• Data from the latest NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers shows the number one reason buyers are buying today is for the plain desire to own a home of their own. They want a place where they can come home at night that is their special place in the world. The most common home purchased among buyers was a detached single-family home, with three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1,900 square feet.
• The typical buyer is satisfied with their buying process and plans to live in the perfect home for them for 15 years.
• Data from the report show the highest share of home buyers are married couples compared to single buyers and unmarried couples. The share of married couples who purchased a home (65%) is actually at its highest share since 2001. Married couples typically have higher household incomes than single buyers and thus better purchasing power in today’s tightened financial market environment.
• While married couples might have double the purchasing power of single females and single males when buying a home, they too are still making sacrifices to get into a home. Thirty-one percent of married couples who recently purchased a home cut spending on luxury items or non-essential goods, and 26 percent cut spending on entertainment. Perhaps the married home buying couple is dining-in tonight?
• A sizeable amount of the market are still single females, single males and unmarried couples – more than one-third. While the married couples may be cooking in tonight, the single buyers and unmarried couples could be taking advantage of the neighborhood features that influenced their home purchase – proximity to friends and family, entertainment and leisure activities, and shopping.
• Married, unmarried, single male, and single female, all recent home buyers will enjoy the quality of the neighborhood they picked – as it influenced the majority of all household types, and hopefully all will enjoy a good meal tonight, or at the least some tasty chocolate.