The 2011 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers was released on Friday, November 11 at the 2011 Realtors® Conference & Expo in Anaheim, CA. The 2011 edition is the latest in a long-running series of large national NAR surveys evaluating demographics, preferences, marketing and experiences of recent home buyers and sellers. Some highlights from this year’s publication:

• Demographics of home buyers is the biggest change from 2010. The median age of buyers jumped to 45 years old from 39 years old.
• Only 10% of recent sellers sold via FSBO. 87% of recent sellers sold through a real estate agent or broker.
• The top reason among sellers to sell their home was a job relocation, at 17% of all sellers, up from 9% in 2006.
• The typical home seller lived in their home for 9 years – a number that has consistently increased in recent years.
• About 9 in 10 recent home buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker.
• Over one-third of home buyers look online at properties for sale as their first step in the home buying process.
• The 2011 report saw the highest share of married couple home buyers since 2001, and the lowest share of single females since 2004.
• The income of home buyers rose with tighter underwriting. The median income of buyers in 2011 was $80,900. This is up from $72,200 in 2010.