Home buying in 2010

Think back to house buying in 2010 – the biggest sales tactics for home sellers were sign yards, newspaper ads and open houses. For the most part only realtors had access to the MLS records. Few people had ever looked up a house online.

But that’s not it. Homes have changed:

Median home values over the past decade have increased more than 25%, from $137,600 in November 1999 to $172,600 in November 2009 (the most recent
existing-home data available). Fewer people are buying detached, single family
homes–82% in 1999 compared to 78% in 2009–but more people are buying homes in suburban neighborhoods–46% in 1999 compared to 54% today.

And homebuyers have changed:

Buyers themselves have also changed. A smaller proportion of married couples are
buying homes these days; while married couples comprised 68% of all home
purchases at the beginning of this century, they represent 60% of all buyers
today. Single men and women have made up the difference–single men purchased 10% of all homes last year, compared to only 7% 10 years ago. Single women now
represent more than one-fifth of all home buyers–21% up from 15% in 1999.

Want to learn more? Check out the latest from RIS Meida. Or contact an exclusive home buyer agent; we’ve been around a long time, we’ve seen the changes and we’ve been helping homebuyers deal with the changes for years.

Submitted by exclusive buyer agent, Mary Rugani.