Presented to Neighborworks Session, August 20, 2013 Jessica Lautz, National Association of REALTORS®, Research Division

1. Overview of Home Buyer Data
Jessica Lautz
National Association of REALTORS®
Research Division
August 20, 2013

2. Characteristics Purchased by First-Time
Buyers and Repeat Buyers
Characteristic First-Time Buyers Repeat Buyers
Size of Home 1,745 2,000
Year Home was Built 1990 1998
Number of Levels 2 1
Number of bedrooms:
One 3% 2%
Two 17 17
Three or more 80 79
Number of Full Bathrooms:
One 29% 15%
Two 57 61
Three or more 14 24
Garage 75% 80%
2013 Home Features Survey

3. Characteristics Purchased by Location
Characteristic Small Town Rural Area Urban-Central
City
Suburb-
Subdivision
Resort-
Recreation
Size of Home 1,700 1,800 1,670 2,000 1,800
Year Home was
Built
1986 1997 1989 1999 2002
Number of
Levels
1 1 1 2 2
Number of bedrooms:
One 3% 3% 7% 1% 6%
Two 19 16 26 12 35
Three or
more
78 81 67 87 65
Number of Full Bathrooms:
One 62% 65% 48% 51% 61%
Two 36 33 43 44 33
Three or
more
3 3 9 5 6
Garage 73% 63% 72% 88% 63%
2013 Home Features Survey

4. No New Homes to Buy
2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

5. Neighborhood Features by Location
Neighborhood
Features All Buyers Small town Rural area
Urban-Central
city
Suburb-
Subdivision
Resort-
Recreation
area
Wooded
lot/many
trees 17% 16% 30% 15% 14% 22%
Open lot/few
trees 12 9 15 19 11 8
Water view 8 6 7 10 6 43
Waterfront
property 5 5 5 7 4 33
Corner lot 5 3 4 11 4 6
Cul-de-sac lot 5 4 4 7 6 6
On or near
golf course 3 2 2 4 2 8
2013 Home Features Survey

6. Neighborhood Features by Location
All
Buyers
Suburb/
Subdivision
Small
town
Urban/
Central city
Rural
area
Resort/
Recreation
area
Quality of the neighborhood 61% 68% 55% 61% 41% 53%
Convenient to job 43 47 36 51 33 13
Overall affordability of homes 39 41 39 38 34 21
Convenient to friends/family 35 37 34 35 34 24
Design of neighborhood 26 29 20 28 18 29
Convenient to shopping 26 28 18 31 19 24
Quality of the school district 25 30 22 15 22 6
Convenient to schools 22 25 22 20 19 3
Convenient to entertainment/leisure
activities 19 20 10 33 8 34
Convenient to parks/recreational
facilities 18 18 15 22 11 29
Availability of larger lots or acreage 16 14 16 7 45 4
Convenient to health facilities 10 10 9 12 9 19
Home in a planned community 8 10 6 3 4 29
Convenient to public transportation 6 4 3 21 2 2
Convenient to airport 5 5 3 8 3 14
2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

7. Top Features by Location
Feature Small
Town
Rural Area Urban-
Central City
Suburb-
Subdivision
Resort-
Recreation
Central Air Conditioning 55% 57% 59% 73% 65%
Walk-In Closet 29 39 35 44 43
New Kitchen Appliances 23 26 32 32 39
Single level home 24 25 23 24 20
En-suite Master Bath 23 32 30 40 49
Hardwood floors 21 20 30 24 18
Eat-in kitchen 19 24 26 26 27
Home less than 5 years old 9 17 16 17 31
2013 Home Features Survey

8. Top Features by Region
2013 Home Features Survey
Feature Northeast Midwest South West
Central Air Conditioning 48% 66% 79% 52%
Walk-In Closet 33 28 49 36
New Kitchen Appliances 32 22 36 25
En-suite Master Bath 29 25 42 32
Basement 27 28 11 8
Home less than 5 years old 13 13 21 12

9. Commuting Costs
2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

10. Environmentally Friendly Features
2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

11. Compromises on Home Purchase
First-time Buyers Repeat Buyers
Price of Home 19% 16%
Size of Home 20 14
Condition of Home 16 16
Lot Size 14 12
Style of Home 14 12
Distance from Job 16 10
2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

12. What Does Age Have to do With it?

13. Characteristics of Home Purchased
32 and
Younger
33 to 47 48 to 57 58 to 66 67 to 87 88 and
Older
Previously
Owned
85% 84% 84% 82% 82% 83%
Detached
Single
Family
80 85 80 76 68 61
Median
Price
$165,000 $235,000 $200,000 $185,000 168,000 191,000
Median
Square Foot
1,700 2,100 2,000 1,800 1,750 1,500
Median
Year Built
1986 1991 1993 1995 1997 1991
2013 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends

14. Location by Generations
AGE OF HOME BUYER
All
Buyers
32 and
younger33 to 47 48 to 57 58 to 6667 to 87
88 and
older
Suburb/Subdivision 51% 50% 55% 50% 51% 49% 42%
Small town 18 19 17 17 17 22 17
Urban area/Central
city 17 21 17 16 13 13 21
Rural area 12 10 11 14 13 8 21
Resort/Recreation
area 3 * 1 3 6 8 *
2013 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends

15. 2013 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends

16. Neighborhood Choice
32 and
Younger
33 to
47
48 to 57 58 to
66
67 to
87
88 and
Older
Quality of the
Neighborhood
68% 65% 55% 56% 52% 30%
Convenient to Job 62 48 43 25 4 *
Overall Affordability of
Homes
48 37 35 38 27 32
Convenient to
Friends/Family
44 29 28 37 45 46
Convenient to Schools 29 36 15 4 3 *
2013 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends

17. Environmentally Friendly Features Considered
“Very Important”
2013 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends

18. Expected Length of Tenure in Home Purchased
10
20 20 20
15
30
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Median
32 and Younger 33 to 47 48 to 57 58 to 66 67 to 87 88 and Older
2013 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends

19. The Search Process

20. Use of the Internet Increased
• More than ½ of buyers
starting home search
online
• Real estate related
searched on Google.com
have grown 253% over
the past 4 years
2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 2013 The Digital House Hunt: Consumer and Market Trends in Real Estate

21. 2013 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends

22. Internet Searchers Use All Search Methods More
2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 2013 The Digital House Hunt: Consumer and Market Trends in Real Estate

23. Agents Still Central to Search
2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 2013 The Digital House Hunt: Consumer and Market Trends in Real Estate

24. Actions Taken from Viewing Homes Online
2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

25. Satisfaction in Buying Process
2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

26. Tightened Inventory Affecting Home Search
• Buyers saw 10 homes before buying-drop from 12 homes
• Typically look for 12 weeks total and 3 weeks before contacting
an agent
• 51% of buyers reported hardest task is in process was finding the
right home
2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

27. Where to find NAR Research
• Jessica Lautz: jlautz@realtors.org, 202-383-1155
• NAR Research www.realtor.org/research-and-statistics
• Economists’ Outlook Blog:
economistsoutlook.blogs.realtor.org
• FaceBook: facebook.com/narresearchgroup
• Twitter: twitter.com/NAR_Research