What are the Most Important Factors Influencing Home Buying Decisions Today?
The
National Association of Homebuilders often uses the
American Housing Survey to provide insight into who is buying homes and the factors that go into their home buying process. A
recent NAHB article reveals interesting buyer preferences from the latest AHS survey which studies approximately 13.7 million households of that bought a home in the 24 months prior to the survey.
The top four reasons for choosing a home were its size, the room layout/design, the neighborhood, and the home's price.
The neighborhood a home is located in definitely plays a major factor in their home selection (as over 72% of those surveyed mention). The top two reasons for choosing a neighborhood were “the house itself” (cited by 85 percent of buyers) and safety (71 percent). Safety, looks/design and to some extent good schools tended to be more important to new home buyers than to other types of buyers. Proximity to work and friends/family tended to be more important to first-time buyers
For buyers of new homes, room layout/design, neighborhood, exterior appearance and construction quality tended to be even more important than for other types of buyers. Also, according to the Consumer Preference Survey Data in the NAHB's "What Home Buyers Really Want" over 55% of all buyers would prefer to buy a new home over a resale home.
The AHS survey results help substantiate some fo the reasons for the success that local Hampton Roads' developer, East West Communities, has seen at two award winning waterfront communities- Founders Pointe in Isle of Wight County near Smithfield, and at The Riverfront at Harbour View in Suffolk, VA.
To learn more about the 13.7 million buyers who bought homes in 2013, check out
Characteristics of Homebuyers... some of the findings are listed below:
- The median buyer looked at 10 different homes before deciding which one to buy.
- About 11 percent of the homes were purchased without a downpayment (either straight out for cash, or with a zero-downpayment loan).
- 51 percent of the purchases were made using savings for a downpayment; 17 percent using sale of a previous home.
- The top two reasons for choosing a home were its size (cited by 76 percent of buyers) and room layout/design (74 percent).
- The top two reasons for choosing a neighborhood were “the house itself” (cited by 85 percent of buyers) and safety (71 percent).
- Nearly 200 families have selected Founders Pointe as their new neighborhood for many of the same reasons. They home buyers have discovered the surpringly convenient location, the community concept with resort style amenities, the quality of the homes by 10 different homebuilders, and the excellent school system in Isle of Wight County, VA.
- Visit www.founderspointe.com to find out more about the central location and excellent school system in Isle of Wight County. Contact Donita Frantz or Mark Edwards with East West Realty for more information, (757) 238-9009.
- Discover the best in lifestyle communities at Founders Pointe, Liberty Ridge, and The Riverfront at Harbour View. East West is also celebrating its 25th anniversary of the Gatling Pointe Yacht Club, a riverfront club/restaurant and pool complex with a 68 slip marina adjacent to the town of Smithfield,Virginia. Visit an East West Realty Sales Center today.
