It takes 52 home inspections to find the right one
Thursday, January 21, 2010
OBSESSIVE house hunting is taking over buyers' lives as they inspect 52 homes - six times as many as their parents' generation - before finally making a decision.
Property experts said home buyers were often wasting too much time looking online for properties, often overwhelmed by choice.
Two decades ago a buyer took three to six weeks and viewed eight to 20 properties before making a decision, Starr Partners CEO John McCormack said yesterday.
But prospective buyers were now looking at an average 50 to 60 homes over six to 12 months.
"If the market is moving, it is costing them more. Buyers are doing themselves a massive disservice. You can only see so much on the web," Mr McCormack said.
"On the computer they are removed from reality. The buyer needs to look at the area they want to buy and go see all the stock in their price range. Until you physically look at it you don't know."
Consumer behaviour expert Dr Chris Hodkinson said market research by realestate.com.au revealed 87 per cent of homebuyers were driven to look at numerous properties because they feared missing their dream home.
Of 1200 surveyed, 92 per cent of property seekers spend up to 25 hours a month researching potential homes online and more than 80 per cent visit up to four properties a week.
"It is one of the biggest financial investment decisions many people ever have to make," Dr Hodkinson said.
"Fear of missing out can cause excessive worry with some unable to make a decision and others spending all leisure time frantically searching."
- Vikki Campion, Property Reporter, The Daily Telegraph