House Hunting can feel overwhelming when you look at house after house but none seem to be the right fit... The house with the kitchen that’s too small, the house with the location that isn't right, the house with the ugly wallpaper everywhere, and the list goes on...
So if you’re wondering how many houses you should look at before finding the one, you might have to FIRST find out what kind of buyer you are.
What type of BUYER are you?
THE RESEARCH READY BUYERS
• These buyers do extensive research. They filter through and eliminate listings that won’t match their criteria by looking thoroughly online, drivingby, learning a lot about the area they want to live in and exactly what willor won’t work for them.
• They usually have a pretty clear idea of what it is they want in their new home so most listings can be easily eliminated from the list of homes they are going to physically look at.
• They typically won’t look at very many homes in person before writing an offer but the length of time it takes them to find the right house could be longer depending on what’s available.
THE SHOPPER BUYERS
• These buyers have to shop around in order to get a grasp on what exactly they want.
• They might know the basics of what they’re looking for but until they’re out and about in different homes and neighborhoods is when they’ll really zero in on their wants and needs.
• These buyers will typically look at the most houses in person and have a hard time filtering through listings online.
THE FOCUSED BUYERS
According to research by the National Association of REALTORS®,the average homebuyer views 10 homes before making an offer and the search process takes 10 weeks.
• This doesn’t mean that once you decide to start the home search process that you should pick 10 listings to go out and see and from there decide which one you’re going to write an offer on. That’s more like HGTV’s House Hunters and not realistic.
• The reason this is the average is because these buyers have worked with their agent to really dive into some specific questions that will help them focus on what they’re looking for.
• The first 5 homes you go out to see will help give you an idea of what you want vs what you don’t want and from there you’ll look at only those that match the more specific criteria you’ve figured out. From there you’ll know which subdivision is too far from work or realize you really do want a private backyard. Then you won’t have to look at too many more but instead wait for the more specific matches to come up and then go look at those!
THE HOW-TO
Not sure where you’d fit? Here are some things to keep in mind so that when you do write an offer, you are confident in your decision.
• Do thorough research online to narrow your options. Use Google Maps to look up different subdivisions you are considering.
• Go out and get your feet wet! Contact me so we can look at 5 houses that match your basic criteria to at least get out there and start getting some ideas on what you like and don’t like!
• Hire ME! I will work with you on figuring out your specific home search criteria and help make recommendations that you might not think of yourself
Which buyer category do you think you’d fit into if you started the homesearch tomorrow? What other questions do you have about the process?
Elimae