Reflective of the real estate buyers’ market conditions in many regions in the U.S., satisfaction with real estate companies among home buyers has improved from 2009, while satisfaction among home sellers has declined, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Home Buyer/Seller Study.
The study, now in its third year, measures customer satisfaction of homebuyers and sellers with the largest national real estate companies.
Overall satisfaction among homebuyers averages 803 on a 1,000-point scale in 2010-increasing by 12 points from 2009. This improvement is primarily driven by increased satisfaction with agents and salespersons. In contrast, overall satisfaction among home sellers has declined by 40 points from 2009 and averages 742 in 2010. Among home sellers, satisfaction has decreased in all four factors, with the largest declines observed in marketing of the home and the variety of additional services offered.
“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.”