How Much Longer Is It to Find a Home?
Prospective buyers actively looking for a home say it’s taking them a considerable amount of time. More than half—51 percent—in a recent survey say they’ve been trying to find the right home for three months or longer, according to the Housing Trends Report from the first quarter, conducted by the National Association of Home Builders.
Buyers say the main reason their searches are taking so long is because they can’t find a home they can afford (53%). Other common reasons cited include not finding a home in the neighborhood they want (43%) and being unable to find a home with the features they desire (39%).
But these home buyers are persistent and refuse to give up. Only 13 percent of buyers who say they’ve been looking for three months or longer intend to give up. The remainder say they will charge on, but they may change their house hunt slightly.
Of the buyers who’ve been looking for three months or more, they say their next steps are to:
- Continue looking until the “right” home opens up in a preferred location: 60%
- Expand my search area: 43%
- Accept a smaller/older home than originally intended: 24%
- Give up trying to find a home until next year or later: 13%
- Buy a more expensive home than originally intended: 11%
Source: “House Search Takes Many Months, But Buyers Do Not Intend to Give Up,” National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing blog (May 7, 2018)