Who bought a house last year??

PALM HARBOR, Fla. - Feb. 10, 2014 - PRLog -- I found a very interesting article in this past Sunday's newspaper. A "recap" if you will of the 2013 year in real estate. Some of the information was very "predictable", but there were a few suprises. For example, the article states that a lot more single women purchased homes in 2013 than single men. In Florida, 19% of homebuyers were single woman, compared to 6% being single men.  Many people who purchased homes in 2013 also purchased with the intention of moving in the home with extended family (parents or grown children).

    The typical home purchased in 2013 in Florida was approximately 1,900 square feet, with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and the average age for being built was 1996. This statistic was some somewhat suprising since Florida has many older homes. The typical Florida buyer last year was a married couple in their mid 50's, who earned a median household income of $82,100.00, who had been in their previous home for 9 years. Most people started their home search on the internet, and spent 10 weeks looking for a home and visited 10 homes prior to writing an offer.

    One of the most suprising parts of the article, was the response to the question, "What was the most difficult part of the home-buying process?" 46% of the people surveyed responded with... getting the mortgage, where as only 8% said was savng for the down payment. 21% of the people thought that the amount of paperwork needed was the most difficult. (Paperwork including, listing, contract addendums and closing paperwork).

    For Florida sellers, there was some interesting statistics. 10% of those surveyed had their home on the market for more than a year. 10% also lowered their asking price for or MORE times!!!! The typical equity check to the seller was $25,000.00. For buyers, 27% purchased their first home and 31% of the buyers had a household income of less than $55,000.00.

    The real estate market fluctuates from year to year and sometimes from month to month. Having an experienced agent to help guide you through all the steps whether you are selling or buying is invaluable. Can you sell your home on your own? Certainly. However, homes that are marketed by a real estate agent tend to sell much quicker and for a higher price than those being sold by owner. Can you purchase a home on your own? Of course you can! Having an agent to help guide you through the contract process and the inspections and the closing can be invaluable. That agent has YOUR best interest in mind.

    Here at the Dietz Team in Palm Harbor, we have a team of experienced listing agents and buyer's agents. Please call our office at 727-451-3530 and speak to one of our staff. We would be honored to help you buy or sell your next home.

My name is John Dietz.  I own The Dietz Team at Re/Max in Palm Harbor Florida and I want to earn the opportunity to be your Realtor.  Please call me at 727-451-3530 and ask about out Guaranteed Listing program, our No Hassle Listing, or Our Guaranteed Buyer Program.  We want to work for you!