Buyers Today Want a House for the Long Haul

More home buyers are looking to plant deep roots in their communities rather than move to a bigger or better home in a few years, according to new research from the National Association of Realtors. Last year, 27 percent of home buyers between the ages of 25 and 44 and 18 percent of buyers between the ages of 18 and 24 said they planned to stay in their homes for 16 years or more. By contrast, just 18 percent of buyers aged 25 to 44 and 8 percent of buyers aged 18 to 24 said the same. “They’re looking at hard costs, and not throwing caution to the wind,” says Cara Ameer, broker associate with Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty in Ponte Vedra, Fla. Today’s buyers also recognize that mortgage rates are very low currently, and it will be difficult to keep their monthly payment similarly low in the future should they decide to trade up or refinance. People additionally have low expectations for major home price gains that would give them the equity to move up. | Read More