Tag Archives: homes
Buyers and estate agents in US embracing new technology new study shows
Even though more consumers in the United States are using the internet as a tool during their home search and are therefore more connected than ever before, says new research. It means that home buyers are increasingly utilising the knowledge and expertise of a real estate agent, according to the study published by the National Association of Realtors. ‘Consumers have the ability to do more home buying research online and be more connected during the home search process than ever before, but research proves they are still seeing the value a Realtor® brings to the transaction, from the initial search to well after the closing,’ said NAR president Chris Polychron. ‘Agents bring great value to buyers from every generation, demographic and location as well as in every financial and familial situation. So while consumers have more technological tools available at their fingertips, realtors are now more than ever a part of the home buying and selling equation,’ he added. The study found that finding the right property was ranked as the most difficult step in the home buying process. Since the internet is now the first place many people go for information, it's not surprising that four in 10 buyers looked for properties online as a first step in the home buying process, up from 36% in 2010. However, the data also shows that 88% of buyers in 2014 purchased their home with assistance from a real estate agent, up from 83% in 2010. While 94% of millennials and 84% of baby boomers used online websites in their home search, only 65% of those aged 69 to 89 years did the same. Older boomers, those aged 60 to 68 years, used a mobile device to search for properties at less than half the rate of millennials at 30% versus 66%. When it comes to website listing features, photos and online property information were more important to millennials, while virtual tours and direct contact with a real estate agent were more important to baby boomers. Despite visual content growing in popularity and importance, older homebuyers found virtual tours more useful than younger buyers at 45% compared to 36% among millennials. As for the length of time it takes for consumers to find a home, millennials typically looked for about 11 weeks, while baby boomers and members of the older generation searched for eight weeks. Internet use also impacted the length of a home search. Those who used the internet to search homes visited more homes and searched for longer, looking at 10 homes over a 10 week period versus four homes in four weeks for those not looking on the web. While not all consumers use the internet in their home search, a growing number are first finding their future home online. Some 43% buyers first found the home they ended up purchasing on the web compared to just 8% in 2001. In 2001 some 48% of buyers found the home they… Continue reading
Retired UK home owners seeing value of property grow
Retired home owners in the UK have seen their property wealth grow by nearly £17.5 billion in the past three months as house prices continue to climb, new research shows. Pensioners who own their homes outright have gained an average of £3,725 each from their houses in the past three months taking their property wealth to a new record high, according to the index from over 55s financial specialist Key Retirement. In the five years since Key started monitoring the housing wealth of the over 65s, in January 2010, total pensioner property wealth has increased by 14% or £111 billion which equates to £23,700 on average for every home owner. The Pensioner Property Index shows over 65 home owners now own property wealth of £891.249 billion outright with pensioners across almost all of the UK benefiting. Key believes the strong growth in property prices will drive expansion of the equity release market further which enables homeowners to release wealth from their homes. Customers releasing property wealth are taking around £68,500 on average, its figures show. Retired home owners in London were the biggest winners gaining an average of around £14,238 each in the past three months, while home owners in the South East of England are more than £8,290 better off and pensioners in East Anglia are £8,524 better off. Key’s figures show a fifth of all pensioner property equity is owned by over 65s in London with total wealth of £178.894 billion. Nearly two thirds of pensioner property wealth is concentrated in London, the South East, the South West and East Anglia. ‘The strength of the housing market is reflected in the growth in the amounts being released through equity release plans which are now an average £68,500, an amount which dwarfs the average pension pot in the UK,’ said Dean Mirfin, technical director at Key Retirement. ‘The success of property investment for millions of over 65s home owners highlights how homes are major assets which should be considered as part of anyone’s retirement planning,’ he explained. ‘Property prices rise and fall but over 65 home owners control more than £891 billion in assets which can make a major contribution to enhancing retirement lifestyles. Pensioners however need specialist advice before accessing their property wealth,’ he added. Continue reading
UK reinvigorated Right to Buy programme hailed a success
A reinvigorated Right to Buy programme in the UK has created nearly 40,000 new home owners in the last three years, according to new figures published by the government. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said it is further evidence of how government-led efforts to help aspiring home owners are working, adding that there were 3,644 new starts and acquisitions since the Right to Buy was reinvigorated in 2012. He explained that this means that the 3,054 additional homes sold in the first year of the scheme are already being replaced on a one for one basis nationally. ‘For years, the discounts available under the Right to Buy were left to dwindle, denying thousands of people the opportunity to own their own home,’ he explained. ‘This reinvigorated scheme has turned that around, and means nearly 40,000 people have been able to buy the home they love, many of whom might otherwise never have had the chance to become homeowners. On top of that, it’s getting homes built, with councils replacing the additional homes sold on a one for one basis,’ he added. The data also shows that since the reinvigoration of the Right to Buy scheme, nearly £964 million in sales receipts are being re-invested into building new homes, levering a further £2.2 billion of investment over the next three years. This means that in total, over £3.2 billion will be raised to invest in affordable house building as a result of Right to Buy. A breakdown of the figures shows that in the three months to June, some 2,779 households bought their homes under Right to Buy. Local authorities received approximately £223 million from Right to Buy sales, 5% higher than the £212 million in the same quarter of 2014 to 2015. Lewis also pointed out that since 2010 the government has introduced a range of measures to support aspiring homeowners to buy their own home. In addition to reinvigorating the Right to Buy, this includes the Help to Buy scheme, which has enabled nearly 120,000 people to buy with a fraction of the deposit they would normally require. Overall, since 2010 232,000 households have been helped to purchase a home through government backed schemes including Help to Buy and Right to Buy. On top of this, the government has also pledged to build 200,000 new Starter Homes, which will be available to young first time buyers under 40 at a 20% discount, while a new Help to Buy ISA will help aspiring home owners to save up a deposit for a new home. Continue reading
