I think sdrealtor has a point – as GOOD properties get more visibility, the price is driven up. As mentioned, kind of an ebay effect. Properties that have issues might get a slight bump – since the good properties act as comps.
As a woman who has purchased 3 houses – and was actively looking, and didn’t buy in another time – I used a full service realtor for 3 of these four searches. And I drove those realtor nuts. The first two times were in 1990 in WA state, and 1993 in PA. I drove the realtors nuts because I had a strict budget (far less than I qualified for) and wanted to see LOTS of properties. I was looking at older houses so I’d head to the basement first – to see the panel box. If it was old fuse style – with lots of DIY wiring, I’d walk right out of the house. Not a typical single female purchaser.
By 2000 I was married, expecting, and looking for a bigger house. Again, I wanted to see EVERYTHING – driving my realtor nuts. At the time realtor.com was big – and I’d call my realtor with listings that she hadn’t heard about. We ended up moving back to CA rather than buying… but it was an 8 month looking process. If we’d found the “just right” house, we would have bought it and stayed there.
The most recent purchase, in 2003, was a family purchase – no realtors, just a title/escrow company. So it doesn’t count.
I agree that in married couples – women drive the purchase decisions. But not all women are swayed by petunias and granite counters… Some ARE capable of looking at infrastructure and maintenance issues.
