Coldwell Banker announced results today from a survey on how homeowners would spend a $6,500 tax credit. Of the 1,000+ surveyed:

• 34% would pay off debts
• 29% would make home improvements
• 28% would save or invest it
• 6% would spend it on luxury items, like a shopping spree or vacation.

That’s 83%, or roughly 8 in 10, that would spend their money on “smart spending.”

“Our survey offers positive indicators that there are more existing homeowners considering a home purchase today than there were six months ago, and the majority of respondents say they would engage in ‘smart spending’ that would directly benefit the U.S. economy,” says Jim Gillespie, Coldwell Banker President and CEO.

Says housing market blogger Paul Owers of the Sun Sentinel: 

“My two cents: Way more than 6 percent will end up splurging. Smart spending sounds good now, but most people won’t be able to help themselves once they get the money in hand.

“But what about you? What would you do with the $6,500?”

Four factors were examined for the home seller experience: agent, marketing, the office, and the package of additional services. Coldwell Banker “performs particularly well in all four factors,” and ranked the highest.

For the home buyer experience, Colwell Banker was a close second.

Other information from the study shows that the proportion of first time buyers has increase considerably – from 44% in 2008 to 56% in 2009. “The presence of first time buyers is encouraging, as it indicates that the real estate market is returning to more normal activity, with fewer speculators,” says Jim Howland, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at JD Power and Associates. “Although these buyers may believe otherwise, they must still overcome the traditional barriers to purchasing a home, such as being able to fund down payments, closing costs and monthly payments.”

Another bit of information: internet marketing becomes increasingly important, with 64% of home sellers using a website listing to market their home. That number is up 61% from 2008.

The Dave Murray Team is proud to be a part of Coldwell Banker.