With low interest rates, strong demographics, and pent-up demand, the median home price increased 21.6 percent, from $370,000 in 2002 to $450,000 in 2003. The rate of home-price appreciation is consistent with California market conditions over the past two years.

Why are people selling their homes? Sellers primarily indicated that they sold their home because of a change in their housing needs, such as the desire for a larger home (56 percent) or the desire for a different location (24 percent). Changes in family status accounted for 10 percent of all responses. Job changes fell in importance as a reason for selling a home, down from 18 percent last year to 11 percent in 2003. This may be attributed to the lack of activity in the labor market over the past year, both within California and across the nation.

Most sellers (96 percent) took the traditional route of employing a real estate agent to perform their home-sale transactions. Sellers generally used an agent with whom they had previous business (38 percent) or an agent they identified through literature (25 percent) and "For Sale" signs (15 percent). The share of home sellers who used the Internet to search for their agent increased from 9 percent in 2002 to 12 percent in 2003.

Usage of the Internet by sellers lags behind that of buyers. According to a separate companion study of buyers, 45 percent of homebuyers used the Internet as a part of their home-buying process, nearly four times the usage rate of sellers.

When sellers were asked about communicating with their real estate agent, more than four out of 10 (43 percent) home sellers expected their agents to respond to them within the same day, while 14 percent of them would like their agents to get back to them instantly. Sixteen percent believed the response time should be within two hours, and 13 percent thought it should be within four hours.

Of the services provided by agents, home sellers placed the highest value on "marketing and showing the home," followed by "negotiating the transaction" and "setting the price."

Although the condo and townhouse market has grown in the past couple years, single-family detached homes continued to dominate home sales in California. According to the study, 91 percent of the properties sold were single-family detached homes, while about 10 percent were condominiums and townhomes.

Consistent with the home sellers' statistics in year 2002, most respondents in 2003 were experienced home sellers. The number of experienced home sellers increased slightly, from 79 percent in 2002 to 85 percent in 2003, while first-time home sellers dropped from 21 percent in 2002 to 16 percent in 2003. Home sellers, in general, were older than home sellers in 2002, with a median age of 46, compared to 43 in 2002. Median household income was also larger in 2003 ($126,470) than in 2002 ($117,149).

The housing market continued to boom in 2003. Although home sellers' changing needs were the driving force behind homeowners' motive to sell, they also faced an unprecedented opportunity to reap significant gains in their home sale, because of large, demand-driven price increases in the past several months.

Home sellers, in general, were satisfied with their agent's services. They consider negotiating the transaction as one of the most important services an agent provides. Real estate agents also performed well during the sale process in their communications with clients. Home sellers, on average, received communication from their agent every five days and expected agents to respond to them within 24 hours. In general, agents were able to either meet or exceed home sellers' expectations.

Despite the fact that many sellers were aware of their agent's online presence, most preferred to communicate with their agent via traditional means. Although the Internet has slowly increased its popularity as a research tool for home sellers over time, almost all home sellers still relied on real estate agents to help them sell their home.

Realtors can use the results of the survey to tailor their service to meet the needs of the consumer. Most importantly, when it comes to selling a home, it pays to find a knowledgeable and professional Realtor to help with the transaction.