The Real Estate Deal
Editor Cindy Zetts dishes on real-estate and development around Puget Sound: She lived in apartments, townhomes and houses -- a dozen of them in four states -- before settling in the Seattle area in 1997. After taking a bath on the sale of her first home, in South Florida, she vowed to wise up about real estate. She bought a house in Covington 10 years ago because, well, she could afford one there.
November 10, 2008 1:57 PM
Realtors roll out home-sales stats
Posted by Cindy Zetts
From reporter Elizabeth Rhodes, at the National Association of Realtors conference in Orlando:
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The National Association of Realtors is big into collecting statistics. Here are some fresh ones it rolled out at its current convention in Orlando, based on a national survey of 133,000 buyers and sellers involved in home transactions between July 2007 and June 2008:
-- Six percent of buyers purchased a home in foreclosure, up from 1 percent in the previous annual survey. Thirty-eight percent considered buying a foreclosure but said they couldn't find the right house.
-- Ninety percent of buyers were eco-conscious and wanted their home to be be environmentally friendly. In particular, they wanted evergy-efficient heating, cooling, appliances and lighting in that order.
-- Commuting costs really got buyers' attention, with 41 percent sayng they were very important and 39 percent saying they were somewhat important.
-- Buyers hunted for homes a median 10 weeks and viewed 10 homes before buying.
-- Was it a good investment? Nearly 9 out of 10 said so, with almost half considering it a better bet than stocks. (This survey was done before the recent stock market turmoil. If buyers were asked now, it's probably a safe bet their answer would be different.)
-- The typical repeat buyer was 47, or 17 years older than the typical first-time buyer.
-- The typical repeat buyer earned $88,000 and bought a $236,000 home.
-- Among first-time buyers, the median income was $66,000. The home cost $165,000.
-- The median age of sellers was 47; their median income was $91,000.
-- Forty-two percent of sellers offered incentives, such as help with closing costs, to attract buyers.
-- The typical home sold for 96 percent of list price.
-- Three quarters of sellers were married couples. They had been in their home six years.
-- Fifty-two percent of sellers bought larger homes; 22 percent were downsizing. The rest, apparently, bought about the same size home, just in a different location.
Dec 1, 08 - 02:41 PM
Real-estate outlook: Is the glass half-full, half-empty or broken?
Dec 1, 08 - 01:39 PM
Lower mortgage rates means "it's a great time to buy," loan officer says
Nov 26, 08 - 07:00 PM
Real-estate facts and figures: What a week
Nov 20, 08 - 02:18 PM
Happy holidays: Fannie, Freddie postpone foreclosures until next year
Nov 20, 08 - 02:00 PM
Comptroller: Community Reinvestment Act didn't cause credit crunch

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