The kinds of houses buyers opted for this year MABA MassachusettsRealEstate FirstTimeHomeBuyers MaBuyerAgnet

New construction accounted for increased share of home purchases this year, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Per NAR’s 2023 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, which shows insights into the types of homes buyers choose and how their preferences change annually, thirteen percent of homes purchased this year were new construction, up roughly one percentage point from last year. Thirty-eight percent of buyers who opted for previously owned homes did so because of the reduced price point, up from thirty on epercent in 2022. New construction wasn’t the only thing on the rise in 2023, though. Buyers’ desire to avoid homes with plumbing and electrical issues also increased by four percent year over year, with nearly half of buyers keen on finding new homes that didn’t need utility-related renovations.

Detached single-family homes remained the most popular type of housing, making up seventy nine percent of all home purchases during the past year. The second-most popular home type was townhomes or row houses at only eight percent. Overall, the typical home purchased this year was one thousand eight hundred and sixty square feet and was built in 1985, most also had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Senior-related housing defined by NAR as housing restricted to people aged sixty or older skyrocketed during the year, accounting for nineteen percent of purchases, up from seven percent last year. A majority of these senior buyers purchased condominiums, followed by townhomes or row houses as the second-most popular option.

The typical buyer found a new home a median distance of twenty miles from their old residence. Last year, buyers moved a median of fifty miles prior to the pandemic, however, the norm was about a fifteen mile move. More than half of buyers cited neighborhood quality as the determining factor for location of their home, with sixty percent considering it in their purchase. That was closely followed by proximity to family and friends at forty five percent and affordability at thirty nine percent. When it comes to prices, a majority of 2023 buyers paid one hundred percent of the asking price, while a quarter of buyers paid more than the asking price. Not particularly interested in starting up the buying or selling process again too soon, the typical 2023 buyer plans to stay in their new home for at least fifteen years but twenty two percent said they plan to never move again, down from twenty eight percent in 2022.

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