Twenty-nine percent of all-cash homebuyers planning a purchase in the next four months are downsizers
Today, realtor.com®, a leader in online real estate, operated by Move, Inc., released the results of its Winter Home Buyer Report, which ran on realtor.com® from Nov. 7-16 and explored sentiments of homebuyers looking to buy a house during the winter months.
Survey results from more than 1,300 respondents reveal that lingering conditions of this past home-buying season are setting the tone for winter homebuyers including inventory challenges and all-cash offers. While the majority of winter homebuyers describe themselves as relocation buyers, downsizers are also a large portion of those looking to buy a house in the next four months.
“This summer and spring home-buying season was particularly challenging for buyers, especially first-time homebuyers trying to compete with all-cash offers and bidding wars because of reduced inventory. In fact, a quarter of the winter homebuyers revealed they are in the market now because they were unable to find a home during this last home buying season,” said Alison Schwartz, vice president of corporate communications at realtor.com®. “While buyers are still experiencing challenges with inventory and approximately one in five buyers plan to put down all cash, there are advantages to looking for a home in the winter. Motivated sellers, better prices and less competition between buyers are some the top reasons winter homebuyers are interested in purchasing a home during the colder months of the year.”
Biggest challenges when searching for a home during winter:
· 45 percent of respondents indicated that there is not enough inventory within price range;
· 34 percent shared that there is not enough inventory on the market;
· 29 percent believe that winter weather makes house hunting unpleasant;
· 7 percent indicated that there are too many buyers in the market.
Top reasons consumers are looking to buy a home in winter:
• 26 percent of respondents believe that sellers are more motivated to sell and willing to negotiate;
• 24 percent indicated that they think home prices will be better;
• 24 percent revealed that they were unable to buy a house during spring or summer;
• 20 percent shared that they think there will be less competition between buyers.
