Homebuyers Found Prices to be Affordable in 2010

Despite all of the financial problems that were going on in 2010, thousands of homebuyers jumped into the real estate market and purchased a home. The year was great for many buyers with historically low mortgage rates, but home affordability was also one of the main factors for the number of home sales in 2010.

Another interesting finding in the survey, which was conducted by Weichert Realtors, Inc., was that the desire to own a home rather than continue renting was hardly even a factor in the minds of most of the people who bought a home in 2010.

The survey asked more than 1,200 home buyers who purchased a home between July 1 and December 31 about their reasons for purchasing a home. About 28 percent of those surveyed listed “favorable financing” as their main motivator for their purchase. That’s a three percent drop from last year’s 31 percent who listed the same reason. However, in 2008, only 14 percent of the home buyers during that year surveyed listed “favorable financing” as their main motivator in buying a home.

In 2005, when the housing boom began to dwindle down, 26 percent of the home buyers in the Weichert Realtors survey said that they wanted to purchase a home so they could stop renting. In 2010, however, that number was nearly non-existent as very few respondents listed this as a reason for purchasing a home.

Dominick Prevete, the regional vice president of Weichert Realtors Inc., said the results of the survey show that homebuyers are looking for a great value before they jump into their home purchase. With discounted prices and historically low mortgage rates, it was a great time for buyers who wanted to get a great price for a home.

The survey also showed that about 12 percent of respondents decided to buy a house because they were relocating for job purposes or some other reason. In 2009, 12 percent of respondents to the survey said the same thing, but that number is down eight percent from 2008 when 20 percent listed “relocation” as the reason for buying a home. Another 28 percent said they wanted to buy a home last year to increase their living space or so they could get more property. That number is fairly consistent for all years that the survey has been taken.