At a time when real estate companies should be at the top of their game,
sellers are less happy with them than in the past, due to the tough housing
market.
Buyers, on the other hand, are happier with real estate companies than
they were in the past, reflecting the preponderance of buyer's markets
around the nation.
J.D. Power and Associates' "2010 Home Buyer/Seller Study", in its third year,
measures customer satisfaction of home buyers and sellers with the largest
national real estate companies.
For the home selling experience, J.D. Power examines four factors; the agent or
salesperson; marketing; the real estate office; and the variety of
additional services.
For the home buying experience, satisfaction is determined by examining
three factors: the agent or salesperson; the real estate office; and the
variety of additional services.
On a scale of 1,000 (100 percent satisfied), overall satisfaction among
home sellers declined by 40 points from an average 782 in 2009 to 742 in
2010. Satisfaction decreased in all four factors. The largest declines were
in marketing and the variety of services.
Among home buyers, overall satisfaction improved by 12 points
from an average 791 in 2009 to 803 in 2010. Increased satisfaction with
agents and sales people drove up the score.
The study, conducted from April to May of 2010, includes more than 3,000
evaluations from respondents who bought or sold a home between March 2009
and April 2010.
"Among both home buyers and home sellers, the importance of agents and salespersons
has increased substantially in 2010, compared with 2009," said Jim Howland,
senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power
and Associates.
"Buyers are increasingly relying upon negotiating skills of agents and
seem to be satisfied with the purchase prices they are obtaining. Despite
the fact that selling agents appear to be doing a good job of negotiating
and marketing on behalf of home sellers, the tough economic conditions are
negatively impacting their overall satisfaction with real estate companies,"
Howland added.
On the company level, home sellers were most satisfied with Prudential,
which scored 760, performing best in the marketing and real estate agent
categories. Prudential was the only company to improve in home-seller
satisfaction in 2010, compared with 2009. Following Prudential in the
rankings were Keller Williams (751), RE/MAX (744), Coldwell Banker (743) and Century 21 (727).
Among home buyers Keller Williams was tops for a third consecutive year,
scoring 817. Buyers were most satisfied with Keller Williams' agents and
real estate offices. Following Keller Williams was Prudential (811),
Coldwell Banker (805), RE/MAX (801), Century 21 (798), ERA (785), and
GMAC/Real Living (765).
Monday: How to choose a real estate agent.
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