Redfin Survey: a Move-in Ready Home, a Trustworthy Agent and a Lower Cost of Living Are Among the Keys to Happiness When Buying a New Home

Among recent homebuyers, the most common regret is not paying more
attention to commute; a majority would give up space for a better
location

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–If you want to be happy with your new home, prioritize location over
space and avoid a fixer-upper, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com),
the next-generation real estate brokerage.

In one of the first
surveys of its kind, Redfin asked more than 650 recent homebuyers
about factors that led to happiness or regret with their homebuying
choices.

“Reviewing the data, we came to realize that we as humans don’t always
know what to look for in a home, that even in the biggest, most
considered purchase of our lives, we pay for things that make us
unhappy, and overlook the things we really need,” said Redfin CEO Glenn
Kelman, who authored a
blog post on the survey’s findings. “What we found is that the
homebuyers with no experience often make the best choices, and that the
people with the most money are the least likely to love their homes.”

Findings include:

• Cost of living makes a difference: 73% of people who moved to
  an area with a lower cost of living were very happy with their new
  home, compared to 60% who moved to a higher-cost area.
• Rural buyers were the happiest: 74% of people moving to a rural
  area were very happy, compared to 56% of city-dwellers.
• Fixer-uppers often fail to fulfill: Only 46% of those who had
  to do more repairs than expected were very happy, compared to 77% who
  had to do fewer repairs than expected. If they could do it over, most
  fixer-upper buyers said they would spend more money on a move-in ready
  home.
• Bidding wars can lead to settling: Only 52% of buyers who made
  offers on three or more other homes were very happy with their final
  purchase, compared to 64% who made offers on fewer than three other
  homes.
• Overpaying hurts: 65% of those who felt their home was a fair
  price at the time of purchase were very happy, compared to only 48% of
  those who felt the price of their home was high at the time.
• A spouse may not be the best source of advice: Of homebuyers
  who got meaningful advice from their agent about which homes to see
  and buy, 67% were very happy. Of the people who got meaningful advice
  from their spouse, 61% were very happy.
• Location, location, location: 53% of homebuyers expressed a
  moderate or strong preference for a better location over a bigger home
  if they could do the purchase over. Only 8% preferred a larger home
  instead of a better location.
• Money doesn’t lead to happiness: The happiest cohort of
  homebuyers were people with household incomes between $50,000 and
  $75,000, with 67% very happy with their home purchase, compared to 61%
  of folks with incomes above $200,000. But if it’s true that money
  doesn’t matter, it’s only true to a point; the unhappiest cohort
  consisted of people with incomes below $50,000, where only 55% were
  very happy with their home.
• Women are more often happy: 67% of women were extremely happy
  with their home, compared to only 57% of men.

To read the full report, complete with additional data and the survey
methodology, click here: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/09/buying-the-right-home-in-nine-easy-steps.html

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About Redfin Corporation

Redfin (www.redfin.com)
is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own
full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in
the customer’s favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the
country’s #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to
consumers, including the most accurate home-value estimate online, the Redfin
Estimate. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service,
technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while
saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro
areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $31 billion in
home sales to date, and saved customers more than $335 million in fees,
and counting.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent,
visit www.redfin.com.
To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin
Data Center.

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Contacts

Redfin Journalist Services:
Alex Starace, 206-588-6863
press@redfin.com