For Immediate Release:
February 21, 2008
NJAR® UNVEILS 2007 PROFILE OF NEW JERSEY
HOME BUYERS AND SELLERS
SURVEY SHOWS MOVEMENT IN THE 2007 REAL ESTATE MARKET
(Edison, NJ) According to the 2007 Profile
of New Jersey Home Buyers and Sellers, home
sales in New Jersey were healthy last year.
The survey conducted by the NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION of REALTORS® (NAR) on behalf of
the New Jersey Association of REALTORS® (NJAR®)
found that the typical home was only on the
market for 10 weeks and sellers typically
sold their homes for 97 percent of the
listing price, while 37 percent of people
did not reduce their asking price before
their home was sold.
"Even though the housing market is in
transition, this survey clearly indicates
that there was still movement in the market
last year," said 2008 NJAR® President Drew
Fishman, CRS. "Every market is different but
for the most part home sales throughout New
Jersey are stable and right now is an
excellent time to buy. If people are looking
to build their long-term wealth they should
consider purchasing a home today because
there are high inventories of homes for sale
and very favorable interest rates."
The report also shows that consumers have
come to depend on the expertise of real
estate agents to guide them through real
estate transactions. The survey found that
76 percent of home buyers used a real estate
agent or broker to purchase their home and
89 percent of sellers were assisted by an
agent or broker during the sales process.
"Buying or selling a home is often one of
the most important financial decisions a
person makes in his or her lifetime,"
Fishman said. "This survey is evidence that
the majority of consumers find the services
offered by real estate agents to be
invaluable. People have come to depend on
agents to help navigate them through real
estate transactions."
The report found that more than 9 out of 10
buyers ranked honesty and integrity as a
"very important" factor in choosing a real
estate professional to assist them. When
asked about their agent's performance on
qualities they viewed as important, 85
percent of buyers reported they were "very
satisfied." Reputation was the most
important factor for sellers when selecting
an agent (27 percent)
"The survey indicates that real estate
professionals in New Jersey are providing
high levels of service to meet the demands
of their clients," added Fishman. "In fact,
a majority of buyers and sellers reported
that they would definitely work with their
agent again.""
The report showed that 66 percent of recent
buyers would definitely use their agent
again, and an additional 20 percent would
probably use their agent again or recommend
him/her to others. Among sellers, 62 percent
would definitely use the same real estate
agent for another transaction. Furthermore,
nearly 6 out of 10 sellers reported that
they were very satisfied with the selling
process.
Additionally, the survey found that the
typical home buyer searched for a home for a
median of 12 weeks and saw a median of 12
homes. The typical home seller owned their
home for 7 years and a majority of sellers
traded up to a larger home when purchasing
their next home (52 percent).
The data in the 2007 New Jersey Profile of
Home Buyers and Sellers is based on the
responses of 257 New Jersey consumers drawn
from the 2007 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and
Sellers. To view a summary of the report,
visit NJAR®'s website at
http://www.njar.com/research_statistics/pdf/2007HomeBuyersSellersSummary.pdf.
The New Jersey Association of REALTORS® is a
non-profit organization serving the
professional needs of more than 55,000
REALTOR® and REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® members in
the state. REALTOR® is a registered
collective membership mark which may be used
only by real estate professionals who
subscribe to the REALTOR® organization's
strict Code of Ethics and are members of the
national, state and local REALTOR®
organizations. For more information, please
visit www.njar.com.
# # #