Who is looking for homes in 2020? According to a report from listing site Point2, the typical U.S. home seeker this year is a millennial woman looking for more space and outdoor features — and she’s willing to pay more to get it.
With people spending more time at home because of the coronavirus pandemic, Point2 decided to look at user activity on its site before and after lockdown, from January 1 through March 15 and from March 16 to May 31.
Point2 found that 55 percent of home shoppers were women and the largest age group was 25 to 34 at 20.5 percent, followed closely by the 55 to 64 age group at 19.7 percent. Seventy-one percent of users did their browsing on smartphones or tablets.
In terms of priorities, post-lockdown home shoppers are less interested in the usual granite countertops and stainless steel appliances than they are in square footage, number of bedrooms, less open floor plans and access to outdoor amenities such as pools and gardens, according to the report. They became more interested in houses, at the expense of condos and land, and started looking at higher price ranges more, particularly the $200,000 to $300,000 range and the $500,000 to $700,000 range, suggesting that potential buyers are willing to pay more for the extra space.
Point2 also found evidence that, after being cooped up at home with children and significant others, homebuyers have realized they need more personal space and are eschewing their pre-pandemic preference for open-plan rooms.
“[T]his is most obvious in cities where searches related to living space seem paradoxical: buyers look for smaller, but better compartmentalized homes, with more bedrooms and bathrooms,” the report said.
“Therefore, although affordability considerations forced some home seekers to look for smaller homes, having more bedrooms and especially more bathrooms has become a must,” the report stated.
For the full report and changes in home seeker behavior for the largest U.S. cities, click here.
Email Andrea V. Brambila.
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