Economists' Outlook

Housing stats and analysis from NAR's research experts.

Highlights From The Newly Released 2011 NAR Profile Of Home Buyers And Sellers

The 2011 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers was released on Friday, November 11 at the 2011 Realtors® Conference & Expo in Anaheim, CA. The 2011 edition is the latest in a long-running series of large national NAR surveys evaluating demographics, preferences, marketing and experiences of recent home buyers and sellers. Some highlights from this year's publication:

  • Demographics of home buyers is the biggest change from 2010. The median age of buyers jumped to 45 years old from 39 years old.
  • Only 10% of recent sellers sold via FSBO. 87% of recent sellers sold through a real estate agent or broker.
  • The top reason among sellers to sell their home was a job relocation, at 17% of all sellers, up from 9% in 2006.
  • The typical home seller lived in their home for 9 years - a number that has consistently increased in recent years.
  • About 9 in 10 recent home buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker.
  • Over one-third of home buyers look online at properties for sale as their first step in the home buying process.
  • The 2011 report saw the highest share of married couple home buyers since 2001, and the lowest share of single females since 2004.
  • The income of home buyers rose with tighter underwriting. The median income of buyers in 2011 was $80,900. This is up from $72,200 in 2010.

For more information on the Profile, click here. To read the press release, click here.

Notice: The information on this page may not be current. The archive is a collection of content previously published on one or more NAR web properties. Archive pages are not updated and may no longer be accurate. Users must independently verify the accuracy and currency of the information found here. The National Association of REALTORS® disclaims all liability for any loss or injury resulting from the use of the information or data found on this page.

Advertisement