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Profile of Home Buyers Finds Growing Internet Use

Results of a new survey released last week by the National Association of Realtors® show that 71% of home buyers during this year’s first quarter used the Internet to help search for a home.

This was up sharply from 41% during 2001, according to the Realtors®.

“Almost every home placed on the market today can be found on the Internet,” said NAR President Cathy Whatley, owner of Buck & Buck, Inc. in Jacksonville, “and more buyers than ever are using the Web to search for a home.”

She added that 90% of prospective buyers searching on the Internet used a professional real estate agent, compared to 79% for non-Internet users.

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Among the survey findings:

• Compared to non-Internet users, typical Internet users were younger (38 years old vs. 47) and had higher incomes ($70,700 vs. $56,300).
• Only 11% of those surfing the Web first learned about the home they bought on the Internet. However, this was an increase from 8% in 2001.
• Forty-one percent first learned about the home they bought from a real estate agent, while yard signs accounted for 16%. Newspapers, builders and a friend, neighbor or relative each accounted for 7%.
• Typical buyers walked through 10 homes and searched eight weeks to buy a home 10 miles from their previous residence.
• The typical seller placed a home on the market for five weeks and had lived in that home for six years.
• The median home size was 1,830 square feet, ranging from 2,000 square feet for a single-family house to 1,100 square feet for the typical condo in a larger multifamily building.
• Typical sellers bought homes that were 18% larger than their previous residences, although 29% bought smaller homes.
• Forty percent of all buyers were purchasing their first home, down slightly from 42% in 2001.
• The typical first-time buyer was 32 years old, had a household income of $54,800 and made a 6% downpayment on a home costing $136,000.
• The typical repeat buyer was 46 years old with a household income of $74,600 and placed a downpayment of 23% on a home costing $189,000.
• Thirty-seven percent of first-time buyers were single, compared to 28% of repeat buyers.
• Married couples accounted for 59% of home purchases, followed by single women (21%), single males (11%) and unmarried couples (8%).

The 2003 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers can be ordered by calling 800-874-6500. The cost is $50 for NAR members and $75 for non-members.

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