This information was obtained from an annual survey that was conducted by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Here are the highlights from the latest report:

•Thirty-three percent of recent home buyers were first time buyers.

•For 43 percent of the home buyers, the first step in the home-buying process was looking online for properties.

•Ninty-two percent of buyers used the internet in some way in their home search.

•Real estate agents were viewed as a useful information source by 98 percent of the buyers who used an agent while searching for a home.

•Seventy percent of home sellers only contacted one agent before selecting the one to assist with their home sale.

•The share of home sellers who sold their home without the assistance of a real estate agent was nine percent.

Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®