In San Angelo, people with or without children desire home ownership because it’s part of the American Dream, said Winona Corp with ERA Newlin & Company.
“Today, single-family homes with small acreage is a hot commodity, and people love to own a little piece of dirt,” Corp said.
In other words, it’s not uncommon for people living in town to sell their homes and move to the country when the opportunity arises.
These trends are representative of people in southern states and support the results of the semi-annual American Dream Home Survey, which is conducted by Trulia, a subsidiary of the Zillow Group. The agency provides home buyers, sellers and renters the tools and information needed to successfully search for a home. The company has been conducting the survey since 2008, said Sue Weaver with marketing outreach.
The survey was conducted online nationwide between May 26 and May 28 of this year by Harris Poll on behalf of Trulia; 2,026 adults, ages 18 and over, participated. Respondents were selected from among those people who have agreed to participate in the company’s surveys.
“You’ll be surprised about our discoveries and your readers might find what Americans want in a home interesting,” Weaver said about the recent survey.
According to the results, 81 percent of parents with children under 18 said homeownership is part of the American Dream. Southerners prefer their “Dream Home” in the country side, Baby Boomers favor ranch homes, and Generation X and Millennials want modern-style homes.
The surprising aspect she said is the change in what the ideal Dream Home consists of, and about attitudes toward home ownership with the Millennial Generation.
“I personally think it is surprising that close to 90 percent of Millennials plan to buy a home one day, but 7 out of 10 plan to buy later than 2018.” Weaver said. “Only 28 percent are planning on purchasing within the next 24 months.”
Weaver explained plans to own a home are actually down from Trulia’s 2010 survey by six percent.
“This is surprising since the economy was not as good as it is today,” Weaver explained.
Weaver said she also thought what people want as their ideal “Dream Home” interesting. According to the survey’s results, Trulia discovered that Americans want a home that is about 1,400 square feet to 2,600 square feet in a safe neighborhood with good schools. Additionally, the following is a percentage breakdown of what people said the top Dream Home features should contain:
- Backyard Deck: 59 percent
- Gourmet Kitchen: 47 percent
- Open Floor Plan: 46 percent
- Balcony with a View: 45 percent
- Vegetable Garden: 40 percent
“I thought the American ‘Dream Home’ was relatively modest,” Weaver stated. Also, as a member of Generation X, she was surprised that Baby Boomers still dream of a ranch-style home, and found the generational difference about which amenities people desired interesting.
When it comes to San Angelo, however, Corp said she doesn’t find that a certain group prefers modern versus ranch-style homes, but rather, they look at trees, landscaping and size.
“San Angelo is such a diverse community with Millennials, Generation X and Baby Boomers. Because we have people coming in from all parts of the country, [homebuyers] bring the expectations of where they previously lived,” the realtor stated.
As for the amenity preferences in San Angelo, Corp said open floor plans are definitely popular no matter the age group, and yards are specific usually to people with small children. Corp’s retired group also prefer patio homes with very little yard.
“This is not always the case, but more often than not, that happens,” Corp added. “Not to mention, kitchens are definitely the heart of the home.”
To see how the trends today have changed, click here for past results.
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: