At their recent convention and expo in Las Vegas, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) released the 2007 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Each year NAR conducts an extensive survey among people who have either sold or purchased a home during the previous year.

During the early years of the survey the results often revealed both surprises and changes in behavioral patterns. Those mostly had to do with changes being brought about by increased use of the internet. In 1999, for example, only 2 percent of buyers surveyed found the home that they ultimately purchased on the internet. In 2007, that number is 29 percent.

In 2003, 42 percent of buyers said that they used the internet frequently during their search for a home, by this year that percentage has risen to 60 percent.

In many respects, though, over the last three or four years there have been fewer surprises. The trends seem pretty well set. At a time when buyers are scarce and listing inventories have grown, sellers and their agents would do well to pay attention to those trends.

This year approximately one-third of all homebuyers began their search by going to the internet. Approximately 20 percent began by contacting a real estate agent. As always, buyers used multiple sources of information. The internet and real estate agents were sources of information for 84 percent of buyers. 50 percent consulted newspapers and 59 percent looked for yard signs. Only 9 percent used television as a source of information.

The frequency with which various information sources were used varied considerably. 66 percent said they used the internet frequently, while 64 percent received information from a real estate agent frequently. 25 percent looked for yard signs frequently, and 17 percent consulted newspapers frequently. Only 16 percent visited open houses frequently.

Among those information sources, 78 percent felt the internet very useful and 70 percent thought real estate agents to be a very useful source of information. Notably, among internet users, 84 percent found that photos on websites were very useful. 82 percent believed it was very useful to have detailed descriptions on the website. Opinions of other sources of information (e.g. signs, open houses, print ads) as being very useful drop down to 29 percent and below.

While homebuyers use a variety of information sources and have varying opinions about the usefulness of those sources, certainly the most significant sources would be those through which buyers actually found the home that they purchased. At the top of that list are real estate agents -- 34 percent first learned of the home that they bought through a real estate agent. Running a close second was the internet, where 29 percent of buyers first learned of the home that they purchased. The third most significant source? Yard signs. 14 percent of buyers learned of their new home by seeing a yard sign. Newspaper ads accounted for 3 percent, and open houses were responsible for less than 1 percent.

The average length of time that buyers searched for a home was 8 weeks, a number that has remained steady over the past few years. When the home is found, most purchase through a real estate agent. Even though many may first find the home that they buy on the internet, 82 percent of internet users used an agent in their purchase.

So, what are the lessons for those who want to sell their homes? Get an agent and put the property listing in the multiple listing service where other agents will learn about it. 34 percent of buyers will find their home through an agent. Make sure the home is advertised on websites that allow for plenty of pictures and detailed descriptions. 29 percent of buyers will find their home on the internet. Put up a yard sign. 14 percent of buyers will find their home that way. And ask your friends, neighbors, and relatives to tell people about it. Another 8 percent of buyers find their home that way.