Blog: First Time Home Buyers Have High Expectations

Added August 21, 2008 by Melanie G. Rogers

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Apparently first time home buyers want more than they used to. They're less willing buy fixer uppers, per a new Coldwell Banker survey.

"In the past, first-time home buyers were willing to purchase older, more basic houses in an effort to save money and break into homeownership," said Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive officer, Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC. "Today, this group has greater home expectations because they have grown up more accustomed to their parents' lifestyles. It is important for first-time homebuyers to remember that by considering a 'fixer-upper' for their first home purchase, they can build equity over time and move up and into their second-stage home that better reflects their expectations."

In the survey of Coldwell Banker real estate agents, 81 percent of agents said first time buyers are very concerned with move-in condition and only 7 percent of agents report clients are considering fixer uppers.

Agents say that clients worry more about credit scores than down payments, perhaps because they've saved money or their families help them with down payments.

Other survey findings include: - 71 percent of brokers noted that first-time home buyers are looking for larger homes than they were 10 years ago.

According to 41 percent of the respondents, proximity to job is the No. 1 attribute first-time home buyers are looking for in a home.
35 percent of the survey respondents said "investment" is the No. 1 reason first-time home buyers are making their purchase.
46 percent of the survey respondents reported that first-time home buyers look at five to 10 homes, on average, before making a purchase.

The survey yielded responses from 150 Coldwell Banker brokers throughout the U.S.

Published: Aug 21, 2008

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