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Monday Market Update: Most Desired Community Features

A house is more than a home – but also who & what surrounds it!

May is here and buyers are out in force! In San Mateo County*, inventory is hovering around 2.5 months while most sellers are receiving offers above list price. When it comes to what buyers want, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has just released a study on consumer preferences related not just to homes – but also the communities they reside in. After all, 'location, location, location' isn’t just a buzz phrase; it reflects the way of life you want to have and where you feel most at ease.

The results of the NAHB ‘What Home Buyers Really Want’ reveal the top 3 desired community attributes are:

1. Convenience

2. Walkability

3. Suburban feel

The features that contribute to these desires are that 70% of buyers want to be close to grocery and retail space, over 66% want to be near a park area and 65% want to be able to walk to transportation and shopping.

Location preferences revealed that:

1. 53% of buyers want to purchase in the suburbs (either close-in or outlying)

2. 25% desire a rural-type setting

3. 23% want a central city vibe (downtown or just outside of it)

Last but not least, not everyone is working from home, so taking into account those who commute the ‘sweet spot’ for maximum mileage from work is 11.3 miles.

All of the data above comes from this report from the NAHB which surveyed more than 3,000 home buyers nationally. Note that real estate is very hyper-local, so always be sure to ask your experienced and active local agents what trends they are seeing related to what buyers want.

Cheers to loving where you live!

Bobbi

*Data courtesy of SAMCAR®

Bobbi Decker
DRE#00607999

Broker Associate, Bobbi Decker & Associates
650.346.5352 cell
650.577.3127 efax
www.bobbidecker.com
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Bobbi Decker & Associates fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. For more information, please visit: http://portal.hud.gov/