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Attitudes Towards Real Estate The buying and selling of property is a common experience for many mature consumers; as their children leave home and they retire, their changing needs often trigger a move or, in some cases, the purchase of vacation or winter retreat homes. In February, ERA Real Estate announced the results of its annual mature consumer survey on attitudes towards real estate buying and selling. Gathered from more than 1500 respondents age 50 and older, these results uncover evolving attitudes on the subject, and some of the new opinions confound expectations. For instance, it's ofen believed that most aging homeowners are considering, at some future point, either downsizing or moving into some type of active adult community. However, the survey results indicate otherwise. To wit: Only 8 percent of those considering a move in the next five years indicated that they might consider purchasing a home in an active adult community More than 61 percent consider purchasing a single-family home The average senior lives in a house with three or more bedrooms and two or more baths Only 11 percent felt their current home is too big Nearly 25 percent of respondents thought their home was too small Respondents cited better home or living conditions as the second most popular reason for buying a new residence Mature consumers also proved to be more savvy and demanding regarding technology. In fact, those considering moving in the next five years chose the Internet as the most popular home buying research method, up from the second most common choice mentioned in study the previous year. However, while mature consumers leaned more towards the internet as an information-gathering tool, nearly 92% said they were only "somewhat likely" or "not at all likely" to choose a real estate agent on the basis of internet research. The survey showed that, for the most part, an existing relationship with a broker or real estate agent was the second most popular method for researching real estate. "These survey results show that as more and more baby boomers turn 50, it is becoming harder to define the increasingly diverse mature consumer," said Brenda W. Casserly, president of ERA Franchise Systems, Inc. "Marketers today need to recognize the importance of understanding the many different concerns, wants and needs of these mature consumers to ensure they provide resources and services that are relevant and valuable." The survey also revealed some notable trends regarding mature consumers' concerns about certain common economic costs. Though the mature market for real estate is historically strong and has seen continued price increases, more respondents expressed rising anxiety over prescription drug costs (62 percent), hospital-related costs (60 percent), income and other taxes (59 percent) and gas prices (56 percent). Other findings: Respondents named "one point of contact" during the transaction process as the service they are most looking for from a real estate agent 57 percent of respondents would prefer to stay within 50 miles of their family during their next move, while a surprising 16 percent would consider a move of 1,000 miles or more Nearly one quarter of respondents have children living with them or who are receiving financial support Virtually all respondents (96 percent) own a personal computer Three out of four respondents own a DVD player and a cell phone Respondents ranked both in-depth property descriptions and photos or virtual tours as the most important factors when searching for real estate online Back To Mature Market News → Go To The GenerationTarget.com Mature Market Bookstore →

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