ERA Real Estate, a leading global real estate franchisor, recently conducted a survey of its brokers and agents to understand more about fall real estate activity in local markets. Results indicate that a combination of seasonal psychological mindsets are reflected in home buying behaviors during the fall in many markets across the country.

“As vacations wind down after Labor Day and people become more focused, the desire to be in a new home for the holidays is a historically strong driver of fall home sales,” said Charlie Young, president and CEO of ERA Real Estate.

Other findings from the survey include:

• The primary driver behind fall home sales is attributed to a “back-to-school” mentality, with 40 percent of respondents citing
•  the end of vacation season bringing a renewed focus on real estate.
• Emotional motivations play an important role in fall activity, with 20 percent of brokers and agents citing buyers’ desire to be in a new home for the holidays.
• Financial motivations are also at play with 10 percent of survey respondents citing a buyer’s desire to complete a home purchase by the end of the year in order to gain tax benefits associated with homeownership.

ERA survey results also indicate that fall activity is influenced by the local market mix. For instance:

• Vacation and resort markets typically don’t experience a fall selling season, but are instead more closely aligned to their busy tourist seasons. 
• Military markets typically see an uptick in activity in the fall, reflecting the prevalence of January 1 deployments.
• ERA brokers who serve corporate relocation clients also report increased activity annually in the fall.

According to ERA survey results, buyer mix during the fall typically consists of:

• 27% first-time homebuyers
• 20% move-up buyers
• 17% downsizing/retiring buyers
• 14% investors
• 11% military relocations
• 6% vacation home buyers
• 5%  other

Methodology: ERA Real Estate conducted an online survey of its brokers and sales professionals to understand seasonal fall activity in their markets.  The survey was fielded between from August 21-27, 2012 and the results are based on responses from 258 respondents across the country.