May 29, 2019
What Do Most Buyers Want in a Home?

There are numerous ways to consider what people want in a home—and where they want to live. One of these is the actual purchase activity in a given area during a given period of time. But that has certain shortcomings—for example, where one chooses to purchase a home ends up being a practical decision, which is encumbered by certain limitations of one’s station in life, one’s disposable income, and the actual availability of a home that is within one’s means at the time of purchase.
Another way to read what types of homes go to the heart’s desire—and the way Zillow considered what people truly want from homes in a recent report—is to pay attention to the homes that are most “liked” or “saved” during a home search (or even just in a scenario of home browsing), and where those homes tend to reside. Using the highest “rate of net user saves (saves minus un-saves) per household” in its house-hunting app as the rubric for which neighborhoods it considers the “most-loved” in the nation, Zillow released data showing that most-desired neighborhoods follow certain trends—trends which tend to cause homes in a given “much-loved” area to rise to valuation up to six times the average valuation in the larger metro areas in which these neighborhoods lie.
As such, it may come as no surprise that most people “like” homes in swankier areas of metro areas. By this rubric, most homeowners tend to favor luxury neighborhoods, urban communities going through gentrification and offering potential investment opportunities, and popular retirement and vacation communities.
Yet these remain pie-in-the-sky homes for most people, rather than the places where they will likely end up purchasing—which still tends to be homes close to jobs and transit options with affordable price tags.
Still—the heart wants what it will, and it can’t hurt for us to be cognizant of what buyers truly want in their homes.
If you’re looking to buy that perfect home, we here at Topouzis & Associates, P.C. offer not only the services that ensure your title gets conveyed clear of defects, but Owner’s Policies of title insurance. Contact us if you want your property transfer in Cranston, Rhode Island; Springfield, Massachusetts; or Miami, Florida to go through without a hitch—both before and after closing.