This report was originally published on Oct. 28, 2024, exclusively for subscribers of Intel, the data and research arm of Inman. Subscribe to Inman Intel for a deeper analysis of the business of real estate.
It’s the most contentious U.S. presidential election cycle in recent memory — and the brokerage world is not immune from its impact.
As Intel examined last month, real estate agents have been tiptoeing around uncomfortable political topics with some of their clients.
But a new survey of 3,000 U.S. consumers in early October reveals the ways that supporters of the two major presidential candidates — Donald Trump and Kamala Harris — sometimes approach the homebuying process through unique lenses.
The latest Inman-Dig Insights consumer survey suggests that in Harris supporters, agents are finding clients who are more willing to trust agents and to take a traditional approach to listing their homes for sale. Meanwhile, clients who are inclined to support Trump are sometimes a bit more reluctant to take an agent’s advice, even as they largely still end up on the same page.
Intel drills deep this week with breakdowns of active homebuyers and sellers, likely near-future buyers, and U.S. consumers broadly.
The analysis sheds light on consumer attitudes on the NAR settlement, commission negotiation practices, and what’s bringing buyers to the market today in the first place.
See how Trump supporters and Harris supporters are approaching the market differently today — and the many areas they have in common — in the full report.
Earning trust on the margins
In Intel’s monthly surveys of real estate professionals, brokerage leaders routinely say they think clients have a low opinion of real estate agents right now.
But when Intel surveys working-age U.S. adults across the country, they report the exact opposite.
- Clear majorities of both Harris supporters and Trump supporters report having a positive opinion of real estate agents, with fewer than 1 in 10 members of either group reporting they have a negative impression of agents overall.
That said, supporters of the Republican presidential ticket were a bit more likely to have an ambivalent or even negative attitude toward agents than their Democratic counterparts.
And they’re less likely to say their esteem of agents has improved over the past 12 months.
- 42 percent of Harris supporters say their opinion of real estate agents has improved over the past year, with only 7 percent saying their opinion has worsened.
- By comparison, 36 percent of Trump supporters say they think more highly of agents today than they did a year ago, with 9 percent saying their opinion has worsened.
This fact touches on a broader theme that emerged across a range of questions in this survey: some Trump supporters are likelier to start out with lower trust for agents and the system in which they operate, and may take more efforts to convince as a result.
But agents who put in that extra effort are likely to break through with their clients, the survey results suggest.
The art of the deal
When asked about the National Association of Realtors’ proposed settlement, most Americans say they still have not heard of it.
But Harris supporters in early October were more likely to say they were at least loosely familiar with the NAR deal — and more likely to believe the deal is good for consumers.
- 32 percent of Harris supporters told the survey that they were aware of a recent settlement involving NAR. By comparison, 26 percent of Trump supporters surveyed were aware of the settlement.
- 64 percent of Harris supporters who said they had heard of the deal had the impression it was good for consumers. Nearly 59 percent of Trump supporters who were familiar with the deal agreed with that idea.
- Still, 11 percent of Trump supporters with knowledge of the NAR deal said it was good for neither consumers nor the real estate industry. That’s compared to only 5 percent of Harris supporters who shared the same skepticism toward the deal.
These results reflect the opinions of the broader population, many of whom are not looking to move any time soon, or may only be starting to consider a move a few months down the line.
But the consumers who were active on the market — and working with agents — in early October were much more engaged with the questions at hand.
An altered battlefield
Intel wanted to know how active buyers and sellers are navigating the changes, and — as a matter of curiosity — how their approaches might be different according to their voting intention in the coming election.
Intel found evidence that once they actually hit the market, Harris-supporting clients are a bit more deferential to the past status quo — on both the buyer side and the seller side.
And that starts with the commission rates that Harris supporters are agreeing to pay.
Trump supporters on the market in early October were more likely to report reaching a sub-2 percent compensation rate with their buyer’s agent — but no more likely to say they achieved that through actual rate negotiation.
- 25 percent of Trump supporters said they signed an agreement with their buyer’s agent that pledged to pay close to 1.5 percent of the transaction or less.
- Only 17 percent of Harris supporters said their buyer’s agent agreement had a compensation rate that low.
This was not necessarily due to Trump supporters driving a tougher negotiation, however.
- 19 percent of Trump supporters said they successfully negotiated their buyer’s agent fee down from a higher number — almost exactly as many Harris supporters who said the same.
But that may change as more clients become familiar with the new landscape.
- More Republicans said they were not aware that their buyer’s agent fee was negotiable before signing the agreement — 35 percent of Trump supporters vs. only 29 percent among Harris supporters.
So if it’s not a negotiation question, then why are more Trump supporters paying lower commission rates?
It’s difficult to say for sure. There may be other factors the survey didn’t ask about — such as market-specific or brokerage-specific considerations, or even sampling issues in the survey itself — that help explain the gap on the buyer side.
The survey revealed differences between the two groups on the seller side as well.
Harris supporters who are listing a home were significantly more likely to take a strictly traditional approach to their listing — agreeing up front to cover the agent fee for any buyer who purchases their home.
- 50 percent of Harris supporters said they were taking this traditional approach to their listing, compared to 41 percent of Trump supporters who said the same.
Instead, Trump supporters were a bit more likely to say they were withholding the buyer’s agent fee up front as a negotiating tactic, but that they would be willing to cover it in the end.
They were also a bit more likely to take a firm stance against covering the fee.
And — as seen in response to other settlement-related questions — more Trump supporters said that they were unaware of the new options.
The primary drivers
Finally, Intel explored why people who have plans to move in the coming months are considering taking this step.
Again, the two groups shared much in common when it came to their top reasons for moving. But some distinct differences did emerge in the responses.
Trump supporters are more likely to say they are moving because…
- …they are expecting, or planning to have, a child — Likely buyers who support Trump were more likely to say they were looking to buy a home related to having a child. More than 16 percent of Trump supporters named this as their reason for potentially buying, compared to fewer than 12 percent of Harris supporters who said the same.
Harris supporters are more likely to say they are moving because…
- …they are drawn to the financial benefits of homeownership — 28 percent of Harris supporters gave this reason, compared to 22 percent of Trump supporters who said the same.
- …they are seeking a better school district — 14 percent of Harris supporters said they were motivated by better schools, compared to 11 percent of pro-Trump consumers.
- …they want to move closer to family — 30 percent of Harris supporters selected this option, narrowly edging out the 27 percent of Trump supporters who said the same.
Taken together, it’s clear that Trump supporters and Harris supporters have much in common, at least when it comes to how they approach the housing market.
But by bringing clients up to speed and earning trust where some are skeptical, agents may be able to bridge gaps where they exist in a polarized — and constantly evolving — real estate environment.
About the Inman-Dig Insights consumer survey
The Inman-Dig Insights consumer survey was conducted from Oct. 4-6, 2024, to gauge the opinions and behaviors of Americans related to homebuying.
The survey sampled a diverse group of 3,000 American adults, ranging in age from 24 to 65 and employed either full-time or part-time. The participants were selected to produce a broadly representative breakdown by age, gender and region.
Statistical rigor was maintained throughout the study, and the results should be largely representative of attitudes held by U.S. adults in this age group with full- or part-time jobs. Both Inman and Dig Insights are majority-owned by Toronto-based Beringer Capital.
Email Daniel Houston
