Buyers now have tools and applications that allow them to search by location, to get to know the neighborhood in detail. The online search allows you to compare available homes by characteristics and situations. And that information search process is done before contacting a real estate agent.
The main division that they make of the buyers, is for their belonging to each generation; To understand the data, we summarize the generations by the years of birth:
Generation – Birth date
Young Millenials Generation Y – 1990-1998
Greater Millenials Generation Y – 1980-1989
Generation X – 1965-1979
Young baby boom – 1955-1964
Older Baby Boom – 1946-1954
Silent generation – 1925-1945
Its main conclusions are:
- The buyer usually uses a mobile device to search for online properties. Search the homes for portals and real estate websites for information about the purchase process.
- After that first inspection, the buyer contacts a real estate agent and visits an average of 10 homes in about ten weeks before buying the home.
- 81% of Millennials and 78% of Generation X found their home with the help of a smartphone, compared with 68% of the baby boom generation.
- The main sources of information for homebuyers, in their initial process, were portals and real estate websites, real estate agents, and mobile applications.
- “Social media” is cited as the best source to generate high-quality leads, according to real estate professionals.
First Steps Of The Home Buying Process
- 98% of Millennials searched real estate portals, compared with 72% of the Silent Generation.
- 57% of Generation X and older Millennials visit an open house.
- Baby boomers used a mobile phone only half the time of Millennials, a ratio similar to the use of videos to consume information.
Main Difficulties During The Purchase Process
- In the purchase process, the most common problems are paperwork and documentation, in addition to understanding all the necessary procedures, especially for Millennials.
- 31% of older Baby Boom, indicate that they do not find difficult steps in the purchase process, compared with only 8% of Millennials.
Main Features Of Real Estate Websites
92% of the websites have property listings, whether their own or a shared portfolio, with the MLS to which they belong.
That percentage increases in companies focused on the residential market.
76% of real estate websites show a list of their agents and profiles. More than half add comments and testimonials from their customers.
The buyer’s profile is that of someone who wants:
- become independent or form a family home,
- reside in neighborhoods or downtown areas of cities or municipalities,
- in second-hand properties,
- small in size and
- for a price that ranges between 125,000 and 150,000 euros.
On the other hand, second-home buyers are between 45 and 55 years old, and in most cases, they are couples looking for a home with higher benefits, greater comforts, or holiday residences.
Preferred Communication
- 93% of real estate agents prefer to communicate with their clients by telephone or instant messaging, 92% by email, while only 27% use postal mail.
- The real estate professionals who most use a blog for their activity are those between 30 and 39 years old; 12% of them manage their own blog.
