| • | Forty percent of homebuyers in Illinois purchased a home for the first time in 2001. |
| • | The median age was 36 years old; the median income was %65,600. |
| • | Sixty-seven percent were married. |
| • | The typical home purchased was an existing, single-family, detached house located in the suburbs. |
| • | The typical home search took six weeks. |
| • | Seventy-five percent of homebuyers used a real estate agent and/or broker to complete the home purchase transaction. |
| • | Sixty-seven percent said they would use the same agent again in a future transaction. |
| • | The survey indicates more are searching for homes online--54 percent said they find searching for a home online extremely valuable; 42 percent find it somewhat valuable and 2 percent find it not valuable at all. |
| • | Features found to be extremely valuable when searching on-line are (in order of importance): detailed property information, multiple photos, home addresses, map of home location and virtual tours. |
| • | Sixty-one percent of buyers felt the Internet shortened their search time. |
| • | Top Web sites viewed by buyers: realtor.com, 67 percent; real estate company site, 47 percent; real estate agent site, 26 percent; local real estate magazine site, 19 percent. |
| • | Information sources used by buyers in a home search: real estate agent, Internet, newspaper advertisements, home books/magazine, yard signs, open houses. |
| • | What buyers most want from a real estate professional: Help you find the right house to purchase. |
| • | Median number of homes that buyers walked through during a home search: 10. |
| • | Top factors that influenced the choice of home purchased: neighborhood, price, work, schools. |
| • | Who paid the real estate agent who represented the buyer: 66 percent seller; 14 percent buyer, 10 percent don't know, 8.7 percent buyer/seller. |
- NUMBER1EXPERTS™ 
