87 of buyers used an agent in purchasing their home. That number has increased steadily since 2001 when the figure was 69. 6 of buyers purchased directly from a builder, and 7 bought directly from an owner. Of the 87, how did they find their agent?
Not a lot of ldquo;agent shoppingrdquo; takes place among buyers. 68 interviewed only one agent, 18 interviewed two. So how do you get to be on the interview list? Referrals are far and away the dominant factor. 41 of buyers chose to work with an agent who was referred to them by a friend, neighbor, or >
This might seem like discouraging news for new agents. ldquo;What chance do I have of connecting with a buyer if I havenrsquo;t already built a referral base and a list of past clients?rdquo; Here, a new agent wants to remember that ldquo;friends, neighbors, or >
Moreover, there are, just as there always have been, other ways of coming into contact with buyers who may choose to work with you. Some ways work better than others.
5 of buyers found the agent they used as a result of an open house. Interestingly, only 1 found the agent that they worked with as a result of walking into or calling an office and meeting the agent who was on duty at the time. In general, ldquo;floor timerdquo; is not very productive.
Agents who do want to get connected with buyers can prepare themselves so that a contact is more likely to lead to a >
Sellers are just as likely as buyers to work with an agent. 90 of sellers had their home listed on MLS. But sellers, too, donrsquo;t do much ldquo;agent shopping.rdquo; Similar to buyers, 75 interviewed only one agent; just 13 interviewed two. Again, referrals and past business >
Other seller contact sources drop into single digits. Interestingly, compared to buyers at 9, only 4 of sellers found their agent through a web site. Again, there are venues that agents who lack a referral or past client list might want to think about. Open houses account for 4 of the contacts that eventuate into a working >
Would-be listing agents would do well to note that the most important factor ndash; 31 -- in choosing a sellerrsquo;s agent was reputation. Sure, itrsquo;s nice to have a track record of sales activity, but there are other aspects to reputation as well. 19 of sellers said that honesty and trustworthiness were the most important factors in considering an agent. Things like attitude and integrity are also components of onersquo;s reputation. Agents who want to build a business should pay attention to such things. Word gets around.
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