Here Come the Millennials
“This represents an ‘Oh, shift’ moment in housing,” says Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®. Smoke’s team analyzed responses from active shoppers on our site who plan to buy a home in the spring or summer of 2017. “With so many first-time buyers in the market, competition will be even fiercer next year for affordable starter homes in the suburbs. Those looking to buy may want to consider a winter home purchase in order to avoid bidding wars and higher prices spurred by a potential increase in millennial buyers.”
http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/sneak-peek-home-buying-trends-will-shape-2017/
Of course in order to get into a home. The home buyer must stick to some financial habits in order to get to a position that allows one to purchase a home.
“Consumers thinking about buying a home should learn the basics of property maintenance and general ‘handy habits,’ since maintenance is an ongoing effort for homeowners,” says Evan Harris, co-founder of SD Equity Partners in San Diego.
“Knowing how to fix basic home issues such as electrical shorts, repair drywall, and tackle basic plumbing problems will save thousands of dollars in the future,” he says, noting that it’s smart to learn how to fix these issues before you’re scrambling around a dark kitchen where you blew a fuse.”
Millennial shoppers cite family needs as the primary reason for entering the housing market
As millennial buyers prioritize family needs, it is no surprise that most millennials cited life events like increasing family size and getting married or moving in with a partner as their primary triggers for finding a new home. Shoppers age 35-44 are also focused on family needs. Most of this group cited better school districts or changing family circumstances as their primary reasons for purchasing a new home. Shoppers over age 45 are looking to downsize, as all age groups above 45 cited planning for retirement as their primary motive for finding a new house.
The median age of properties on realtor.com in March is expected to be 68 days, which indicates that properties are selling nine days faster than this time last year. The typical spring upswing in buying and selling has come about a month earlier than usual, and the median age of for-sale listings is now 23 days less than last month.
In March the nationwide median home list price pushed above $250,000 for the first time, where it had hovered since May 2016. Now at $260,000, the median list price is 8 percent higher than one year ago.
Reflecting seasonal shifts, total inventory increased over last month, but remains substantially lower than one year ago. Even with nearly 492,000 new listings added to the market in March, inventory continues to fall short of buyer demand.
