In last Tuesday’s Tip of the Week, we discussed the National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers from the perspective of a home seller. In this week’s Tuesday Tip, we are going to take a look at some interesting facts from the eyes of a home buyer.
Before we get started it is important to note that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been conducting this national survey of recent home buyers and sellers since 1981. These statistics are eye-opening for both individuals looking to purchase a home and for real estate companies representing prospective buyers.
The responses given in the information below were from people who purchased a home last year. For the year 2016, home purchasers responded to questions as follows. Despite the steep price tag and ever-changing real estate market, a remarkable 82% of home buyers surveyed felt that buying a home was a good investment. Even more intriguing, is that first time buyers made up 35% of all home buyers. It has been noted of late, that there are an increasing number of younger, first time home-buyers for many reasons. For example, in the Long Island real estate market, the older half of the millennial generation is purchasing homes on a much larger scale than in the previous 10-20 years. With the market bouncing back from the early 2000’s “depression,” younger Americans have more gainful employment, higher incomes and growing families, leading to an influx of first time home buyers.
There was a host of reasons why people decided to purchase a home in 2016. The most common: 31% of purchasers stated to fulfill their dream of owning a home as one of their biggest reasons they purchased a home in 2016. Some other reasons people cited for purchasing were they wanted a larger home because there was a change in his or her family situation. Other reasons were that a job caused them to relocate, there was a desire to be closer to friends or family and affordability. Interestingly, these reasons were not strikingly different from the reasons why individuals chose to sell.
Many buyers also had one major goal in mind. Not surprisingly, 34% of buyers who purchased homes were looking to avoid renovations and problems with plumbing and electricity. Many home purchasers main concern was avoiding major renovations.
Many home purchasers did not make drastic moves from their last place of residence. There was a median of 12 miles between the homes that recent buyers purchased and the homes they moved from. Despite the short move in distance, buyers searched for an average of 10 weeks prior to purchasing a home. Other stats worth noting are a large percentage, 88%, of buyers used an agent to help them find the home they purchased and, interestingly, 18% of recent home buyers are veterans and two percent are active-duty service members.
Overall, there are many factors that come into play when someone purchases a home. Always reach out to your Signature Premier agent to guide you through the process!