Single homeowners are a part of the market many real estate professionals overlook. Just a fact of life, the industry seems to market to the families and fail to see this lucrative niche.
Coldwell Banker came out with a great study of the buying habits of singles who are buying homes and found some significant nuggets.
- 68 percent of single homeowners purchased a home that was below their price range, rather than the most expensive home they could afford.
- Of the 13 percent of single homeowners who own their home jointly with another person, almost half (49 percent) made the purchase with their parents.
- Fifty-five percent have less than a 30-minute commute to their office or work from home, and 40 percent live less than 30 minutes or even in the same neighborhood as their parents or extended family. In fact, an additional 12 percent live with at least one family member.
- Singles don’t shy away from foreclosures — especially single men. Thirty-eight percent would currently consider purchasing a foreclosed / short sale home, compared to 29 percent of single women.
The numbers that jump out of me is the location and pricing of the buying decisions. If I was an agent looking to grow my business I would target a couple of the larger employers in the area and then market to the new single employees.
Finding reasonably priced homes near the office and marketing these to the singles nearby would be a very smart move. #justsayin
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The habit of marketing to families is likely due to the fact that nuclear families are still an amazingly economically viable unit. They purchase a wide range of products and, with both parents able to work, provide for a more stable income and both need and ability to purchase more expensive houses.
That being said, I think you have a great point here. Focusing on singles trying to live closer to work could be a fantastic niche to try and fit into. The conception of single people living in small, rented units is really becoming a thing of the past, and promoting this new idea could have a significant payback if the demand is high enough in pure numbers. On the other hand, if there simply aren't enough singles looking to buy to justify the work that goes into selling the less expensive house, it could be a very short-lived niche.
Let's just say buyers are getting smarter and being safer with their purchasing decisions.
[...] Single Homeowners Like Suburbs and Affordability by Tom Royce at The Real Estate Bloggers [...]
[...] Single Homeowners Like Suburbs and Affordability by Tom Royce at The Real Estate Bloggers [...]
Let's just say buyers are getting smarter and being safer with their purchasing decisions.
Let's just say buyers are getting smarter and being safer with their purchasing decisions.
[...] Single Homeowners Like Suburbs and Affordability by Tom Royce at The Real Estate Bloggers [...]
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