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Americans give opinions on their homes
By Melissa Wirkus
When times are tough or changing in any market, it is interesting to see how people feel about things. As for the slowing housing market, a recent survey asked how Americans feel about their home in general.
Do they see it as an ATM? Are they using their home as an investment? Do they enjoy where they live?
All of these are important questions that could help reveal some things about the future of the housing market.
An August 21, 2006 article by Les Christie of CNNMoney.com, “Adobe attitude,” gives some interesting insight into how Americans feel about their homes.
“There's a lot of money riding on just how Americans feel about their homes. The value of residential real estate in the United States is worth upwards of $20 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that close to seven million single family homes are expected to change hands this year alone, at a median price of about $227,000.”
“Despite the big money to be made - or lost - in real estate, only 5 percent of Americans regard their houses primarily as investments, according to a recent report on the attitudes of Americans toward their homes.”
In a recent survey by Coldwell Banker, more than 250,000 households were surveyed on their attitude about their home. All of these people were homeowners and had a median income of $75,000 annually.
The survey found that although many people are proud of their home, not many see it as an investment, or something that will help to improve their wealth.
“The responses from this moderately well-off group revealed that the vast majority, 67 percent, think of the house they live in primarily as a home, not a financial vehicle. That loyalty to their existing home was further demonstrated by their answers to a question about whether or not they would trade up from it to a better one if they could do so without affecting the rest of their lifestyle. Most (53 percent) said no or probably not.”
It seems as though this group of Americans has a high level of attachment to their homes. This fact seems rather surprising though, since according to NAR, Americans tend to move an average of every seven years.
But most Americans move only when they are required to do so. “Most of us leave our hometowns; 81 percent live someplace other than where they were raised and 52 percent live at least 200 miles from there. And although almost everyone has more than one reason for moving, the ones they cite most often include their careers (48 percent) or to improve their lifestyles (45 percent). More than 27 percent relocate to pursue a relationship.”
The one thing that most homeowners are doing or not doing actually, is buying “fixer-upper” homes. This could be part of the reason for the excess amount of previously owned homes on the market.
“What these Americans are not doing is moving into ‘handy-man specials.’ Sixty-eight percent said they bought spanking new homes or ones requiring very little updating. Gillespie sounds a bit rueful over that. He says, ‘Homebuyers may be missing opportunities to get more house for their dollar. . . . Sweat equity can transform a home from a fixer upper into a beautiful living space worth much more than its purchase price.’”