- Although the demographics of home buyers often shift to reflect changes in the market, the motivations to make a home purchase are largely constant from year to year. The primary reason to purchase a home remains the desire to own a home of one’s own.
- Nearly a third of all home buyers cited this as their reason to purchase a home in 2012, and 60 percent of first-time home buyers cited this as their primary reason to buy.
- Repeat buyers are less likely to be motivated by the desire to simply own their own home and more likely to make a purchase as a result of changing circumstances: both the desire for a larger home and the need to relocate for a job or move were reasons cited most often.
- Other popular reasons to buy included the desire to be closer to family and friends, as well as a change in family situation.
- Among age groups of home buyers, there was a clear tendency for younger buyers to be more inclined to buy because of the desire to own a home, while older buyers (those in the 65 and older category) cited the desire to be closer to family and friends and retirement as the primary reasons to buy.
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Yesterday, NAR Research held a Twitter chat on the home search process for recent buyers. The turnout was quite large, and we were able to interact with many of you who had significant insights into this process. There were too many responses to include them all, but the recap of the major highlights is below. Thank you to all who participated!
(2:01pm EST) @NAR_Research I’m Jessica Lautz, Manager of Member & Consumer Survey Research. Let’s talk about home search data from recent buyers-join w/#HBSHomeSearch
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- The typical member has 11 years of experience in real estate, down from 12 years in the 2011 survey.
- Brokers who do not sell typically had the most experience at 25 years, while sales agents were typically the newest to the field with nine years of experience.
- In 2011, 42 percent of REALTORS® earned between 50 and 100 percent of their income from their primary real estate specialty, similar to what was earned in 2010.
- Those who worked more hours and those with more experience were also more likely to depend entirely on their real estate specialty.
- Most home sellers (66 percent) remain in the same state when they purchase their next home. Sellers who moved to another region accounted for 21 percent, while sellers who moved within the same region, but to a different state, was 14 percent.
- Seventy-nine percent of sellers sold a detached single family home, and the townhouse/row house was the second most frequent type of home sold.
- Forty-six percent of recent sellers purchased a home that was larger than the home they just sold, 31 percent purchased a home that was about the same size, and 23 percent traded down to a smaller home.
- Trading up to a larger home is most common among buyers who are 54 and younger. Buyers who are 55 to 64 years old tend to buy about the same size home and buyers over 65 tend to purchase a smaller home than the one they sold.
#HomeFeatures13 Twitter Chat Recap
Yesterday, NAR Research held a Twitter chat on home feature preferences for recent buyers. The information for this chat was taken from our recent 2013 Home Features Survey and echoes many of the experiences real estate professionals are having in their own markets. There were too many responses to include them all, but the recap of the major highlights is below. Thank you to all who participated!
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