33 'must-know' stats on real estate customers in 2011

Business consultant Matthew Ferrara & Company recently compiled a list of 33 “must-know” statistics about real-estate customers in 2011. The company encourages builders and real estate professionals to use this information to more effectively target their sales, marketing, and referral strategies.

The list — found on the company’s blog — is broken up into sections on buyers, sellers, and technology. Information was obtained from a variety of resources. A few of the key statistics in each category include:

Buyers
• 37 percent of recent buyers were first-time buyers, a drop from 50 percent in 2010
• The typical buyer was 45 years old, up from age 39 a year ago
• Buyers found real estate agents (83 percent) slightly more useful than the Internet (81 percent)

Sellers
• The average seller was a baby boomer (45-65 years old)
• Job relocation and the need for more space were the primary reasons people sold their home
• 61 percent of sellers were repeat clients or referrals from friends and family

Technology
• Gen X’ers (35-45) have doubled their use of social media since 2008
• 1 in 10 U.S. adults owns a tablet computer
• 200 million consumers access social media on their smartphones

To read the complete list of 33 must-know statistics, click here.