When selling your Austin home, you want to understand the top reasons buyers choose a home. This way, you can maximize the return on your time and money when preparing your home to sell. To help you prioritize, the National Association of Home Builders’ 2013 American Housing Survey ranked the most important reasons buyer’s cited for buying a home. To make the data even more interesting, they split up the results by new home buyers vs first time home buyers vs all home buyers. For each group, the top 7 reasons were still the main reasons they chose a particular home, but each group prioritized them differently.
Photo Credit: NAHB Eye on Housing.
Price is King for First Time Home Buyers
80% of first time home buyers cited price as one of the top reasons they chose a home. First time home buyers are generally a bit strapped for cash, especially after they have to come up with a down payment. I would have expected price to be the top reason first time home buyers chose a home.
New Home Buyers Ranked Price at #6
For new home buyers, price came in at #6 with only 63% of new home buyers citing it as a top consideration. This explains why home builders push prices. They know they can get a higher price if the buyer falls in love with the layout/design and size of a new home.
Layout and Design is a New Home Buyer’s Top Choice
81% of new home buyers cited layout and design as the main reason for choosing their home. As new homes generally sell at a premium to existing homes, it is understandable why a buyer looking for a new home would prioritize layout and design over price.
Size is the Top Reason All Buyers Choose a Home
Size of home consistently came in #2 behind price for first time home buyers or layout and design for new home buyers. When combined, size was the #1 most important reason all buyers chose a home. When you consider size is one of the more expensive aspects of a house to change, it makes sense why home buyers would prioritize this one highly.
Home Buyers Cared Least About the Yard or View
Only 56% of first time home buyers, 58% of new home buyers and 59% of all buyers cited the yard and view as one of their reasons for choosing a home. That being said, yard and view were still in the top reasons buyers chose a home, so it shouldn’t be something you ignore. In Austin, covered or shaded areas for residents to enjoy the outdoors is always a value add.
Quality of Neighborhood in the Top 3 for All Buyers
72% of all home buyers cited the quality of the neighborhood as one of the main reasons for choosing a home, tying for the third spot with price. 76% of new home buyers cited quality of neighborhood, prioritizing it right behind size of home. First time home buyers cared the least about neighborhood with 71% of buyers prioritizing it behind price, size and layout/design. Though you can’t do much about the quality of the neighborhood, you can work with your neighbors to improve curb appeal for surrounding homes. You also might want to consider getting involved with the HOA, so you can have a more active voice in neighborhood governance.
Exterior of the Home Was #5 for All Buyers
73% of new home buyers, 65% of all home buyers and 63% of first time home buyers cited the exterior of the home as one of the reasons for choosing a home. Not surprisingly, more new home buyers expect the exterior of the home to be in superior shape. Home buyers buying existing homes seemed to be a little bit more forgiving on the exterior of the home than the size or price. A strategy for sellers, especially sellers whose market is primarily first time home buyers, might be to offer a more competitive price and not spend too much money preparing the exterior.
Quality of Construction Came in at #6
72% of new home buyers, 64% of all buyers and 63% of first time buyers cited quality of construction at #6. I would have expected this metric to be a bit higher. But, as it is not something buyers can easily see and evaluate, I can understand why it came in at #6.
Pro Tip for Sellers on Marketing to Buyers
When marketing to buyers, make sure your Realtor highlights price, size, layout/design, neighborhood, quality, exterior condition and yard. When you know what buyers are looking for, it makes it easier to appeal to their priorities and position your home as the best choice.
To accomplish this for our clients, we design a custom website for every home we sell. The website is packed full of detailed info about your home and your neighborhood. We also have a floor plan drawn, because we know it is important to buyers. An entire section of the website is devoted to quality of your neighborhood with amenity maps to help buyers see where nearby conveniences are. Many buyers in this market are not from Austin and make hasty assumptions about a location. They assume it is “out in the middle of nowhere” or “far from Downtown” when neither of those things may be true. Leaving it up to them to do the research on where the grocery store is, gives them a distraction and a reason to go on to another home.
Considering Selling Your Home in Austin?
We know what buyers are looking for and how to position your home as the best value on the market. Homes that appear as the best value sell faster and for more money. Check out our Austin Home Sellers page for more info about the best Realtors to sell your home in Austin. Then, call us at (512) 827-8323, email us at info@11OaksRealty.com or fill out our Seller Survey to get started.
How Much is My Home Worth?
Online real estate portals give you an idea of what your home is worth. Need a more qualified range of what your home is worth in today’s market? Try our Qualified Home Evaluation where one of our home selling specialists will prepare a more detailed analysis with the upper limit of your home’s value.
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