I’m pretty sure that we all believe that we have a good handle on how our local real estate markets work. Most of us have a very good grasp of what it takes to find homes for our buyers and also to help our sellers market their homes.
But, in my mind, I have always had this little nagging thought of what am I missing? What else should I know? To satisfy that need I have relied on NAR’s annual survey’s and subsequent reports. In support of that I have urged all of my readers to get their hands on those reports as they are published each November.
Recently I spent much of an afternoon with industry expert Larry Knapp (http://www.lknapp.com/) who told me about a report put together by the Zillow Group that does substantially the same thing as the NAR surveys.
What sets this report apart is that is was done by a non REALTOR® organization. In other words it was done by a business and not a trade organization.
Here is the table of contents of the report:
Today’s Home Buyer
Buyer Characteristics & Considerations
Searching & Shopping Resources
Snapshot: The Many Faces Of Homeownership
Home Selection & Purchasing Factors
Financing & Lender Decisions
The Multifaceted Millennial
Today’s Home Seller
Seller Characteristics & Considerations
Listing & Selling Process
Snapshot: Selling Above List Price—What Works
Research & Selling Resources
FSBO Sellers
Families and Homeownership
Today’s Homeowner
Homeowner Characteristics & Considerations
Home Improvements & Updates
Snapshot: The Drive To DIY
Refinancing & Lender Decisions
Looking Ahead & Next Steps
Today’s Renter
Renter Characteristics & Considerations
Searching & Shopping Resources
Snapshot: Long-Term Renters
Rental Selection & Leasing Factors
There are some interesting differences in what Zillow has found out about agent selection as compared to what NAR has said about that in last year’s report. Zillow also has a very interesting take on what it takes to sell above list price! These are just a few of the nuggets that I found in the report.
All in all, this is a very good investment of your time!
You can access the report here: http://www.zillow.com/research/zillow-group-report-2016-13279/
