CENTURY 21 (R) Study Reveals Preferences of First-Time Homebuyers and Their 'Dream Home' Aspirations-First-Time Homebuyers Index Also Provides New Insights into Hispanic Trends
PR Newswire
November 14, 2005
PARSIPPANY, N.J., Nov 14, 2005/PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Inaugrual CENTURY 21 (R) First-Time Homebuyer Index released today reveals that for many, the American "Dream Home" is a new, suburban single-family home located in the Southern United States. The study also showed that the rapidly growing Hispanic home buying population is younger than non-Hispanic homebuyers by an average four to five years. These insights and more are highlighted in a national survey of 1,214 U.S. first-time homebuyers conducted by International Communications Research (ICR) on behalf of Century 21 Real Estate LLC, the franchisor of the world's largest residential sales organization
"The CENTURY 21 System is poised to address the real estate needs of consumer throughout their most significant life stages and events, starting with their first home purchase," said Tom Kunz, president & CEO, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. "As the most recognized name in residential real estate, it is our responsibility to understand and deliver on the unique needs and additional care many first-time homebuyers require."
Some key findings from the CENTURY 21 First-Time Homebuyer Index include:
The Dream Home
When imagining where their "dream home" would be located, more respondents prefer suburban areas (46 percent) to rural (39 percent) or urban (15 percent). An overwhelming majority (78 percent) view their dream home as newly constructed. New construction is more appealing to younger respondents (83 percent of those aged 18-34, compared to 68 percent for those aged 35-64).
Survey respondents also imagine their dream home situated in the southern United States. The Southeast tallied the most votes at 27 percent followed by the Southwest in a close second at 23 percent. The Northeast (19 percent), Midwest (17 percent) and the Northwest (14 percent) didn't fare quite as week by region even though a number of northern cities were well regarded by respondents.
Securing the keys to these dream homes is considered a great challenge. Almost two-thirds of respondents (64percent) believe it will take them more than 5 years to save up the money they need for their dream home. Only 3 percent of first-time home buyers contend they are already living in their dream home.
"Ideal" Cities
Respondents' viewpoints on ideal cities rest heavily on the influence of friends and family members who reside there. Reasons for identifying a particular city as ideal include:
* Reputation as a great city to raise a family (26 percent) in part due to highly regarded school systems and low crime rates
* Climate (22 percent)
* Proximity to water, sand and mountains (22 percent)
* Strong local economy with many job opportunities
the top-ranked citied for all survey respondents include New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago
According to survey respondents, the average length of time it took to find a first home is just over 6 months. The quality of the local education system is the prime concern. In contrast to their "Dream Home" aspirations, 73 percent of first-time home buyers said they looked for resale homes while only 237 percent sought out new construction. Nearly half (48 percent) of respondents expect to move out of their first home in less than seven years. The top reasons for buying a first home include:
* Need more room/space (36 percent)
* Desire to build equity (24 percent)
* Job relocation (four percent)
Hispanic First-Time Homebuyers
Identifying the unique needs of Hispanic first-time homeowners, the survey yielded the following results.
* Hispanic first-time homebuyer respondents (mean age 30) are younger than whites (mean age 34) and African Americans (mean age 35)
* No significant income difference was determined among Hispanics, whites, and African-Americans surveyed
* Hispanic respondents are likely to pay more for a first home ($262,000) than both white ($196,000) and African American ($215,000) respondents, a finding that could be influenced by the following factors:
--Significantly more Hispanics (30 percent) reside in the West region of the U.S. then white respondents (15 percent). The survey showed that first-time buyers in the West pay more on averagy ($303,000) than in the Northeast ($252,000), North/Central ($178,000) and South ($173,000)
-- More Hispanics (17 percent) cite marriage as the primary reason for purchasing a first home that whites (10 percent)
* 20 percent of Hispanics listed access to public transportation as an important factor in buying a new home (versus 12 percent of white respondents)
* Hispanics favor suburban areas for their dream home (52 percent versus 42 percent of whites) and prefer houses to be in close proximity rather than secluded
* Hispanics were more likely to desire an attached dwelling (8 percent) than whites (3 percent) or blacks (2 percent)
* From a list of major metros Hispanics rated New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, and San Diego higher than Non-Hispanic whites as ideal cities for a dream home
Housing Costs and Financing Issues
The survey found that 78 percent of respondents paid or expected to pay less that $250,000 for their first home. The average first home price among respondents was $215,000.
Over one-quarter (28 percent) of respondents did/will receive help with the down payment from family members. Of those accepting help from other, 63 percent will look to their parents, 17 percent will go to their in-laws, while seven percent will receive help from their grandparents. Fifty-six percent of surveyed respondents will put down less than 20 percent of the home purchase price. Respondents from the Northeast made the largest down payments on average than any other region of the country (17 oercent versus 14 percent in the Midwest and 15 percent in the West).
The CENTURY 21 System provides consumers interested in making their first home purchase with a variety of online tools, including a first-time homebuyer guide, available in English and Spanish on www.century21.com and www.century21espanol.com
NOTE TO EDITORS: A complete cope of the CENTURY 21 First-Time Homebuyer Index is available to the media upon request.
Survey Methodolgy
International Communication Research (ICR) of Philadelphia conducted a national study of U.S. First-time homebuyers, including first-time homebuyers in their first year of ownership along with active first-time home shoppers, between August 11 and August 21, 2005. A total of 1,214 respondents completes an online survey via the ICR web site as a result of an e-mail invitation. The study was commissioned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC.
About Century 21 Real Estate LLC
Century 21 Real Estate LLC (www.century21.com) is the franchisor of the world's largest residential real estate sales organization, providing comprehensive training, management, administrative, and marketing support for the CENTURY 21 System. The System is compromised of more than 7,500 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in 39 countries and territories worldwide. Century 21 Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD). For more information on Cendant's Real Estate Services Division as well as expert commentary on emerging trend in the real estate industry, visit the Cendant Media Resource Center at www.cendant.com/media
Century21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 A is a registered trademark licensed to Century 21 real Estate LLC. An equal opportunity company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each CENTURY 21 office is Independently Owned and Operated
SOURCE CENTURY 21 Real Estate LLC
CONTACT: Chau Nguyen, Century 21 Real Estate LLC, 1-973-496-3335, Chau.Nquyen@century21.com
http://www.century21espanol.com
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