Everyone needs somewhere to live, and if a person is not renting their property, then they purchased it. This is a major milestone in anyone’s life, and exploring the real estate market for a new home is a major undertaking. Not to mention the enormous financial responsibility of finding a proper house for sale. Buying a new home is indeed a lot of work, and the real estate market for a new home is a vast web of information. But the good news is that there are some simple and common strategies that a home buyer can use, and real estate agents are always willing to help out. Browsing the real estate market for a new home is hard work, but it can be hugely rewarding when the buyer finds a brand new home that they love. In the United States today, what are modern home buyers looking for in new homes for sale? Or will a used house be a better deal in the local real estate market for a new home?
What to Look For
Every house has four walls and a roof, but there is quite a bit of variance beyond that. One of them is the classic real estate factor: location. It matters a lot where
a new or used house is, and not just the home’s own features. Exploring the real estate market for a new home can be made easier when the buyer can strike out entire neighborhoods at a time. A family with kids, for example, will need a school within convenient distance of the home, and other nearby features such as a park, grocery stores, a shopping mall, and more are also highly desired. Not to mention a place for work. Sometimes, a person will enter the real estate market for a new home if they got a new job far away, and they’ll look for a nearby home to match. Of course, neighborhoods that are close to many attractions may be more costly to move into than more remote neighborhoods, but this is to be expected. And what about the houses themselves?
Some homes are newer than others, and they may vary in condition and features. The energy efficiency of a home may be a factor, since inefficient heating and cooling or water can cost extra money in the long run. To demonstrate this, the National Association of Homebuilders, back in 2016, found out that 90% of their respondents listed Energy Star appliances as either an essential or at least desirable feature in their most-wanted list. Such homes will save on the electric bill over time, and they can be a part of the global “go green” initiative.
Something else to look for may be the front and back yards on a property. Many Americans agree that having a yard is important or at least desirable: 83% of Americans say that having a yard at all is important, and 90% of those with a yard say that maintaining it is critical. This is known as landscaping, and it can take many forms. Sometimes, the homeowner is the one who launches a landscaping project, such as adding a swimming pool, a wooden deck, or a flower garden. Investing as little as 5% of the property’s value into landscaping can generate an ROI, or return on investment, as high as 150%. This can make a used home more attractive on the real estate market, and it may sell faster, too. Other times, if a home is new, the builders may have done their own landscaping for similar reasons, making the property more attractive. This often includes planting trees or shrubs, or mowing the lawn.
Who is buying homes? Most often, it is older adults who are buying houses, since they are most experience in the housing market and have the most money saved for this venture. But those of the Millennial generation, anyone born 1982-1995, are catching up. This generation of young adults is now old enough to start making major purchases such as cars and houses, and for this reason, many marketers take a great interest in the preferences and spending habits of Millennials. In years to come, the same may be said of Generation Z, those born 1996-2010.