What First Time Home Buyers Want

Whether you’re a first time buyer looking for your dream home, or a seller looking to attract this important demographic group to your listing, it pays to know what’s important. A recent survey from Coldwell Banker Real Estate explored what was most important to new buyers to provide insight for those looking to buy or sell. A large majority of the buyers surveyed said finding a move-in ready home was important to them.

This may surprise a few people who think of first time buyers as a group that wants to break into the market by looking for a ‘fixer-upper’ as their starter home. But based on my experience as your local real estate professional, I find these survey results are an accurate reflection of what’s going on in our local market. I’ve found that first-time buyers are frequently very time-challenged. They’re getting established in their careers, perhaps still furthering their education while working. This group is often starting a family and raising young children, possibly even devoting some time to the care of aging parents. At the same time, they’re taking their first step on the property ladder without having any equity behind them from the sale of a previous home. So when time is at a premium and the budget is tight, few first time buyers want to be putting a lot of time and money into repairing or renovating their new home. They want a home that’s ‘turn key’ ready.

There’s a real ‘a-ha’ moment for sellers revealed by this survey that the condition and quality of their home matters a great deal to first-time homebuyers. In addition to being in move-in condition, first-time buyers revealed the old adage “location, location, location” still holds true:·

• 78 percent of survey respondents said the home had to be in an area convenient to shops and services ·
• Three-quarters of buyers said it was important to be close to their place of work ·
• Nearly two-thirds said it was important to be near “highly-rated” schools

If you’d like to talk more about what’s important to First-Time Buyers, then just give me a call and let’s talk real estate. You’ll be glad you called me first!