More 2021 Buyers Want a Newly-Built Home
The National Association of Home Builders’ Housing Trends Report for the final quarter of 2020 shows a dramatic increase in buyers’ interest in new construction homes. The report revealed that 41% of prospective buyers were looking for a newly-built home which is more than twice the percentage reported in 2019.
The NAHB Economics team researches and produces the Housing Trends Report each quarter. The team surveys and measures prospective home buyers’ perceptions about the availability and affordability of homes for-sale in their markets. The HTR is produced quarterly to track changes in buyers’ perceptions over time. All data are derived from national polls of representative samples of American adults conducted for NAHB by Morning Consult.
According to the report, Q419 looks very different from Q420 when it comes to the type of home buyers are looking for. In 2019 40% of homebuyers wanted an existing home, this decreased to 30% in 2020. Those buyers who would purchase a new or existing home fell from 41% in 2019 to 29% in 2020. For new homes in 2019, only 19% of buyers said they would just purchase a new construction home while in 2020 buyers who saught only new construction rose to 41%.
As far as the data broken down by generations, 50% of millennials are looking for a new construction build while 50% of baby boomers prefer to purchase an existing home. Out of the Gen X buyers, 48% prefer a new construction home while 38% of Gen Z buyers want to purchase an existing home.
The report also shows a difference in preferences in each region of the country. Most potential buyers in the Northeast (53%) and the West (51%) are looking for a new build. In the South only 33% preferred a new construction home and in the Midwest only 24%.
