Here's a recent article i came across from RisMedia that the national assosciation of realtors shared. I think the most interesting was that the average buyer expects to live in their new home for 15 years. That is way up. I believe it was around 7 years during the boom/bubble years.
If data is the currency of the new economy, then the National Association of REALTORS® is flush with it, based on the recent release of the National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2012. This annual survey of more than 5,700 respondents offers us ample information about home buyers, and enables us to draw some conclusions about what they’re looking for in a home:
What matters most? The quality of the neighborhood, convenience to job, and overall affordability of homes are the top three factors influencing neighborhood choice – the same factors as the last two years. Overall, only 25 percent of survey respondents chose neighborhood based on the quality of the schools (down slightly from 27 percent). But, among families with children under 18 residing in the home, 46 percent choose based on school district quality, down from 55 percent last year, and 61 percent prioritize the quality of the neighborhood, down from 72 percent last year.
Hunkering down. Once the buyer is moved in to their newly purchased home, the typical buyer expects to live there for 15 years — the same outcome as last year — but up significantly from 2010, when the typical buyer expected to stay 10 years. Younger buyers (18-24 years old) expect to stay for the shortest tenure: five years.
Tighter credit. Many buyers are now facing tighter credit standards than seen in previous years. For this reason, the typical buyer profile has shifted over the past couple of years. For example, this year’s report displayed the highest share of married couples and the lowest share of single buyers since 2001.
Getting mortgages. While the share of home buyers reporting that the process of obtaining a mortgage is more difficult than expected is about the same as last year (40 percent) — it is higher than the figures reported in the 2009 and 2010 reports.
