We have noted that The 2005 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers contains valuable information for sellers and their agents as to how buyers find the homes that they ultimately buy. The profile also contains valuable and interesting information as to how both buyers and sellers find the agents that they ultimately use.

Seventy-seven percent of buyers used an agent to find the home that they bought. (12 percent purchased directly from a builder, and 9 percent bought directly from an owner.) Of that 77 percent, how did they find the agent that they used?

Not a lot of "agent shopping" takes place among buyers. Sixty-four percent interviewed only one agent, 20 percent interviewed two. So how do you get to be on the interview list? Referrals are far and away the dominant factor. 44 percent of buyers chose to work with an agent who was referred to them by a friend, neighbors or relative (or who was a friend, neighbor, or relative). 11 percent of buyers chose to work with someone with whom they had previously bought or sold a home. The rest of the sources were all in single digits -- for example, 6 percent of buyers made contact with their agent as a result of the agent's name being on a 'for sale' sign.

This might seem like discouraging news for new agents. "What chance do I have of connecting with a buyer if I haven't already built a referral base and a list of past clients?" But there are, just as there always have been, other ways of coming into contact with buyers who may choose to work with you. Some ways work better than others.

7 percent of buyers found the agent they used as a result of an open house. Another 7 percent found their agent through an internet site. Interestingly, only 4 percent found the agent that they worked with as a result of walking into or calling an office and meeting the agent who was on duty at the time.

Moreover, agents who want to get connected with buyers can prepare themselves so that it is more likely to happen. 59 percent of buyers said that what they wanted most was "help finding the right home to purchase" and 92 percent said that knowledge of the real estate market was a very important quality for an agent to have. That is, buyers want agents who have product knowledge -- agents who know the market and the inventory. An agent who can impress a buyer with his knowledge of the market (not just his company's listings, or the particular house she is holding open) is the one who stands a good chance of establishing a relationship with that buyer who walks into the open house or makes a call to the office.

Sellers are even more likely than buyers to work with an agent. 85 percent sold their homes through an agent. But they do even less "agent shopping" than buyers. 74 percent interviewed only one agent, 17 percent interviewed two. Again, referrals and past business relationships were the dominant sources of agent contact. 43 percent used an agent referred by a friend, relative, or neighbor (or who was one of those). 28 percent employed an agent with whom they had previously bought or sold a home.

After those two, the other contact sources drop into single digits. Interestingly, compared to buyers, internet sites only account for 2 percent. Again, there are venues that agents who lack a referral or past client list might want to think about. Open houses account for 4 percent of the contacts that eventuate into a working relationship with sellers. Newsletters and personal contact together account for 7 percent. There's still a point to knocking on doors and sending out mailers.

Would-be listing agents would do well to note that the most important factor -- 57 percent -- in choosing a seller's agent was reputation. Sure, it's nice to have a track record of sales activity. But there are other aspects to reputation as well. Things like attitude and integrity are also components of one's reputation. Agents who want to be referred should pay attention to such things.

Published: April 26, 2006

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Bob Hunt is a director of the National Association of Realtors and is author of the recently published book, "Real Estate the Ethical Way." A graduate of Princeton with a master's degree from UCLA in philosophy, Hunt has served as a U.S. Marine, Realtor association president in South Orange County, and director of the California Association of Realtors, and is an award-winning Realtor. Contact Bob at .