Staying in homes longer in 2011
The 2011 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers recently surveyed 5,708 home buyers and sellers and found that although 41 percent of recent buyers are unsure of how long they expect to live in their home, the typical buyer estimated they would live in their home for 15 years, up from an expected 10 years cited in last year’s survey. This increase is likely because of the demographic makeup and buying habits of home buyers having changed dramatically in the last year which revealed fewer first time buyers and more stable, mature, older, married buyers made up a larger portion of the buyer pool.
This trend is equally true with home sellers, who in 2011 owned their home for nine years as the median tenure in homes has creeped up in recent years from only 6 years in 2007. Sellers of detached single-family homes which account for the largest share of homes sold, owned their home for a median of 10 years.
Sellers aged 18 to 34 predictably had the shortest tenure in their home, only six years while those aged 65 to 74 sold their home after living there for 14 years.
Several large shifts are currently taking place in the home buying and selling market, and the median tenure in homes is a major factor – as the lifespan of a home is extended, the number of real estate transactions drop, with buyers expecting to live in their current home for 15 years and sellers selling after longer periods of time.
