Survey: Affordability matters most to first-time buyers
Real estate technology brief
By Inman News, Thursday, August 21, 2008.A survey of 150 Coldwell Banker real estate brokers revealed that affordability is the prime concern for first-time home buyers. Eighty-one percent of brokers reported that first-time buyers consider move-in condition to be very important in their home search while 7 percent reported first-time buyers are seeking "fixer-upper" properties.
About 71 percent of broker reported that first-time buyers are seeking larger homes now than buyers a decade ago, and 41 percent reported that proximity to the workplace is a top attribute that buyers are seeking. Thirty-five percent of brokers reported that investment is the top reason that first-time buyers are purchasing and 46 percent reported that first-time home buyers view an average of five to 10 homes before making a purchase.
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Submitted by Steve Simon on August 22, 2008 - 5:10am.
What is really scary about this post is the number that only 35% of 1st time buyers are stating that investment is their top priority for buying. What the heck are the other two thirds thinking!
There are only two reasons to own a home:
You're pretty sure it will be worth more in the future (more meaning by a large enough margin more to offset the other holding costs of ownership).
The Second is that the product you want is not available in the rental market, or the rent will cost more (net) than the cost of ownership would for a given planned holding period.
If the answer to a complex problem is very simple, it is usually incomplete...
Steve Simon is the lead instructor at the Steve Simon School of Real Estate www.stevesimon.us
Submitted by Jay Thompson on August 22, 2008 - 6:20am.
Steve wrote, "There are only two reasons to own a home"
Huh. And here I thought there were still some people left who wanted to buy a place they can call home, fix up how they -- not their landlord -- prefer, and just want a little piece "of the American dream".
Right or wrong, not everyone takes such an analytical approach Steve. There are emotions involved, particularly for 1st time buyers.
Jay Thompson
Broker / Owner
Thompson's Realty
Blog: www.PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com
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Submitted by Sam Chapman on August 22, 2008 - 9:52am.
Many times, first-timers will want to buy as much house as they can afford. I like to talk with first-timers about what they can afford vs. what they should spend, which can be very different.
Site: www.AustinRealEstateGuy.com
Blog: www.austinrealestateguy.com/blogs/sam_chapman/default.aspx