Realtors Remain Committed to Profession

NJAR PRESS RELEASE:
Survey Also Reveals REALTORS® Increasing Web Presence
(Edison, NJ) New Jersey REALTORS® are committed to the profession, according to results from a survey commissioned by the New Jersey Association of REALTORS® (NJAR®). The 2009 New Jersey Member Profile survey, found that 93 percent of REALTORS® are certain that they will remain active as real estate professionals during the next two years. The report also reveals other characteristics of New Jersey REALTORS® including their business activities, demographic characteristics and relationship to their firms.
“The nature of the real estate market is cyclical, but this research demonstrates that REALTORS® are dedicated to the profession and will remain a constant in providing vital services to New Jersey’s buying and selling public,” said NJAR® 2009 President Diane Dilzell. “New Jersey’s REALTORS® are confident that the real estate industry will play a key role in spurring economic recovery.”
The report found that the typical REALTOR® has been in business for nine years. Half of all REALTORS® in New Jersey have a bachelor’s degree or higher. It also shows that 31 percent of New Jersey REALTORS® hold a professional designation and 17 percent received specialized certifications, such as the Graduate REALTOR® Institute (GRI) designation, Certification for Internet Professionalism (e-PRO), or the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) sustainable property designation, GREEN.
“Not only are New Jersey REALTORS® educating themselves about the green movement in real estate, they are exploring new technologies and their impact on the industry,” added Dilzell. “This survey indicates that REALTORS® are recognizing the trends in web technology and are adapting to the preferences of their clients and the public at large.”
Thirty five percent of all REALTORS® in New Jersey actively use social networking websites. Fifty-four percent of REALTORS® have a website for business purposes; while 49 percent have had a website for at least five years. Eighty-nine percent of brokerage specialists posted their listings at www.REALTOR.com.
NJAR® connects with members and utilizes social networking and web tools to communicate news to REALTORS® and the public via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and SecondLife. More information is available at www.njar.com/connect.
Additionally, the 2009 New Jersey Member Profile found that REALTORS® typically work a median of 40 hours per week. The report also revealed that in New Jersey, 64 percent of REALTORS® are female, compared to 60 percent nationally, and the median age of REALTORS® is 54, which is the same as the nationwide median. A majority (86 percent) of REALTORS® specialize in residential brokerage.
This survey reflects characteristics of NJAR® members. The term REALTOR® identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the REALTOR® organization and pledges to uphold a strict Code of Ethics.
The survey was conducted by the National Association of REALTORS® on behalf of NJAR®. In February 2009, NAR mailed a 91-questionaire survey to a random sample of 54,140 REALTORS®. An identical questionnaire was also distributed to another group of 46,561 members via a Web-based online survey. A total of 8,113 responses were received. There were 423 unweighted responses from New Jersey, yielding a response rate of 3.6 percent, which form the basis of the report. For more information or to view a summary of the 2009 New Jersey Member Profile please visit www.njar.com/research_statistics/pdf/2009NJMemberProfileSummary.pdf.