Between low prices and low interest rates, you would expect home buyer satisfaction to be high.  That’s generally true – but it’s not as high as it was in last year’s JD Power and Associates survey.  “There are still some challenges out there for the buyer.  Namely they have to get funds, they have to get a loan,” says Jim Howland, JD Power’s senior director of the real estate and construction practice.  “In many cases they are also selling a dwelling as well.  So, things generally aren’t rosy for all of them, even in this period.” 

While home buyer satisfaction is down, in the JD Power and Associates study, home seller satisfaction is up.  Higher scores for the so-called “marketing factor” account for the biggest gains.  “That’s any online marketing that was done, any open houses, in person, print, that kind of thing,” Howland says.

On JD Power’s 1,000 point scale, home buyer satisfaction comes in at 797, which is still higher than home sellers’ score of 779.  “RE/MAX ranked highest in both categories this time around, which is kind of a first for them, and a bit of news,” Howland explains.  However, the scores of all the top real estate companies are comparable.  This is the 4^th year for the JD Power and Associates Home Buyer/Seller Study.   

The JD Power study preceded this week’s news, from the National Association of Realtors that, that pending home sales were up for the second straight month.  However, that’s not enough to give analysts hope that the housing market is on the rebound.  Also, new numbers from Freddie Mac show average mortgage rates inching upward, but still just 4.55%.