A recent study by the Florida Association of Realtors of homebuyers who bought homes in the months of April, May and June this year is a good snapshot of the homebuyer market in general. The interviews reveal: • On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being difficult, homebuyers rate obtaining a mortgage at 8.53 on average! • Homebuyers want realtors who can negotiate aggressively for them, give quality information on where the market is going and why, and definitely expect their realtors to provide references for lenders who will perform. • Homebuyers are taking over seven months to search for a home, and an average of 4 months to make multiple offers and consummate a purchase. They rely heavily on assistance from their realtor for price negotiation and information on comparable home sales. • Decreasing prices motivated the majority of buyers to search properties, with 29 percent of respondents saying that this decrease is what enabled them to buy in the first place. • Home buyers expect to remain in their new homes an average of 4.23 years, which is also close to the five years they believe it will take for prices to go up again. Why are these snapshots so important? Obviously, to help realtors better understand their role and deliver expected service to customers. But another lesson is that the home buying process is slowing as homebuyers commit to making purchases for the long term and as competition among sellers increases due to large inventory. This survey shows that buyers and sellers NEED realtors to point them in the right direction. TeamDuncan is ready to help.
