If you are single looking in the suburbs, real estate firms have a deal for you
OK, here's a little Monday morning fluff.
The number of singles on the hunt for homes in the suburbs is on the rise, according to a new nationwide survey by Coldwell Banker Real Estate.
Supposedly an online poll of 1,000 single buyers across the country found 52 percent had recently bought a home in the suburbs or in rural areas.
The findings buck the "conventional wisdom ... that most singles are buying bachelor or bachelorette pads downtown," reads the overly excited press release sent out by the Coldwell Banker folks.
The survey is sparse on critical details. In fact, I found the underlying sales pitch to be more interesting given what's happening right now in the market, with the countdown already underway to the end of the home buyer tax credit on April 30th.
Until the economy starts to really pick up again, there are only so many buyers out there. And with the home buyer tax credit about to vanish, demand is going to take a real hit.
Hence the need for the home sales giants to start manufacturing demand and market to previously undertapped demographic groups - like singles - to help pick up the slack. (Of course, this is much too broad of a category given we are talking about everyone from divorced parents to kids just out of college.)
The Coldwell Banker sales pitch, from what I could discern from the press release on its recent survey, goes something like this.
Singles are finding it a better time than ever to buy, with favorable market conditions meaning they can buy more home than they thought they could afford before.
And not only that, they can demonstrate their "independence" by buying a home.
"Owning a home is such a monumental way to achieve independence," said Diann Patton, who is touted as the Coldwell Banker consumer specialist. "It's inspiring to see so many individuals accomplish this life goal."
Of course, one of the more interesting findings in the survey raises questions about how real this independence is for some buyers.
Roughly 6 or 7 percent of those surveyed bought their home with their parents.
As a parent of a three children six and under, I can see helping out with a first car, but buying junior his or her first home is another thing altogether.
There's got to be a more cost effective - and less financially risky way - of demonstrating your independence.
