March 29, 2008
What Do Homebuyers Want? Experienced vs First-time Buyers
In a previous post, I wrote about what the National Association of Realtors and HGTV say homebuyers are looking for in a home (”What Do Homebuyers Want? NAR and HGTV Weigh In“). A post on Jon Lansner’s web blog gives further insight into what prospective homebuyers want in a home (”77% in nationwide poll think this is a good time to buy a house“). He quotes a survey by Beazer Homes that is broken down into what first-time buyers want and what more experienced buyers want. Here is the break down:
First-time buyers
- a bigger home—28%
- investment potential—27%
- a better location—23%
- more modern features—14%
- desire less maintenance and up-keep—8%
Experienced buyers
- a better location—28%
- a bigger home—25%
- more modern features—18%
- desire less maintenance and up-keep—17%
- investment potential—12%
Also, see Carol’s post “Think Like a Buyer When Selling a Home.”
Ellie at Redfin said:
It seems like the only significant differences between the two groups are that experienced home-buyers are less concerned with making a great investment, and more concerned with spending less time one maintenance. One can only assume they’re more familiar with the investment of their own time required in owning a home.
March 30, 2008 10:34 AM
Sylvia Walker said:
Yes, I agree. First-time buyers are probably renters and have maintenance and repairs taken care of for them. They probably don’t realize the time that this will take away from other things.
Also, they are probably so anxious to get into a house that they own that they discount some of the difficulties, such as time needed for maintenance.
March 30, 2008 4:53 PM