Courtesy of: Inman News
Prospective homebuyers hoping to buy a home in the next four months say the lack of inventory is their biggest challenge, but many believe winter is a good time to buy because sellers are motivated to sell and more willing to negotiate.
That’s according to a survey of more than 1,300 visitors to realtor.com conducted from Nov. 7-16, which found 45 percent of buyers in the market said there’s not enough inventory in their price range.
The survey also found that a surprising number of prospective homebuyers — 19 percent — are planning to do all-cash deals.
Of those planning to buy without taking out a mortgage:
29 percent said they are downsizing to a smaller or less expensive home.
26 percent are relocation buyers.
11 percent are moving up to a bigger or more expensive home.
11 percent are buying a vacation home.
But most of those surveyed said they’ll need a mortgage to finance their home purchase. Among that group, most did not have the 20 percent down payment that would allow them to qualify them for a conventional loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac without having to also purchase mortgage insurance.
More than 1 in 10 of those surveyed (13 percent) said they were planning to put just 3.5 percent down (the minimum down payment on FHA-guaranteed loans). Only 22 percent said they’d be able to make a down payment of more than 20 percent, which would allow them to avoid purchasing mortgage insurance.
– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/11/20/despite-inventory-shortages-homebuyers-looking-for-bargains-this-winter/#sthash.46HH3qpH.dpuf
