The National Association of REALTORS® had an article dated January, 2006.  This information was gathered as a result of 145,000 questionnaires being mailed out to people across the country who bought homes from August, 2004 to August, 2005.

Nine of ten buyers used a real estate agent to help them purchase a home.

77% of buyers used the internet to search for a home in 2005.

People looking online are more likely to use a real estate agent than people who don’t use the internet to search for homes.  81% of people using the internet to look for homes also used a real estate agent to help with the purchase.

For home sellers, those who used an agent to list the home got an average of 16% more money for the home when it sold compared to people who sold eithout an agent.

Realtor.com, closely followed by local MLS sites were used by most people when looking for homes.  Over 50% of people looking online used those sites.  Real estate company sites followed at 38% and 31% used agent sites.

OK, it is obvious that the internet is a very important part of home buying these.  However, it is also very interesting to see how many people use agents even when looking around on their own.  The internet is a very powerful tool in the sense that people can find all kinds of information.  People can find homes for sale, tax information, school and neighborhood information and a lot more.  What they can't find is what an agent can provide.

 

What an agent brings includes the ability to search the MLS for comparable homes that have sole recently.  It is difficult to know what kind of an offer to make if you don't know the real market conditions.  Sold data can tell an agent what is going on.  In addition to making a better offer, an agent has access to all of the state mandated contracts and addenda.  An agent will also have access to home inspectors and lenders.  A good Buyer's Agent will be aboe to guide the buyers through the process to make sure they are covering all the bases, from when the contract is signed all the way through to closing the deal.

 

So what about sellers - why should they use an agent to list and market the home?  Again, an agent can access the MLS to help determine the best price for the listing.  Referenced previously was the fact that people using an agent to help sell get more for the home.  A tech savvy agent can also make sure the listing gets maximum exposure over the internet.  When I list a home, it goes on to over a dozen national websites and 277 local ones.

 

For anyone buying or selling homes in Austin, Texas, I hope this information is helpful.