First-time Buyer Expectations Conflict with Affordability: Survey

August 30, 2008 | Filed Under Real Estate News 

While many first-time homebuyers are concerned about affordability when shopping for a home, their expectations for move-in conditions may be too high for their financial circumstances, according to a new Coldwell Banker broker survey.

Nearly half of the brokers surveyed said affordability was the number one concern for this group, and 81 percent said today’s first-time homebuyers consider move-in conditions to be very important when shopping for a home. Only 7 percent said first-timers look for a “fixer-upper” to purchase at a lower price that they can renovate. Other key findings:

– 71 percent of brokers said first-time homebuyers are looking for larger homes than they were 10 years ago.

– According to 41 percent of respondents, proximity to their job is the number one attribute that buyers look for in a home.

– More than one-third of respondents (35 percent) said first-time homebuyers make a home purchase for investment purposes.

– 46 percent of respondents report that first-time homebuyers look at five to 10 homes, on average, before making a purchase.

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