Move, Inc.’s Mark Allen addresses crowd of PA Realtors®

Mark Allen, the vice president of industry relations at Move, Inc., recently addressed a crowd of Realtors® at PAR’s Fall Business Meetings.

Mark Allen

In his presentation, Allen discussed news in the real estate industry, including prices, millennial buying and how consumers are finding Realtors®.

First, comparing to June 2014, listing prices rose 6 percent in June 2015. Median list prices are widespread, said Allen, who pointed out that it is now cheaper to buy in four out of five counties.

However, 16 percent of zip codes are priced out of the range of the median income, he said.

And while it’s long been said that millennials aren’t buying, Allen said that is “totally untrue.”

“The vast majority of millennials want to own a house. The biggest issues for first-time home buyers are time, supply and down payment,” he said. He added that there is a strong correlation of millennial home ownership with an affordable market.

Allen also discussed where buyers are willing to compromise. Across the board, the vast majority of buyers were not willing to budge on location, instead choosing to compromise on price of home, size of home and condition of home.

“Consumers want to use Realtors®,” said Allen. In a recent survey, only 9 percent did not use a Realtor® in their last real estate transaction, and of that 9 percent, 44 percent knew the home buyer. Eighty-eight percent of both buyers and sellers used a Realtor® in their last transaction, he said.

And how are consumers finding their Realtors®? Of buyers, 40 percent were referred to the agent, and 12 percent had priorly used the agent. Of sellers, 38 percent were referred, and 22 percent had previously used the agent.

For buyers, the majority, 67 percent, only interviewed one Realtor®, and 20 percent interviewed two. For sellers, 70 percent only contacted one Realtor®. Allen stressed the importance of returning phone calls and e-mails to potential clients as quickly as possible, as evidence shows they are most likely to go with their first contact.

Online reviews of Realtors® are gaining momentum as a way to research a Realtor®. Of those surveyed, 43 percent did not read online recommendations and would not consider it. However, 38 percent who did not review online recommendations would consider it for a future transaction. Ten percent reviewed online recommendations, and it influenced their choice of agent. Nine percent who reviewed online recommendations, said it did not influence their choice of agent.