New Study Confirms What We Already Knew

In a new study funded by the Captain Obvious Foundation, home buyers' satisfaction with real estate companies improved while home sellers had a less than favorable view.

The J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Home Buyer/Seller Study™ was released yesterday and it found that for home buyers had a 12 point increase in satisfaction (803 on a 1000 point scale) from 2009 while home sellers had a 40 point decrease (742 on a 1000 point scale).

Of course, this only makes sense. With the housing market still reeling from its burst bubble, and with interest rates still historically low, buyers with the cash and ability to buy have the pick of the litter when it comes to homes, and sellers have to compete with short sales and foreclosed properties when trying to recoup their equity.

The good news, however, is that regardless of which side of the contract a client's interests are, the need and importance for a good agent has substantially increased. It's almost as if the housing crisis has really shed light on the best agents out there, with the cream rising to the top.

Indeed, for the third consecutive year, DotLoop partner Keller Williams was ranked the highest in customer satisfaction for home buyers and Prudential - another DotLoop partner - was ranked the highest for home sellers.

After all, even Captain Obvious knows that great customer service always leads to greater satisfaction, regardless which side of the contract you are on.