The survey indicates that Americans from the three ethnic groups are far more alike than different when it comes to many perceptions and behaviors surrounding the homebuying process. However, when it comes to considering family ties and origins when buying a home, there are key differences.
“It’s important that we understand all that we can about our consumers to best serve them, and that includes understanding them not only from a cultural standpoint, but with regard for their individual values, aspirations and needs,” says Sherry Chris, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC.
Key findings
We’ve got high hopes: All groups surveyed are optimistic about the next generation of homeowners, and a majority believes their children or future children will have a home of their own before the age they did (Hispanic 78%; African American 74%; Caucasian 56%).
Homeowners also believe that their children’s homes will be the same size or bigger than theirs (Hispanic 90%; African American 83%; Caucasian 73%). Each group surveyed views homeownership as an overarching lifelong goal. In fact, homeownership is considered to be the biggest indicator of status by all groups: African Americans (78%), Hispanics (78%) and Caucasians (65%).
Each of the groups believes that a home is not simply an indicator of success; it is a long-term investment and a wise one. More than any other group, Hispanics are planning ahead for homeownership and prioritizing this dream over retirement. More than half of the Hispanics (52%) surveyed who do not currently own their own home say they are focused on saving for a downpayment compared to 46 percent of African Americans and 44 percent of Caucasians.
“The white picket fence” prevails: The majority of individuals from every ethnicity surveyed lean largely toward the suburbs: 59 percent of African Americans, 55 percent of Caucasians and 50 percent of Hispanic Americans selected the suburbs as their preferred location.
Love thy neighborhood: When asked to choose between living in their dream home in a neighborhood they are not fond of, or residing in their dream locale in a home they don’t love, each of the three groups was split almost equally down the middle. A slight majority of respondents (56% Caucasian; 50% African American; 50% Hispanic) said they would rather live in the neighborhood of their dreams, even if they are not head over heels in love with their house.
Home is where you started: Many homeowners want to live close to where they grew up – but how close is “close”? For a majority of Hispanics (56%) and African Americans (53%), this means staying within the same state they grew up in. Caucasians (56%), however, prefer to remain in the same broad region of the country where they grew up. In fact, 1 in 3 Hispanics prefer that their ideal home is located within the town they grew up in, while only 20 percent of Caucasians share the same sentiment.
We’re going to need a bigger house: The multi-generational American home is proliferating. In fact, it is likely to occur in all ethnic groups surveyed. Results show that 63 percent of Hispanics and 59 percent of African Americans will likely have their parents, grandparents or other extended family members living with them at some point. Only 43 percent of Caucasians share these sentiments.
House hunting has also been impacted by the increasing likelihood of multi-generational family units. According to survey results, 89 percent of African Americans, 89 percent of Hispanics and 88 percent of Caucasians who anticipate such living arrangements would look for features that could accommodate additional family members such as separate “in-law” quarters.
The Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,200 Americans between Dec. 7 and Dec. 26, 2012, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas were set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the populations. For the interviews conducted in this study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.9 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.
© 2013 Florida Realtors®
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