The time has come – the time to take charge. This summer, July 30-August, at Inman Connect Las Vegas. On January 1, 2024, experience the complete reinvention of the most important event in real estate. Join your peers and the best in the industry to shape the future. learn more.
Mortgage rates may have fallen from recent highs, but the price shock has yet to fade for homebuyers, A new consumer survey From the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Show.
Among consumers surveyed by Coldwell Banker, 56% said price is the most important factor when choosing a home, while 50% said location is the most important, which makes people understand that “location is everything” when buying. Experienced advice creates a home of doubt.
Jason Waugh
Coldwell Banker, in partnership with Censuswide, conducted a survey of 4,213 U.S. consumers ages 18 and older from November 27, 2023, to December 11, 2023, on real estate trends, market sentiment, and real estate investing. and luxury consumption. About a quarter of the respondents are considered luxury consumers and have or will soon plan to purchase a home in the United States worth $1 million or more.
“One of my mantras is that data is our most valuable currency,” Jason Waugh, president of Coldwell Banker Affiliates, told Inman. “So one of the things that I find very refreshing at Coldwell Banker and the larger Anywhere is that they really value data and getting consumer feedback to help shape strategy and trends, even for our business and sales Professionals invest, and ultimately, how do we deliver a great real estate experience?”
Coldwell Banker Real Estate 2024 Consumer Survey
price consciousness
By gender, women are more concerned about their wallets, with 60% of women saying price is the most important factor when buying a house, compared with 48% of men.
As the market continues to realign since around mid-2022, consumers may respond to market uncertainty by prioritizing price over other factors typically considered more important, such as location, Waugh said.
“As I’ve described the market over the past 18 months or so, this is really just a recalibration of the market,” Waugh said. “Well, it’s causing a lot of volatility and uncertainty, whether it’s the Fed and its tightening actions or policy, and I think there are some people who are voluntarily exiting (the market) just because of the volatility and uncertainty, and others (who are concerned about it). affordability is an issue.”
Waugh added that there is greater optimism and less volatility in early 2024, which could allow individuals who are more hesitant or cautious about prices to return to the market more fully.
“I think we’re going to see people who self-selected out of the market come back into the market,” he said.
In fact, 56% of consumers surveyed said they believe the market will either improve or be the same as 2023 in 2024, which is a positive sign.
Ongoing trend of moving out of current cities
Waugh noted that homebuyers began to prioritize price over location, as well as a surge in plans to move to areas outside their current city, as some of the most notable elements in this year’s survey.
The Consumer Confidence Survey also found that many consumers have recently moved for a dream home or a lifestyle change. Many people who plan to move soon won’t stay in their current town.
Coldwell Banker Real Estate 2024 Consumer Survey
Nearly 40% of homeowners who plan to sell their property in the future plan to move to a new city, 24.4% plan to move to another state, and 3% plan to move to another country, for a total of 66.6%. Moving to a town, state, or country other than where you currently live. By comparison, in 2022, when Coldwell Banker asked the same question in a similar survey, only 19% of respondents said they planned to move to a new city.
The role of social media
When it comes to social media, consumers and agents alike find this tool helpful when buying a home.
A total of 43.4% of respondents to the Coldwell Banker survey said social media influenced the type of home they wanted to buy to some extent or a high degree.
Not surprisingly, the younger consumers are, the greater the impact social media has on their household preferences, with the youngest consumers (18-24 years old) being most influenced by TikTok, while older consumers (55+ ) is most affected by Facebook.
Coldwell Banker Real Estate 2024 Consumer Survey
Interestingly, Waugh said he’s heard from agents that social media is a useful tool for closing deals and improving one’s personal brand.
“From a brand perspective, and even from a relationship-building perspective, (social media) does create further reach and efficiency, but there are definitely people who have shared with us that a large portion of their business comes from social media, Whether it’s social media or social media. Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok,” Waugh said.
Waugh said based on the report’s findings, Coldwell Banker Real Estate’s biggest goal is to provide real estate professionals with as much consumer intelligence as possible.
“We’re in a rapidly changing and complex time in business and markets, and we really just want to provide market intelligence to our sales professionals so they can go out and have conversations with people,” Waugh said.
He also mentioned the brand’s Move Meter Match-Up, which launched this summer, allowing consumers to directly compare two different markets. For many consumers who are considering moving to a new city soon, this tool is a great way to help them decide where to move.
“It’s about investing time in understanding consumer sentiment and then equipping our sales professionals with the tools and resources to help consumers make informed decisions when buying and selling,” Waugh said.
Complete 2024 Consumer Survey results can be viewed at Coldwell Banker Real Estate Blog.
Get Inman’s Luxury Lenses Newsletter Delivered directly to your inbox. Every Friday is an in-depth look at the biggest news in high-end real estate. Click here to subscribe.
Email Lillian Dixon
