Survey reveals how brutal the market can be for first-time homebuyers

A new survey captures in excruciating detail the ordeal first-time buyers across the country face in coping with the housing shortage.

Whether it’s missing out on workdays, spending free time reviewing listings, or losing multiple homes, first-time buyers sacrifice a lot to get their first home, according to a report from Open Door.

Almost 80 percent of first-time buyers missed two working days looking for an apartment, while 39 percent struggled to raise enough money for a down payment. Almost all homebuyers had lost a home they had bid on, with some buyers bidding for ten or more homes, the survey found. At least 37 percent of home buyers said they had been outbid by other buyers.

The report surveyed over 1,000 first-time home buyers in the United States.

Bidding wars, cash offers and low inventory levels have created a market that is making it increasingly difficult for first-time buyers to get hold of a home, experts said. Rising property prices are also making it less affordable for many, forcing buyers into townhouses, condominiums, or further away from urban areas.

“When someone has high real estate values, home ownership is difficult,” said Doug Leever, mortgage sales director at Tropical Financial Credit Union in Miramar, Florida. “A lot of first-time buyers want to move into a house like their parents, but it’s tough because of the values ​​out there.”

And higher property values ​​can mean higher property taxes, something first-time home buyers should plan for.

“A first-time Florida home buyer shouldn’t consider the previous owner’s valuation and annual tax liability as a measure of what to expect in this particular market,” said Daniel Hudson, partner at Berger Singerman, a Fort corporate law firm. Lauderdale.

Filing a homestead exemption could help them save money, he added.

A big problem for first time buyers is that they have no experience of what to look for in a home and how the process works, especially in this property market. With homes being taken off the market in record time, buyers don’t have the luxury of counter-offers, something first-time buyers don’t understand when they hit the market.

“They are more reluctant to make offers,” said Patty Da Silver, broker of Green Realty Properties in Copper City, Florida. “And in this market you have to make your best and highest offer in advance.”

Stephanie Barner, 33, said she looked at seven homes and lost one listing before landing her two-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Tamarac, Florida. The process was stressful, but she found some relief with a broker who helped find it: Barner hunkered down on shows on her day off and spent her extra time reviewing listings on various apps during the day.

For her home, she was offering approximately $ 5,000 for a final price of $ 245,000, choosing a home that had good structure but needed small renovations inside.

“I was very nervous at first because I didn’t know what to look for in a home,” says Barner, but adds advice to newbies like her: “Just don’t get discouraged.”

https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2021/11/08/survey-reveals-how-brutal-the-market-can-be-for-first-time-homebuyers/