Profile of Home Sellers in 2021 - How Did They Sell a Home?

The 2021 Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers is the 40th anniversary of the first National Association of Realtors report. The 2021 report is unusual because it is the first full year in which buyers and sellers purchased or sold during the COVID-19 pandemic, in what turned out to be a record setting year.

Long Beach Spanish bungalow

As discussed in the buyer post, this was based on a survey of homesellers' experience.

The median stay in a home in 1985 was just five years, in 2021 the tenure in a home decreased to eight years (from previous year high of ten years).  (This is based on national data, some areas such as Southern California have been more than 8 and 10 years).  Tightened inventory saw sellers getting 100% of their asking price (and more) in one week or less.  Nationally, the median home equity at time of sale was $85,000 in 2021, compared to $66,000 in 2020, a significant increase.

• The typical homeseller age was 56.
• Of all homes sold, 69 percent did not have children under 18 residing in the home. 
• Eight-nine percent of sellers identified as White or Caucasian, 
• The share of first time homesellers was 32 percent, and only 6 percent of all sellers did not plan to sell the previous home.
• Thirty-eight percent of the homes sold in 2021 were located in the South region, 24 percent were in the Midwest region, 22 percent were in the West region, and 15 percent were
  in the Northeast.
• The majority of homes sold were single family homes (78 percent).
• Forty-six percent of sellers traded up to a larger size home, and a majority of sellers purchased a home in the same state.
• The over 65 age range downsized to a home 100 square feet smaller.
• Buyers (former sellers) in the 35-44 age group bought the most expensive trade-ups by an increase of $101,000.
• Sellers said they wanted to move closer to family, especially those who moved the greatest distance.

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  Time on Market - Sales vs. List Price

  
  

  Ninety percent of all sellers worked with a real estate agent, while FSBO sales were below the historic norm at 7 percent.
• Less than 1 percent of sellers used an iBuyer program to sell their home.
• Ninety-six percent of sellers working with an agent did not know the buyer.
• Across all regions, the final sales price was a median 100 percent of the final listing price, the highest recorded median since 2002.
  
• Sellers in home 21+ years had 162 percent equity.
• Client referrals and repeat business were the ways seller found their real estate agent.

For a more extensive review of selling and marketing your home, please contact me -- I'm a broker with more than 25 years in the real estate business of helping buyers and sellers.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996