2013 SURVEY OF CALIFORNIA HOME SELLERS

Methodology Telephone surveys conducted in August/September of 600 randomly selected home sellers who sold in the past 6 months. Maximum sampling error: ±4.0 percent at two standard deviations (a 95% confidence level). (Subsets of the total sample will have a higher sampling error.)

ABOUT THE SELLER

The Typical Seller 56% female 46 years old 36% white 48% married 97% household income >$75k 65% repeat sellers

Majority of Sellers are Females

Females Hold Majority Q: Your Gender

Median Age: 46 Q: What is your age?

Sellers Are Getting Older Q: What is your age?

Gen X and Y Dominate Seller Population Q: What is your age?

Minorities are the Majority Q: How would you describe your ethnic background?

Ethnic Background

Most Sellers are Married Q:What was the marital status the head of your household at the time of the sale?

Household Income Q: Which of the following categories best describes your total annual household income from all sources?

Annual Household Income

First-time Sellers Q: Was this your first experience in selling a house?

Length of homeownership surged Implication: Sellers who bought during the peak decided to sell as price increases minimized losses Q: Length of time home was owned prior to sale.

Length of Ownership Spiked Q: Length of time home was owned prior to sale.

Moving up is #1 Reason for Selling Q: Why did you sell your home? *Affordability problems include: couldn’t afford mortgage, moved to less expensive market, loss of household income, income not keeping up with expenses, monthly payment went up, new job paid less, needed to move to less expensive residence.

“Moving up” is #1 Reason for Selling in 2013 Q: Why did you sell your home? *Affordability problems include: couldn’t afford mortgage, moved to less expensive market, loss of household income, income not keeping up with expenses, monthly payment went up, new job paid less, needed to move to less expensive residence.

“Financial Difficulties” was #1 Reason for Selling in 2012 Q: Why did you sell your home? *Affordability problems include: couldn’t afford mortgage, moved to less expensive market, loss of household income, income not keeping up with expenses, monthly payment went up, new job paid less, needed to move to less expensive residence.

Moving up is #1 Reason for Selling for Both First- Time Sellers and Repeat Sellers Q: Why did you sell your home? *Affordability problems include: couldn’t afford mortgage, moved to less expensive market, loss of household income, income not keeping up with expenses, monthly payment went up.

Most Sellers Currently Own Q: Do you own or rent your current home?

More Sellers Are Repurchasing

Short Seller Are More Likely to Rent Q: Do you own or rent your current home?

Most Sellers Own Q: Do you own or rent your current home?

Sellers Are Optimistic About Future Home Prices Q: Do you think home prices in your neighborhood will go up, down, or stay flat?

Sellers More Optimistic About Future Home Prices Q: Do you think home prices in your neighborhood will go up?

ABOUT THE HOME

More single family homes were sold Q: What type of home was it?

Average Type of Home over the years

Most Homes are Primary Residence Q: What type of occupancy was it?

Equity Sales Make up the Majority of Home Sales Q: Was the home sold as a short sale?

Average Sale Price is 9% Lower than the List Price Q: What was the initial listing price of your home? Selling price?

Average Listing Price vs. Average Sale Price

Percentage Difference of Average Sale Price vs. Listing Price Over the Years

THE SELLING PROCESS

Average Home Owner Considered Selling More than a Year Before Actually Doing So Q: How long did you consider selling before actually doing so?

Average Months Owner Considered Selling Home in the Past

Most Important Websites for Sellers Q: What was the single most important web site you used in your home selling process?

Most Important Websites for Sellers (Top 3)

Half of All Homes Were on the Market Longer than 6 Months Q: How many weeks was your home listed on the market prior to the opening of a successful escrow?

Half of All Homes Were on the Market For Less than 6 Months Q: How many weeks was your home listed on the market prior to the opening of a successful escrow?

Decline in Average Weeks on Market Reflects Tight Inventory Q: How many weeks was your home listed on the market prior to the opening of a successful escrow?

More than ¾ of Sellers Closed Escrow Within 60 Days Q: How long was your home in escrow?

Average Days in Escrow Q: How long was your home in escrow?

Most Escrows Don’t Close on Time Due to Loan Problems 57% Trouble with buyer loan approval 23% Loan didn’t fund on time 13% Paperwork not completed on time 10% Title company late with recording 9% Lender didn’t approve terms, price Q: Why did your escrow not close on time?

¾ of Homes Fell Out of Escrow at Least 3 Times Q: How many times did your home fall out of escrow?

The Average Home Fell Out of Escrow 2.9 Times

98% of Sellers Received Multiple Offers Q: How many offers did you receive from buyers?

