degree used agents, whereas those with only a high school diploma were 83 percent likely to use an agent.
The higher the income level, the higher the chance of using an agent. The survey showed that those with higher incomes are more likely to work with an agent. Around 79 percent of those earning $50,000 a year or less used an agent, while consumers who made between $75,000 and $100,000 used agents in 98 percent of the cases.
Tech matters, too. Even though most consumers still choose to work with an agent, the report showed that 92 percent of consumers browse websites for information about real estate agents, with millennials using websites 96 percent of the time. This means agents should not skimp on their online presence—it could very well make or break your client appeal.
To read the study's full findings, click here.
Nancy M. Alexander - Stone Harbor and Avalon NJ Real Estate NancyAlexander.com
