A recent post revealed that 16% of adults are planning a home purchase in the next 12 months. Among that group of prospective buyers, 42% are looking to buy a newly-built home and 30% an existing home. A year earlier, in the first quarter of 2020, only 24% of buyers reported a preference for new homes, while 40% were looking… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘housing economics’
COVID-19 Continues to Fuel Desire for Homeownership
Sixteen percent of American adults are considering the purchase of a home in the next 12 months, according to NAHB’s Housing Trends Report for Qtr1’21. That is six points higher than the 10% with similar plans a year earlier. The increase marks the third (and largest) year-over-year gain in the share of prospective buyers in the series history. This steady… Read More ›
Buyers Have Diverse Preferences for the Home’s Exterior Design
A new question introduced to the 2021 Edition of What Home Buyers Really Want* showed buyers pictures and descriptions of four exterior designs and asked for their preference. Results reveal that buyers have quite diverse preferences for the exterior style of their home, since none of the choices was preferred by anywhere near a majority of buyers. At best, a… Read More ›
Buyers Are Split on Multigenerational Homes
A multigenerational home is desirable to some buyers, but not to all. According to What Home Buyers Want, 2021 Edition*, buyers are evenly divided when it comes to the desire for a home designed to house the buyer as well as a younger generation and an older generation: 39% would prefer such a home, but 39% would be against it…. Read More ›
Home Buyers’ Preferences Shift Towards New Construction
According to the latest What Home Buyers Really Want*, 60% of home buyers would prefer a newly-built home over an existing home. In other words, all else equal, their first preference would be to purchase a new home. Looking at historical data shows a clear shift in preferences towards new construction in 2020. The share of buyers who would have… Read More ›
Outlying Suburbs Appeal to More Home Buyers
A recent NAHB study* found that COVID-19 has impacted the housing preferences of 25% of home buyers. More specifically, the survey asked about location preferences both prior to COVID-19 and now: did buyers’ preferred location change as a result of the pandemic? Results show that a segment of home buyers have in fact shifted their preference towards the outlying suburbs… Read More ›
NAHB Releases What Home Buyers Really Want, Study Shows COVID-19 Impacts
Continuing a long tradition to provide the most recent and accurate research on what home buyers want in their homes and communities, NAHB recently released What Home Buyers Really Want, 2021 Edition*. The study sheds light on the housing preferences of the typical home buyer, but also on how those preferences change over time, and how they may vary based… Read More ›
Share of Home Buyers Getting Outbid Almost Doubles
An earlier post revealed that 69% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the final quarter of 2020 have spent upwards of 3 months searching for a home without success. For the first time in this series history, the number one reason long-time searchers haven’t made a home purchase is not because of… Read More ›
Low Mortgage Rates & Desire for Space Continue to Convert Prospective Buyers into Active Buyers
Of the 15% of American adults considering a future home purchase in the final quarter of 2020, 56% have moved beyond planning and are actively trying to find one to buy, up from the comparable 43% share a year earlier. This increase marks the fourth consecutive year-over-year rise in the share of prospective buyers who have become active buyers. Several… Read More ›
Housing Affordability Holds Steady; Challenges Loom
Record-low mortgage rates offset record-high home prices to keep housing affordability steady in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). Though affordability rates held firm, regulatory and supply-side challenges threaten to aggravate affordability problems in the year ahead. In all, 58.3 percent of new and existing homes sold… Read More ›