Clients with children look to move more urgently than those without

Home sellers with children are usually in much more of a hurry to sell than those who don’t have kids, new survey from the National Association of Realtors has found.

The survey, part of the NAR’s 2018 Moving with Kids report, found that 26 percent of sellers with kids aged under 18 say they need to sell “very urgently” and are looking to find a buyer as soon as possible. That compares with just 14 percent of sellers without children who said the same thing. As a result, sellers with kids say they look for an agent who can guarantee a sale within a specific time frame, they said.

“Buying a house is rarely just a financial transaction, especially when children are involved,” said NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall. “Parents are choosing the home they will raise their kids in, the schools their sons and daughters will attend, and the neighborhood where they will play and make friends.”

The NAR report noted several different habits that buyers and sellers with kids have, compared to those who do not have children.

For example, schools often play a crucial role in people’s buying decisions. From the survey, more than 50 percent of buyers with kids said the quality of the neighborhood’s school district is important, compared to just 11 percent without children. Other important factors for buyers with kids include the convenience of reaching the school and the school’s proximity to the home.

Buyers with children also generally buy much larger homes. On average, they’ll go for a home with 2,100 square feet of space, four bedrooms and two bathrooms. In contrast a buyer without children will usually settle for a 1,750 square foot home with just three bedrooms and two baths, the report said.

Slightly more than a quarter of all buyers with children say that child care expenses delay their home purchases. Additionally, these expenses most likely force these buyers to make compromises for when they do finally buy a home. Thirty percent of buyers say they had to compromise on the size of the home, 29 percent compromised on the price of the home, and 22 percent had to sacrifice the condition of the home.