As Mayor of the Big Apple from 1978-1989, Ed Koch approached every New Yorker with the same question throughout his career: “How’m I doin’?” For him, it was important to know where he stood with those he served and equally important for them to know he cared enough to ask.

Well that’s the same theory behind our annual survey of consumers in Wisconsin, which we conducted in mid-December, where we asked the general public about attitudes toward homeownership, REALTORS^® and key public policy issues. The results were presented and discussed by the WRA board of directors at its January meeting in Madison.

So, how’re we doin’?

As REALTORS^®, we know homeownership is the primary way most Americans — particularly the middle class — build wealth. The public agrees. When given the statement, “Homeownership is one of the few ways people like me have to build personal wealth,” 71 percent of consumers agreed, and 31 percent agreed strongly. That’s the good news. But when we looked deeper into those who strongly agreed with that statement, older respondents agreed much more than younger ones. Only 18 percent of 18-24 year olds said they strongly agreed. That number improves slightly with age, with 19 percent of those 25-34 years old, and 28 percent of 35-44 year olds saying they strongly agreed. Contrast that to those respondents 65 and older, 45 percent of whom agreed strongly. Income data in the survey also reveals that 41 percent of 25-34 year olds have incomes between $50,000 and $100,000, but fewer than one in five agree strongly that homeownership is a way to accumulate personal wealth. Perhaps with age comes more homeownership experience, more disposable income and more favorable credit scores, but it’s clear that explaining the benefits and paths to homeownership to younger consumers should be a REALTOR^® priority.

The public also shares our view that the quality of life is better in neighborhoods where most people own their homes:

• A whopping 83 percent of the public agrees with that statement, 52 percent of those agree strongly. 
• Men strongly agree more than women, 59 to 47 percent respectively.
• People living in northeastern Wisconsin (61 percent) strongly agree more than those living in South Central Wisconsin (40 percent). 

This doesn’t mean renting is bad — just that most people believe homeownership entails a vested interest that adds value to neighborhoods.
That value is also translated into the public’s view of the positive impact homeownership brings to schools. Seventy-three percent of the public agrees (41 percent strongly) that the quality of schools improves in neighborhoods where most people own their homes. Seventeen percent somewhat disagree, and only 3 percent strongly disagree with that statement.

Finally, on the value of homeownership, 67 percent of consumers think there are fewer problems with crime and public safety in neighborhoods with more homeowners; 35 percent strongly agreed with that statement. More men (43 percent) strongly agreed with this statement than women (28 percent). 

Of those consumers who have bought or sold a home, we asked a series of questions regarding their experience(s) with REALTORS^® during the transaction. An impressive 85 percent of these respondents described their experience with a REALTOR^® to be either very positive (51 percent) or somewhat positive (34 percent). But despite respecting and valuing REALTORS^®, nearly half the consumers are not using REALTORS^®, with 54 percent reporting they used a REALTOR^® to help with the sale/purchase of their home, but 45 percent said they did not.

And the younger the consumer, the less likely they were to have used a REALTOR^®: 64 percent of respondents 55 years and older said they used a REALTOR^® with the sale/purchase of their home, but only 37 percent of those aged 25-43 years old said they used a REALTOR^®.

Amplifying the important issue of customer loyalty, we asked those who bought or sold more than one home if they used the same REALTOR^® for each transaction — 79 percent said no. Why?

• 34 percent said their original REALTOR^® was not available.
• 25 percent said they wanted someone more familiar with the area they wanted to move to.
• 17 percent said the new REALTOR^® was recommended by a friend or relative. 
• 8 percent said they thought they could do better with a different REALTOR^®.
• 3 percent said they wanted a better price for the service they received. 

Perhaps most curious were the 18 percent of respondents who said they weren’t sure why they didn’t use their original REALTOR^® again. 

When asked about the challenges and opportunities facing Wisconsin over the next several years, respondents ranked the following issues as essential and urgent:

• Education of our children (65 percent).
• Jobs and the economy (54 percent).
• Controlling government spending (51 percent).
• Controlling government regulations (35 percent).
• Reducing property taxes (31 percent). 
• Reducing income taxes (27 percent).
• Improving lending practices (25 percent).

The survey yielded much more data on these and other issues, including public perceptions on key WRA legislative priorities as well as opinions on several charitable causes the Wisconsin REALTORS^® Foundation plans to support. We will spend the next several months carefully analyzing these responses and using this data to better inform our deliberations, decisions and actions. 

Like Mayor Koch, our strength and standing as an association relies in large measure on our ability to honestly understand, reflect and represent the general public we serve. And to do this, we need to regularly ask them, “how’re we doin’?”