RE/MAX hot air balloon, photo by Rona Proudfoot.
Industry research shows satisfied sellers
J.D. Power and Associates’ fourth annual Home Buyer/Seller Study polled home sellers, discovering that although satisfaction of buyers dropped a bit, overall satisfaction of sellers rose 4.9% over the last year, a substantial increase given the troubled national market.
Satisfaction was determined by examining four factors of home selling; agent/salesperson; marketing; office; and variety of additional services.
The greatest gains were won in the marketing category, pointing to improved sentiment toward how their home is being marketed. Consumers were also pleased with the variety of additional services and office factors, but satisfaction with their agent/salesperson took a small dip.
RE/MAX wins with sellers
Taking the top spot for overall satisfaction of home sellers in 2011 is RE/MAX, with particularly high marks in the agent/salesperson and office categories. Prudential and Century 21 both performed very well, with scores barely trailing RE/MAX.
The residential real estate sector has been hard hit in 2011 with some economists predicting that the bottom hasn’t been hit. The National Association of Realtors today released their forecast for 2011 and 2012, painting a picture of slight optimism. Regardless of economic factors, Realtors and real estate brokerages are polling better in 2011.
According to J.D. Power and Associates, the 2011 Home Buyer/Seller Study includes more than 4,200 evaluations from more than 3,680 respondents who bought or sold a home between March 2010 and April 2011. The study was fielded between March and May 2011.
What we found most interesting is that RE/MAX took the top spot with sellers, but also won the top award for buyers. Given that marketing was the top compliment given by sellers in 2011 for the industry overall, the math would lead you to believe that the top winner with the most satisfied sellers could be providing the top marketing to sellers.
One alternative is that the rise in digital marketing is helping sellers to see and feel the actual impact of real estate marketing efforts, as many are now less fuzzy and more quantifiable.
It remains unseen how 2012 will perform, but with the potential for an improving economy, signs are positive.
Darren Copeland
July 28, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Sellers are more satisfied because agents are still doing an excellent job with their selling experience. Buyers however, are still having a hard time with mortgage loans, making their experience much more difficult.