A recent national survey of young people aged 18 to 35 shows that young home buyers are more educated than ever, and despite the recent housing crisis, homeownership is still seen as an indicator of success.
The survey was conducted by Wakefield Research for Better Homes and Garden Real Estate and asked 1,001 nationally representative Americans key questions about their perspectives on homeownership.
The survey showed that 69 percent of respondents think the recent housing downturn has made them more knowledgeable about homeownership than their parents were at their age.
Locally the trend rings true, said Jamie Day, a manager with Dayton-based Better Homes and Garden Real Estate Big Hill.
“Back in the day, we’d have a buyer call who didn’t know his credit score and hadn’t talked to a loan officer,” he said. “Now when they call me, they know their credit score, they’re pre-approved, they’ve looked at my Web site and they know what they want when they make the phone call.”
The survey showed that young Americans are willing to make sacrifices in order to save for their home.
Sixty-two percent said they were willing to save by eating out less, 40 percent said they would be willing to work a second job, and 23 percent said they would be willing to move back in with parents.
Day said this new attitude of earning a home is good for the market because it leads to fewer foreclosures.
“If they had to save for a couple years for a down payment, they’ll fight for it because it was harder to get,” he said. “It’s just human nature.”
Day said 2012 has been an excellent year for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Big Hill, especially since May, with more buyers and sellers taking advantage of prices that are down 15 percent across the board.
Source: Dayton Business Journal