How do people find and buy homes? This information is useful to sellers and buyers! Most people start online and use a real estate agent to help them find and negotiate a home purchase. Most people use a mortgage to finance the purchase.
- For 43 percent of recent buyers, the first step that they took in the home buying process was to look online at properties for sale, while 18 percent of buyers first contacted a real estate agent.
- Ninety-one percent of recent buyers found their real estate agent to be a very or somewhat useful information source.
- Buyers typically searched for eight weeks and looked at a median of nine homes, and viewed five of these homes only online.
- The share of home buyers who used the internet to search for a home increased to an all-time high of 97 percent.
- When asked where their internet searches were conducted, home buyers were split; they typically conducted 50 percent of their search on a desktop/laptop and 50 percent on a mobile device(s).
- Sixty-four percent of recent buyers were very satisfied with their recent home buying process.
Home Buying and Real Estate Professionals
- Eighty-eight percent of buyers recently purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker, and six percent purchased directly from a builder or builder’s agent.
- Having an agent to help them find the right home was what buyers wanted most when choosing an agent at 51 percent.
- Forty percent of buyers used an agent that was referred to them by a friend, neighbor, or relative and 13 percent used an agent that they had worked with in the past to buy or sell a home.
- Seventy-three percent of buyers interviewed only one real estate agent during their home search.
- Ninety-one percent of buyers would use their agent again or recommend their agent to others.
Financing the Home Purchase
- Eighty-seven percent of recent buyers financed their home purchase. Those who financed their home purchase typically financed 88 percent.
- First-time buyers who financed their home typically financed 93 percent of their home compared to repeat buyers at 84 percent.
- For 58 percent of buyers, the source of the down payment came from their savings. Thirty-eight percent of buyers cited using the proceeds from the sale of a primary residence, which was the next most commonly reported way of securing a down payment.
- For 11 percent of buyers, the most difficult step in the home buying process was saving for a down payment.
- Of buyers who said saving for a down payment was difficult, 47 percent of buyers reported that student loans made saving for a down payment difficult.
- Forty-three percent cited high rent/mortgages and 36 percent cited credit card debt also making saving for a down payment hard.
- Buyers continue to see purchasing a home as a good financial investment. Eighty-three percent reported they view a home purchase as a good investment.
Ready to make your move? Give us a call.
Reach David and Tom at The Principal Team at 720-408-7409.
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Source: National Association of REALTORS® 2020 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers