The 2004 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, based on transactions from mid-2003 to mid-2004, is the latest is a series of surveys evaluating marketing, demographics and other characteristics of home buyers and sellers. Survey results provide interesting information about everything from first-time homebuyers to how people traditionally select a Realtor to help with the transaction.

David Lereah, National Association of Realtors chief economist, said the market share of first-time buyers has been stable since 1993.

"Strong activity by entry-level buyers has provided solid and substantial growth to the housing market over the last decade," Lereah said. "The demographics of our country favor this trend going forward because echo-boomers, the children of the baby boom generation and almost as large, will be in the prime years for buying a first home for the next decade. These findings demonstrate a fundamental underlying demand that will be driving the housing market at a higher plateau for the foreseeable future."

The typical first-time buyer is 32 years old, has a household income of $54,500 and makes a down payment of 3 percent on a home costing $139,000. The typical repeat buyer is 45 years old with a household income of $79,100 and places a down payment of 22 percent on a home costing $209,000. In all, 94 percent of buyers believe their home purchase is a good financial investment.

The level of for-sale-by-owners hasn't changed since 2003, with 14 percent of sellers conducting transactions without the assistance of a real estate professional. But the market share of those selling their own homes has fallen from a cyclical high of 18 percent in 1997. Thirty-two percent of sellers who sold their home without a real estate agent knew the buyer in advance, meaning that about one-third of for sale by owner transactions are not placed on the open market.

The median selling price of a home sold directly by an owner was 15.4 percent less than agent-assisted transactions. "It appears that sellers wanting to save money by not using an agent may be losing money in lower sales prices, despite the fact many homes (sold by their owner) might be smaller," Lereah said.

The survey found that some of the biggest problems for homes sold by their owners was getting the right price, prepping the home for sale, and understanding and completing paperwork. Half of those who sold their own homes said they would sell their current home without the assistance of an agent in the future, while 34 percent were unsure of what they'd do.

When buyers are ready to purchase a home, they go about finding a Realtor in mostly traditional ways with 44 percent getting referrals from a friend, neighbor or relative, 13 percent using an agent from a previous transaction, and 8 percent through contact information on a "for sale" sign. Seven percent found an agent on the Internet, 6 percent met at an open house, and 5 percent walked into a real estate office or were referred by another agent or broker. Five other categories accounted for smaller shares each.

The most important factor in choosing an agent was reputation, according to 42 percent of buyers, followed by that agent's knowledge of the neighborhood, 24 percent. Of buyers who use an agent, 64 percent choose a buyer representative.

Satisfaction with real estate agents is very high, with knowledge of the purchase process, knowledge of the local market, knowledge of the local area, people skills, and responsiveness each generating responses of "very satisfied" by eight out of 10 buyers. Eighty-four percent said they were likely to use the agent again or recommend theirs to others.

Seller responses were fairly comparable, with eight out of 10 selling through a real estate agent. Thirty-eight percent chose agents based on a referral by a friend, neighbor or relative, and 31 percent used the agent previously. Fifty-four percent said reputation was the most important factor in selecting an agent, followed by their knowledge of the neighborhood, 19 percent. Eighty-two percent said they were likely to use the same agent again or recommend to others.

Married couples continue to dominate the housing market, accounting for 62 percent of transactions through the first half of 2004. Single women purchased 18 percent of homes while single men made up only 8 percent of the market. Unmarried couples were 9 percent, and 2 percent were listed as other.

The typical buyer walked through nine homes, searched eight weeks to buy a home and moved 18 miles from their previous residence, while the typical seller placed a home on the market for four weeks, had lived in that home for six years and previously owned three homes, including the one just sold.

Existing homes are the lion's share of the market, accounting for 79 percent of transactions, while new homes make up 21 percent of purchases. These ratios differ from analysis of market share using statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau because that data does not include homes built on contract, which are not counted as new-home sales by census.

When asked where they first learned about the home purchased, 38 percent of buyers said a real estate agent, 16 percent a yard sign, 15 percent the Internet, 7 percent from a friend, neighbor or relative, 7 percent from a home builder, 5 percent from a newspaper ad, 5 percent knew the seller, and 2 percent from a home book or magazine. Other categories totaled 4 percent.

Eighty-one percent of Internet searchers used a real estate professional in purchasing a home, compared to 66 percent of non-Internet users. "Clearly, there is a lot of great information available to buyers on the Internet, but they look to real estate agents and brokers for context, advise and negotiation," Lereah said.