Sellers Received 5.9 Offers on Average Q: How many offers did you receive from buyers?

What Sellers Would Change About the Sale Q: If there was one thing you could change about your recent home sale, what would it be? Improve agent communication (40%)Sell for higher price (39%)Market property more aggressively (5%)Get agent to respond faster(4%) Initial listing price closer to what it would sell for (4%)

SELLERS WORKING WITH AGENTS

More than Half of Sellers Found Agent Online Q. How did you find your real estate agent?

Over ¾ of Sellers Interview at Least 3 Agents Q: How many agents did you interview prior to selecting the agent you used in your recent home selling process?

Sellers Interview More Agents Q: How many agents did you interview prior to selecting the agent you used in your recent home selling process?

Reason Seller Selected Agent Appeared most responsive (29%) Used agent before (19%) Appeared most aggressive (18%) First agent to response (12%) Most qualified (8%) Q: What was the single most important reason for selecting the agent you used in your recent home sale?

More than Half of Sellers Google their Agents Q: Did you Google your agent?

1/3 of Seller Initially Listed their Home With Another Agent Q: Did you initially list your home with an agent other than the one with whom you sold it?

More Sellers Initially Listed Home With Another Agent Q: Did you initially list your home with an agent other than the one with whom you sold it?

More Sellers Initially Listed Home With Another Agent Q: Did you initially list your home with an agent other than the one with whom you sold it?

1/3 of Sellers Changed Agents Lacked Negotiating Skills Not strong in negotiating (35%) Poor communication (31%) Not aggressive (25%) Q: Why did you start with one real estate agent and change to another?

Response Time is Most Important in Agent Selection Category First agent to respond to my inquiry/quickest response time Agent offered the best deal, lowest commission rate Agent offered best marketing proposal Agent was a REALTOR®N/A Agent was the most knowledgeable in the market area where the property was located 3.8 Agent's knowledge of handling foreclosures, short sales, other distressed properties Agent was referred by relative/friends/co-workers Q: Please rate the following factors by their importance in your decision on selecting the agent you used for your home selling process on a scale from 1 to 5, where 5 is “Extremely important” and 1 is “Not at all important”.

Agent Satisfaction Ratings Relatively Unchanged Category Marketing the home Setting the price Preparing the home for sale Assuring the buyer is qualified Value received for what you paid your real estate agent Negotiating the transaction3.0 Overall satisfaction with the real estate agent Overall satisfaction with the home selling process Q: Please rate your degree of satisfaction with your agent for each of the following aspects on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is least satisfied and 5 is most satisfied.

Seller Satisfaction Declining

Seller Satisfaction with Agent is Correlated to Sale Price 1. Negotiated good deal (57%) 2. Got best price (48%) 3. Worked hard on seller’s behalf (39%) 1. Ineffective communication (54%) 2. House took too long to sell (39%) 3. Slow response (34%) Q: Please explain why you had that level of satisfaction with your agent.

COMMUNICATION

Most Sellers Used Social Media Q: Did you use social media in the home selling process?

Agent / Seller Communication Gap in Telephone & Text Message Q: What was the actual method of communication used most frequently with your agent? Q: What was your preferred method of communication with your agent?

The Communication Gap Widens With the Generations Q: What was the actual method of communication used most frequently with your agent? Q: What was your preferred method of communication with your agent?

96% of Sellers Expect Response Within 1 Hour Q: On average, what was the ACTUAL 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 with you?

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

Seller Advice to Agents 59% Improve communication speed 49% Sell home faster 42% Negotiate more aggressively 29% Improve communication quality 26% Listen to needs better Q: What advice would you give to real estate agents to improve the process or level of service?

FINANCING

Most Sellers had Non-traditional Loans Q: What type of mortgage did you have?

Fewer Sellers Had Adjustable Loans Q: What type of mortgage did you have?

Most Sellers Did Not Tapped Into Their Equity Q: At the time of your home sale, was any portion of your outstanding mortgage balance due to a cash-out refinance?

More Sellers Tap Into their Home Equity Q: At the time of your home sale, was any portion of your outstanding mortgage balance due to a cash-out refinance?

Most Sellers Considered Strategic Default Q: As you may be aware, some home owners decided to stop paying their mortgages because their home value was lower than the balance on their loan. This is known as strategic default. Did you consider a strategic default?

More Sellers Considered Strategic Default Q: As you may be aware, some home owners decided to stop paying their mortgages because their home value was lower than the balance on their loan. This is known as strategic default. Did you consider a strategic default?