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Survey says…
We are smack dab in the middle of the age of information, that means our clients are certainly more informed about home buying than when I was when I was younger, in the age of VCRs, cassettes, and not even beepers. That said, let’s fact check! From realestatewitch.com, let’s see if we can find answers to be of better service.
About 1 in 3 non-homeowners (31%) say they’re knowledgeable about the home-buying process, but 62% wrongly think it’s required to put down 20% on a home, and 66% mistakenly believe buyers pay their agent’s commission fees.
Well hell! That’s not a promising start! It really does beacon the question; why isn’t answering this question ground zero for every loan officer produced video that we’ve ever seen? You don’t need 20%, you don’t need 5%! Lets talk!
Now this next point caught me completely off guard! Home-ownership has become somewhat of a national obsession, with more than half of Americans (53%) looking at Zillow listings at least once a week and 29% looking at least once a day during the home-search process.
We’ve got some work to do
Half the country is looking at homes! On Zillow is even more surprising! Basically 30% of everyone is looking daily. Now, that kind of explains how Zillow was able to sell 137M leads on 5.7M properties that sold. In Zillow’s defense, I just spoke with an exc…eptionally successful real estate and mortgage team, who say the $700/month they spend with Zillow pencils. A lot can be said about that, but it pencils. He also said that Realtor.com leads are no good at all. What I want to know is, what’s your experience?
Although Americans may feel “behind” in life if they don’t own a home, a majority overestimate the success of their peers. The average age of a first-time home buyer is actually 36, but 73% of Americans think it’s much younger. Which used to be true, but price, un-affordability, and limited inventory means the only ones who can buy homes are those with equity; those with cash, those with AARP cards. That singular point has pushed the average age of buyers up! Up through the roof, leaving many a youngsters stuck in ownership purgatory with only dreams of home-ownership. The point being; target the seniors, they’ve got the tickets to salvation through the dark winter in front of us!
Service and communication
83% of homeowners say they were surprised by at least some aspect of buying a home. Two words; service and communication. If nearly every buyer is surprised by something, make it a pleasant surprise, not a “so that’s why I don’t put my hand in the garbage disposal” type of surprise.
As they learned more about the real estate market, 63% of home buyers had to adjust their priorities, and 65% had to adjust their budget. Which, just tells me at the other 47% have no clue about their finances.
Finally, despite their personal experience, many homeowners remain baffled by the home-buying process. The average American purchases a home every eight years. It’s easy to forget specifics or be confused by misinformation.For example, homeowners (46%) are just as likely as non-homeowners (44%) to believe that sellers always pay closing costs for buyers. About 60% of homeowners, compared to 62% of non-homeowners, also wrongly assume the seller is required to complete all repairs that the buyer requests after an inspection.
If there’s one constant about our business, it’s that it’s always changing and you, the agent and lender need to be on your game. Make use of this down time to figure out what that means.
