BY HARIKA BARLETT
Historically, condominiums and co-ops account for around 12 percent of existing-home sales.
Results from the 2007 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers* indicate that between July of 2006 and June of 2007, about one-in-10 home buyers purchased an apartment or condominium in a building with five or more units; an additional 2 percent of home buyers purchased a duplex, apartment or condominium in a building with two to four units.
Condo buyers have characteristics distinct from buyers of other types of homes, and those characteristics also differ between the two groups of condo buyers identified above.
Median age of the typical home buyer was 39. But the typical buyer of condominiums in buildings with five or more units was younger than the typical home buyer – a median age of 38. The opposite was true for the typical buyer of condos in two-to-four unit buildings who had median age of 41.
There were also differences in median household income between all buyers and condo buyers. Median 2006 household incomes of the two groups of condo buyers were nearly the same ($60,400 – $60,700), but about $14,000 lower than the median household income of all buyers, which was $74,000.
Forty-one percent of five plus unit building condo buyers and 29 percent of buyers of condos in 2-4 unit buildings were single females, compared to 20 percent of all buyers.
Condo buyers also tend to have fewer children under 18 living at home.
Condo buyers in five plus unit buildings were more racially diverse than their counterparts who purchased condos in two to four unit buildings.
Geographically, the share of condo buyers in a two to four unit building was proportionally much higher in the Northeast, and smaller in the South and the West.
Condo buyers were more likely than all buyers to report that the primary reason for their home purchase was a desire to own a home of their own or establish a household (41 percent among buyers in five plus unit buildings and 38 percent among buyers in 2-4 unit buildings, compared to 33 percent for all buyers).
Overall, slightly over one-in-five home buyers purchased a newly built home, and the rest purchased a previously owned home. The results were similar for all condo purchasers.
The median size of recently purchased condos in five plus unit buildings was 1,110 square feet with a median price of $210,000. That was much smaller but more expensive than the 1,550 square foot median size of condos in two to four unit buildings, which cost a median of $173,000.
Condo buyers in five plus unit buildings cited size of the home as the biggest compromise they made among the characteristics of the home they purchased.
Home buyers who work with an agent most frequently rely on friends, relatives, or neighbors for referrals to help them find their real estate agent. For more than half of condo buyers in two to four unit buildings this was the most dominant way of finding an agent. Although much less frequently, buyers in this group also reported more often than other buyers to have found their agents through personal contact by agent by telephone, mail, email, etc.
Knowing the demographic characteristics and specific needs of different segments of home buyers help real estate professionals develop better ways to communicate and target their services according to the needs and requirements of their clients. Additionally, since referrals are the best source of future business, improved service also improves real estate agents’ business.
(ED. NOTE: The author is a researcher for National Association of Realtors.)
Dennisville – As a parent of a Tech student it would be great if the school would update their staff directory. So many old staff still listed and no new teachers listed. What gives?
