Top Trends Among Today's First-time Homebuyers

What are first-time home buyers after when looking for their first home? Sure there's the desire for the usual 2-3 bedrooms, 1+ bath and the hope that there's enough in the budget for a garage, yard, or patio. That goes without saying. But today's first-time home buyers are different. They're choosing their first home with more strategic thinking and long-term goals in mind. Blame it on the recession, blame it on the housing crisis, or blame it on tight credit. Whatever the explanation, today's first-time home buyers have a whole different set of criteria and goals in mind when purchasing a first home. Find out what these goals are and why they're emerging when we examine the top trends amongst today's ultra savvy first-time home buyers.

Recently I've been showing a lot of homes to first-time home buyers, especially when the federal tax credit of up to $8,000 was still available (sadly, it expired at the end of April 2010). In looking at dozens of modest or so-called "starter" homes, I noticed a lot of my buyers were looking for the same kinds of things. I'm not referring to the desire to have three bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and a 1+ car garage, although those things certainly came up time and time again.

I'm referring to the goals most of these first-time home buyers all had, i.e. what they were trying to achieve strategically in pinpointing the right first home. I thought it was interesting that the focus has switched from having a certain number of bedrooms and bathrooms to more of a strategy in which the house could withstand the test of time, or unpredictable markets, or changing needs on the part of the homeowners. So I've put together a list of the most popular goals these first-time home buyers articulated time and time again in shopping for their first home. Here it is:

1. Buying below budget for flexibility with respect to unexpected expenses (e.g. home repairs), even though the house doesn't necessarily need any big repairs such as a new roof or new major mechanics

2. Buying for ease of affordability on a single income even though the buyers actually have two incomes, even solid ones at that

3. Buying something with less square footage which is therefore cheaper to update, especially when it comes to refinishing hardwood floors and/or installing carpet.

4. Buying something modestly sized so it's less expensive to heat as well as to cool

5. Compromising on size (or even forfeiting a garage) in exchange for buying something that doesn't require any updating or expensive fixes

6. Buying based on "Location, location, location" even if it means buying a much smaller house as a hedge against future housing downturns or an unexpected move

7. Buying a "walkable home" in the city vs buying in a rural setting in order to lower commuting costs and simplify the ability to manage with a single automobile

8. Buying something with a walk-up attic to expand into in case the family gets bigger or the homeowner decides to start a home-based business

9. Buying something with an unfinished basement and/or a basement that is plumbed for a second bathroom in case extra square footage is needed later

10. Buying something with a fenced-in yard, not because they have the need for it now, but in case the homeowners start a family or decide to acquire a pet.


Can you think of other goals a first-time homebuyer might try to meet in selecting a certain type of property? If so, we'd love to hear from you. Does your home sound like a match for today's first-time homebuyers? Call us for a free, no-obligation consultation. If you're a first-time homebuyer looking for skilled, personable Madison WI Realtors to explain every step in the buying process, call Lake & City Homes broker | owner Jolenta Averill at (563) BUY-SOLD or visit LakeandCityhomes.com today. We're happy to answer all your questions about buying Madison WI real estate.