2013 Survey of California Home Buyers

Survey Methodology 1,400 telephone interviews conducted in March 2013 Respondents are home buyers who purchased in previous 6 months Maximum sampling error: ±3.5% at two standard deviations (a 95% confidence level). (Subsets of the total sample will have a higher sampling error.)

About the Buyer

Typical 2013 California Buyer

Buyer Gender Remains a Fairly Equal Male/Female Split

Average Age: 38 Q. What is your age?

Percentage of Younger Buyers Drops

Buyers Age Rises Slightly

Minorities are the Majority Q. How would you describe your ethnic background? Black 8% Hispanic 26% Filipino 4% Indian 8% Other 1% Chinese 4% Other Asian 7%

Ethnic Background of Buyers Resembles CA Population *Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2011 American Community Survey

Singles Made Up 37% of Buyers in 2013

More than Half of Buyers have College Degrees Q. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Most Buyers are Well Educated

Nearly 2/3 of Buyers have an Annual Household Income > $100K Q. Which of the following categories best represents you total annual income from all sources?

Buyers’ Annual Household Income Remains Steady Q. Which of the following categories best represents you total annual income from all sources?

Residence Location

Geographical Distribution of Purchases has Remained Steady

The Buying Experience

Median Distance from Previous Residence: 27 Miles Q. How many miles away was your previous residence from the home you bought?

Half of Buyers Were Previous Owners Q. What was the living arrangement immediately before your recent home purchase?

More than 7 out of 10 1 st -time Buyers Were Renters Q. What was the living arrangement immediately before your recent home purchase?

More Buyers Owned Previous Residence

Decision Factors

Average Buyer Spent 6 Months Considering Purchase Before Contacting Agent Q. How many weeks did you consider buying a home before contacting a real estate agent? (Asked if agent was used)

Buyers Spending More Time Considering a Purchase Before Contacting Agent Q. How many weeks did you consider buying a home before contacting a real estate agent? (Asked if agent was used) Average Weeks

Average Buyer Investigates Homes/Neighborhoods More than 9 Months Before Contacting Agent Q. How many weeks did you spend investigating homes and neighborhoods before contacting a real estate agent? (Asked if agent was used)

Buyers Spending More Time Investigating Homes & Neighborhoods Before Contacting Agent Q. How many weeks did you spend investigating homes and neighborhoods before contacting a real estate agent? (Asked if agent was used) Average Weeks

Average Buyer Searched for a Home for 2 Months with Agent Q. Once you found your agent, about how many weeks did you spend looking for a home with your agent? (Asked if agent was used)

The Home Search is Getting Lengthier Q. Once you found your agent, about how many weeks did you spend looking for a home with your agent? (Asked if agent was used)

All Buyers Viewed at Least 8 Homes Before Buying Average = 9 Homes Median = 10 Homes Q. How many different homes did you preview and visit with your agent prior to making a purchase?

Drop in Homes Viewed Reflects Tight Inventory Q. How many different homes did you preview and visit with your agent prior to making a purchase? Median

85% of Buyers Made Offers on Other Homes Q. How many offers did you make on other homes?

1/3 of Buyers Settled on Best Available Home Q. Are you satisfied with the home you purchased or do you feel like you selected the best option given the limited supply of homes?

Price Decreases Were Primary Reason for Buying Q. What were your main reasons for buying your home?

Buyers Didn’t Purchase Sooner Because… 48% Not many good housing options 37% Waited to see when prices would stabilize 28% Difficulty qualifying for mortgage 21% No real buying urgency 19% Need to accumulate adequate down payment 15% Wanted to wait until financial situation more solid 11% Needed to sell existing home Q. Why didn’t you buy a home sooner?

Average Buyer Plans to Keep Home for 6 Years Q. How long do you plan to keep the property?

Most Buyers Found Home through Agent Q. How did you find the home you purchased?

More Buyers are Finding Homes Online Q. How did you find the home you purchased?

Most Homes Were Listed on MLS Q. Was the home you purchased listed on a multiple listing service?

Buyers Optimistic About Long Term Direction of Home Prices Q Do you think home prices in the neighborhood where you purchased will go up, down, or stay flat … in one year, in five years?

Buyer Optimism About Future Home Prices Improved Q Do you think home prices in the neighborhood where you purchased will go up in one year, in five years?

Internet Use

Q. Did you use the Internet as an important part of your home-buying and selection process? Nearly All Buyers Use the Internet

Buyers Primarily Accessed Internet by Phone Q. How did you primarily access the internet during the home buying process?

Multitude of Mobile Device Uses 90% Access internet 78% Look for comparable prices 47% Search for homes 45% Communicate 44% S e a r c h w e b s i t e s, t a k e p h o t o s o f h o m e s / a m e n i t i e s / n e i g h b o r h o o d s 22% Research communities/neighborhoods 11% Create videos of homes, amenities, neighborhoods 10% Research agents Q. How did you use your mobile device in the home buying process?

