A profile of the state’s home buyers and sellers reveals the kind of people they tend to be, what they buy and how they feel about their transactions. This comes courtesy of the National Association of Realtors’ 2007 consumer survey given to brokers this month as part of a thick booklet handed out at a Seattle-King County Association of Realtors meeting.

Few surprises here, though people look at fewer homes than I would have thought and stay in their homes fewer years than they expect.

Here’s a rundown of the more interesting aspects of buyers:
They were a median age of 38 years old.
They looked a median eight weeks and saw a dozen homes.
One-quarter bought brand-new homes.
Typically, the home bought was 13 miles from their previous residence.
They plan to live in their home a median of 10 years.
91 percent used the Internet to search for homes.
68 percent said they would definitely use their agent again.

And the sellers:
They were a median age of 45 years old.
Almost half traded up to a larger home.
Typically, they owned their home for six years.
59 percent believed their home purchase was a better investment than stocks.
Half did not reduce their sale price.
Half used the same agent to sell their home and purchase another.
64 percent said they would definitely use their agent again.