Surprising Shift Favors Homeowners: Buyers Now Prefer Existing Homes

<article class="post-2295 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry" id="post-2295"><span class="entry-date">August 5, 2021</span><div class="entry-header center-block text-center"><h1 class="entry-title">Surprising Shift Favors Homeowners: Buyers Now Prefer Existing Homes</h1><div class="shareBlock"><div class="shareTitle">Share</div><div class="shareIcons"><a aria-label="Twitter Share Link" class="twitter solid display-inline-block" data-tracking="Post,Social Post Link Clicked,Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/share?text=Surprising+Shift+Favors+Homeowners%3A+Buyers+Now+Prefer+Existing+Homes&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fgilliggroup.com%2Fblog%2Fsurprising-shift-favors-homeowners-buyers-now-prefer-existing-homes%2F" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Twitter</span></a>
<div class="fb-share-button display-inline-block" data-href="https://gilliggroup.com/blog/surprising-shift-favors-homeowners-buyers-now-prefer-existing-homes/" data-layout="" data-size=""><a class="facebook solid fb-xfbml-parse-ignore" data-tracking="Post,Social Post Link Clicked,Twitter" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgilliggroup.com%2Fblog%2Fsurprising-shift-favors-homeowners-buyers-now-prefer-existing-homes%2F&amp;src=sdkpreparse" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Facebook</span></a></div>
<a class="pinterest solid display-inline-block" count-layout="horizontal" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgilliggroup.com%2Fblog%2Fsurprising-shift-favors-homeowners-buyers-now-prefer-existing-homes%2F&amp;description=Surprising+Shift+Favors+Homeowners%3A+Buyers+Now+Prefer+Existing+Homes" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Pinterest</span></a>
<a class="linkedin solid display-inline-block" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https://gilliggroup.com/blog/surprising-shift-favors-homeowners-buyers-now-prefer-existing-homes/?shareSlug%3Dsurprising-shift-favors-homeowners-buyers-now-prefer-existing-homes" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">LinkedIn</span></a>
<a class="email dashicons dashicons-email solid display-inline-block" href="mailto:?subject=From gilliggroup.com: Surprising Shift Favors Homeowners: Buyers Now Prefer Existing Homes&amp;body=Surprising Shift Favors Homeowners: Buyers Now Prefer Existing Homes%0D%0Dhttps://gilliggroup.com/blog/surprising-shift-favors-homeowners-buyers-now-prefer-existing-homes/" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Email</span></a>
</div></div><div class="post-tax post-category"><span></span><a href="../category/realtor-blog/index.html" rel="tag">Realtor Blog</a></div><div class="post-tax post-post_tag"></div></div><div class="entry-content"><div>
<p><img alt="Surprising Shift Favors Homeowners: Buyers Now Prefer Existing Homes | Simplifying The Market" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" decoding="async" link_thumbnail="" loading="lazy" sizes="auto, (max-width: 549px) 100vw, 549px" src="https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/02135520/20210805-KCM-Share-549×300.jpg" srcset="https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/02135520/20210805-KCM-Share-549×300.jpg 549w, https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/02135520/20210805-KCM-Share.jpg 750w" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; clear:both;max-width: 100%;" width="358"/></p>
<p>In April, the <em>National Association of Home Builders</em> (NAHB) posted an article, <em><a href="https://eyeonhousing.org/2021/04/home-buyers-preferences-shift-towards-new-construction/">Home Buyers’ Preferences Shift Towards New Construction</a></em>, which reported:</p>
<p><span id="more-44872"></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>“<em>60% of people who were looking to buy a home in 2020 said they’d <strong>prefer new construction to an existing home.</strong>”</em></p>
</blockquote>
<h4><strong>However, it seems buyers are now shifting their preferences back to existing homes. </strong></h4>
<p>The latest <em><a href="https://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerconfidence.cfm">Consumer Confidence Survey</a></em> reveals the percentage of Americans planning to buy a home in the next six months is virtually the same as it was back in March. However, the percentage that plan to buy a newly constructed home is lower for that same period.</p>
<p>NAHB confirms this sentiment in their latest <em><a href="https://eyeonhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/HOUSING-TRENDS-REPORT-Q221.pdf?_ga=2.121964555.1460318833.1627861533-1134178126.1605647352">Housing Trends Report</a></em>. The organization explains that existing homes are now the top preference among today’s buyers. Here’s a breakdown of those findings:<a href="https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/02135522/20210805-MEM-Eng-1.png"><img alt="Surprising Shift Favors Homeowners: Buyers Now Prefer Existing Homes | Simplifying The Market" class="aligncenter wp-image-44875" decoding="async" height="488" loading="lazy" sizes="auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px" src="https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/02135522/20210805-MEM-Eng-1.png" srcset="https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/02135522/20210805-MEM-Eng-1.png 1000w, https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/02135522/20210805-MEM-Eng-1-400×300.png 400w" width="650"/></a></p>
<h4><strong>Why the shift?</strong></h4>
<p>There are several reasons why buyer preference is shifting. Here are two that impact purchasers looking to move in now:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>The process may move faster</strong>. Builders may not be able to guarantee when the house will be complete and ready for move-in due to supply chain challenges with materials like lumber and appliances. If you buy an existing home, not only is it ready, it also likely has a refrigerator, range, and other necessary home appliances already.</li>
<li>
<strong>There are no unexpected costs during the buying process</strong>. With the price of land, labor, and lumber being so volatile, many builders are including an escalation clause in the price negotiation to cover rising expenses. With an existing home, the final price you will pay is negotiated upfront.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>Bottom Line</strong></h3>
<p>If you’re a homeowner looking to sell, your house is more attractive to a greater number of buyers as compared to earlier in the year. This might be the time for us to connect to discuss the possibility.</p>
</div>
</div></article>