Homeowners who have children tend to be in more of a hurry to sell. A new survey from the National Association of REALTORS® shows 26 percent of sellers with children under the age of 18 responded saying that they needed to sell “very urgently” and claimed they needed their home sold as quickly as possible. Respondent sellers claim they’re looking for an agent who can sell their home within a specific time. On the flip side, 14 percent of homeowners without children said the sale of their home needed to be done urgently.
Buyers and sellers with kids under 18 have different real estate habits than other segments of the population, according to NAR’s 2018 Moving with Kids Report.
“Buying a house is rarely just a financial transaction, especially when children are involved,” says NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall. “Parents are choosing the home they will raise their kids in, the schools their sons and daughters will attend, and the neighborhood where they will play and make friends.”
Schools play a central factor in purchasing decisions for buyers with kids. Fifty percent of buyers with children say that the quality of a neighborhood’s school district is important, compared to just 11 percent of buyers without children, according to the report. Convenience and proximity to the school are big factors in their home shopping, too.
Buyers with children tend to purchase larger homes than those who do not. The average buyer with children under the age of 18 purchases a 2,100-square-foot home with four bedrooms and two bathrooms; a buyer with no children typically purchases a 1,750-square-foot home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, according to the report.
Slightly more than a quarter of all buyers with children say that child care expenses delay their home purchases. Additionally, these expenses most likely force these buyers to make compromises for when they do finally buy a home. Thirty percent of buyers say they had to compromise on the size of the home, 29 percent compromised on the price of the home, and 22 percent had to sacrifice the condition of the home.
