What Buyers Want: Top Home Preferences
Daily Real Estate News | August 7, 2007
— REALTOR® Magazine Online


Excerpts from original article. See Related Link for FULL article ...


More home buyers want extra garage space with two or more spaces in their homes, according to the “2007 Profile of Buyers’ Home Feature Preferences,” which was released Tuesday by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.


NAR's latest home buyer preference survey, which reports responses from buyers who purchased homes in 2006, asks buyers about the importance of 75 home features and room types. What They're Shopping For ...


Air conditioning: three out of every four respondents surveyed ranked this as “very important.”
Master bedroom walk-in closet: 53 percent of buyers rated this as an important feature in a home.
Hardwood floors and granite countertops: each gained 7 percentage points in popularity since the 2004 survey; 28 percent and 23 percent, respectively, of buyers labeled these home features as very important.
Cable/satellite TV-ready: 46 percent, a growth of 6 percentage points from the 2004 survey, said this was important.
Energy efficiency: especially among new-home buyers — 65 percent of new-home buyers said energy efficiency home features are very important compared to 39 percent for buyers of existing homes.


Regional Preferences


. What home buyers want in the South, however, is not always what buyers in the West want. The survey identified some of the following regional preferences in home features:
. Home buyers in the South and Midwest viewed central air conditioning as a priority, with 91 percent and 81 percent, respectively, saying this feature was very important.
. Sixty-six percent of buyers in the South thought a walk-in closet in the master bedroom was very important, while 61 percent of Midwesterners valued an oversized garage.
. In the Northeast, the highest percentage of buyers placed a premium on a backyard or play area (53 percent), followed by central air conditioning at 41 percent.
. Two-thirds of buyers in the West want oversize garages (66 percent), followed by central air conditioning at 59 percent.


Fixing up the Nest


According to the survey, nearly six out of 10 recent home buyers took on remodeling or home improvement projects within three months of their purchase. Close to half of home buyers who remodeled or made improvements updated their kitchen, and nearly half remodeled or improved their bathroom.


Generational Differences

Age was the biggest differentiation in what buyers were looking for in a home. Buyers 75 years old and older wanted a single-level home (74 percent) that was less than 10 years old (43 percent) with a walk-in closet in the master bedroom (74 percent).


On the other hand, most buyers between the ages of 25-34 wanted a backyard or play area (60 percent).


More than half of buyers over 65 wanted a separate shower enclosure in the master bathroom, compared to only one-fourth of buyers ages 25-34.


Also, older buyers placed a higher priority on energy efficiency home features than did younger buyers — 63 percent of buyers 75 and older said it was very important, but only 32 percent of buyers who were 18-24 agreed.



Home Growth

Overall, the survey also revealed that while homes are getting bigger, the number of bedrooms is shrinking. From 2004 to 2006, the size of the typical home purchased increased by about 100 square feet to 1,840 square feet, while the median number of bedrooms dropped from four to three during that same period.


Real estate practitioners see hundreds, if not thousands, of houses with their buyer clients every year and know exactly what buyers are looking for in a home, says NAR President Pat V. Combs. “This insight is one more way REALTORS® add value to the real estate transaction,” Combs says.


See Related Link for FULL article ...

6 Incentives to Attract Buyers to Your Listings
Source: MarketWatch, Amy Hoak (07/15/07)
Daily Real Estate News | July 17, 2007


Flashy buyer incentives — such as a new TV or car — may entice some buyers, but bottom line perks are more likely to close a sale, say experienced real estate professionals.


Here are the six most common buyer incentives in today's market:


1. Reduce the price. "The price is something that is a common currency — it appeals to everybody," says Gene Rivers, who owns four Keller Williams offices in Florida.


2. Pay points. One point is 1 percent of the loan amount, charged as prepaid interest. Sellers can pay these points on behalf of the buyer, so for the first year or two, the buyer has a lower mortgage payment.


3. Assist with the down payment. First-time buyers without enough money for a down payment appreciate this kind of assistance.


4. Pay closing costs. Closing costs generally add up to somewhere between 2 percent and 7 percent of the loan value, according to Freddie Mac. Buyers who are stretching to make a down payment like this type of help.


5. Add a home warranty. A residential service contract is some insurance that the buyer won’t encounter high repair costs in the first year or two of home ownership.


6. Pay home owner association fees or pool maintenance. Paying these kinds of predictable maintenance costs at the beginning can be a nice welcome to the buyer when money will be tight.

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How to Grow Your Leads in a Slower Market
Source: Inman News, Glenn Roberts Jr. (07/09/07)
Daily Real Estate News | July 10, 2007


Experts note that the housing downturn means real estate agents need to focus more of their efforts on marketing, especially online.


Point2 COO Brendan King suggests putting rich content on the Internet — including a multitude of property photos — and allowing consumers to decide when to contact the agent for further information.


"I say put the data out there in the places that people are looking, track the analytics, build a model based on their online activity and then give them information about what the model tells you they are interested in," says King, who discourages requiring consumers to register to view the data.


Rusty Lindquist, a la mode's vice president of agent and broker products, recommends that real estate professionals put aside a little bit of every commission they collect for marketing expenses. He notes that keyword marketing to boost search-engine rankings is both affordable and effective — especially for those who have narrowed their marketing focus to a particular niche or neighborhood.


Lindquist underscores the importance of responding to all leads, even those that are not likely to convert to closed transactions in the near future. "Keep the consumer in control — let the consumer control their timetable," advises Matt Heinz, HouseValues Inc. senior marketing director.

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