Realtor.com & Zillow are Most Useful Websites in Buying Process Q. What was the single most useful website that you visited during your home buying process? Brokerage Agent

Top 3 Most Useful Websites Unchanged

Most Buyers Found Home on Realtor.com or Zillow Q. On which website did you find your home?

Realtor.com & Trulia Helped More Buyers Find Homes Q. On which website did you find your home?

Social Media Use on the Rise Q. Did you use social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) in your home buying process?

Social Media Used for Buying Tips & Neighborhood Info Q. How did you use social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) in your home buying process?

Buying Tips & Neighborhood Info Remain Popular on Social Media Q. How did you use social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) in your home buying process?

91% of Buyers are Receptive to Receiving Information via Social Media Q. How receptive would you be to receiving information about the home buying process directly from your real estate agent via social media? Rate how receptive you would be on a 1-5 scale, where 1 = “not at all interested” and 5 = “extremely receptive”.

Buyers Remain Receptive to Receiving Information Via Social Media Q. How receptive would you be to receiving information about the home buying process directly from your real estate agent via social media? (Scale: 1-5)

Financing

Majority Obtain Financing Q. Did you obtain financing for your home purchase?

Average Down Payment Remains Above 20% Q. What was your down payment for the home purchased, in percent of the home value?

Most Buyers Obtain Fixed Rate Loans Q. What type of loan do you have?

Fixed Rate Loans Remain Majority

85% of Loans are for 30 Years Q. What was the duration of your loan?

Buyers Continue Having Difficulty With Financing Q. Please rate how easy or difficult it was to obtain financing on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being very easy and 10 being very difficult.

Financing is Difficult to Obtain Q. Please rate how easy or difficult it was to obtain financing on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being very easy and 10 being very difficult. EASYDIFFICULT

Most Buyers Did Not Have Appraisal Problems Q. What, if any, problems did you have with the home appraisal when attempting to obtain financing?

What Buyers Would Change About the Home Buying Experience 1. Better Communication with agent (31%)2. Faster agent response (24%)3. Better agent negotiation (19%)4. Better market understanding (14%)5. Escrow close on time (7%) Q. If there was one thing you could change about the home buying experience, what would it be?

Buyer / Agent Relationship

Nearly All Buyers Use an Agent Q. Did you use a real estate agent in your home buying process?

Most Buyers Find Agents Online Q. How did you find your real estate agent?

More than 8 out of 10 Buyers Interviewed at Least 2 Agents Q. How many agents did you interview prior to selecting the agent you used in your recent home purchase?

Buyers Continue Interviewing Multiple Agents

Response Time is Important to Buyers in Selecting Agent Q. What was the single most important reason for selecting the agent that you used in your recent home purchase?.

More Buyers Google their Agent Q. Did you Google your agent…?

Gap in Phone & Text Communication Q. What was your preferred method of communicating with your agent? Q. How did your agent actually communicate with you?

Room for Improvement in Agent Response Time Q. What was the typical response time you expected from your agent to return any form of communication to you? Q. On average, what was the actual response time of your agent to return any form of communication to you?

Q. What was the typical response time you expected from your agent to return any form of communication to you? More Buyers Expect Instant Response from Agents

Agent Satisfaction Ratings Decline - Average Ratings on 1-5 Scale Your real estate agent’s negotiating skills Overall process of finding a home Overall satisfaction with your real estate agent Q. Please rate your degree of satisfaction with the following aspects of your home buying experience on a scale of 1-5, where 1 is “least satisfied” and 5 is “most satisfied”.

Buyer Satisfaction Continues Decline Q. Please rate your degree of satisfaction with the following aspects of your home buying experience on a scale of 1-5, where 1 is “least satisfied” and 5 is “most satisfied”.

Reasons for Satisfaction With Agent Q. Why do you have that level of satisfaction with your agent?

Reasons for Dissatisfaction With Agent Q. Why do you have that level of satisfaction with your agent?

Fewer Buyers Certain they Would Work With the Same Agent Again

Majority of Buyers Didn’t Rate their Agent, Yelp Was Most Popular Among those Who Did Q. Did you rate your agent on a public forum, like Yelp or Zillow? Q. (If so) On which platform did you rate your agent?

Buyers Need Most Agent Assistance in Price Negotiation Q. In which part(s) of the transaction did you need the most assistance from your agent?

Advice to Agents from Buyers Q. What advice would you give to real estate agents to improve the process or the level of service? Respond faster (54%)Communicate according to client preference (48%)Gain better market direction understanding (34%)Better communication (32%)Be savvier about distressed properties (9%)Have better understanding of interest rate direction (6%)Negotiate better (6%)